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Oden makes NBA debut as Trail Blazers visit Lakers

Oct 28, 2008 - 1:19 PM PORTLAND AT LA LAKERS, 10:30pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- We've been hearing about them all summer and all preseason - and now, for the first time, we finally get a chance to catch a glimpse of what the Portland Trail Blazers are all about.

The Blazers open up the 2008-09 season with an appropriately stiff test, as they visit the reigning Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Of particular interest will be the NBA regular-season debut of 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick, Greg Oden. The 20-year-old center's much-anticipated rookie year was derailed before it even began last summer when he suffered a right knee injury that required season-ending microfracture surgery.

A year later, he joins a team that has transformed from a bottom-feeder to a trendy pick to storm deep into the playoffs. A lot of that had to do with last year's surprising 41-41 campaign, during which the Blazers won 13 in a row and 17 of 18 to vault into the playoff race before slumping in the second half.

Given the promise that was on display for much of the year - and the continued emergence of All-Star guard Brandon Roy - Portland is expected to be in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.

But first things first. Things will not come easily, as the Blazers will begin the season against five straight playoff teams. After Tuesday's meeting with the Lakers, they will host the San Antonio Spurs, take on the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz on the road and cap things off with a home showdown against the Houston Rockets.

If they are going to prove their mettle to the rest of the league, they've been given the perfect opportunities to do so.

Tuesday's battle will also be the Lakers' first chance to unveil the Pau Gasol/Andrew Bynum frontcourt duo. Bynum, who collected 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the team's preseason finale against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday, never got the chance to team up with Gasol last season, as his right knee injury kept him out of commission through the final five months of the season, including the playoffs.

Should the two co-exist as well as hoped, that could only make things easier for Kobe Bryant, who averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 boards and 5.4 assists last year on the way to his first-ever Most Valuable Player award.