The regret of the Trail Blazers! The combination of Oden, Roy and Aldridge did not play due to injury

On July 12, in the long history of the NBA, there are many regrettable "ifs". The Portland Trail Blazers' briefly blossomed between 2007 and 2011 is undoubtedly one of the most heartbreaking chapters. During the joint efforts of these three talented players, the team's record reached an astonishing 50 wins and 12 losses, with a winning rate of more than 80%, showing enough dominance to the championship. However, ruthless injuries, like the curse of fate, destroyed the careers of Greg Oden and Brandon Roy, making this team that could have created a dynasty the most tragic "unfinished masterpiece" in basketball history.

### 1. Talent gathering: The Trail Blazers' Golden Puzzle

At the 2006 draft, the Trail Blazers selected the University of Texas's leading man Lamarcus Aldridge with the second pick. This skilled power forward showed stable mid-range shooting and basket steps in his rookie season, and averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds per game. But the real turning point came in the summer of 2007 - the team first selected Greg Oden, who was hailed by the media as "the combination of Bill Russell and Shaquille O'Neal" by the No. 1 pick, and then won last season's rookie Brandon Roy in the trade. The trio took shape: Oden provides dominance in the penalty area, Aldridge is responsible for mid- and long-distance scoring, and Roy plays the killer at a critical moment. Then-head coach Nate McMillan recalled: "On the first day of training camp, we knew that this lineup could change the league pattern."

data showed that in 62 games where the three players played healthy at the same time, the Trail Blazers averaged 9.3 points per game, with an offensive efficiency of 114.2 (second in the league in the season), and a defensive efficiency of 102.1 (5th in the league). Among them, in the classic battle against the Suns in the 2008-09 season, the three scored 89 points in a combined score, and Oden also sent 7 blocks, perfectly interpreting the terrifying potential of "integrated offense and defense". Basketball analyst Hollinger predicted at the time: "Based on this winning rate, they will win 66 games, surpassing the Lakers to become the number one seed in the West."

### 2. Injuries: The ruthless mockery of fate

However, bad luck followed one after another in the 2009-10 season. First, Oden broke his left knee patella during the season opening match against the Rockets and was reimbursed for the season. Medical reports show that the injury is related to the "compensated injury" of the cartilage problem of his right knee that he had been in college. What's even more cruel is that in April 2010, Roy was diagnosed with complete wear of meniscus on both knees, and doctors warned his cartilage to "degenerate like a 60-year-old." Although he scored 18 points in a single quarter against the Suns with injuries in the playoffs and staged a "Return of the King", he was forced to retire after only 47 games the following year, at the age of 27.

medical expert Drake Jones pointed out: "Roy's knee is born with lack of buffer tissue, while Oden's tibia has an abnormal growth plate. This structural defect will inevitably collapse under NBA-level confrontation." According to statistics, during the three-man team:

-Oden missed 214 games due to injury (79% of the total games)

-Roy only played 65 games in the last two seasons

-Aldridge, the only healthy winning rate fell to 54% during his leadership alone

### 3. Unfinished Dynasty: The possibility behind the data

By comparing the championship teams of the same period, you can see the height that this Trail Blazers should have reached. The net efficiency of the Lakers' team to win the championship in 2009 was +7.5, while the Trail Blazers in the healthy trio reached +9.3; the offensive efficiency of the Mavericks when they won the championship in 2011 was 109.7, far lower than the 114.2 in the trio. What's even more amazing is that when the three of them were on the court at the same time, the team's real shooting percentage was 58.1% even surpassed the 2014 Spurs championship season (56.6%).

Former NBA player Barkley commented: "They could have ruled the next ten years. Oden's defensive coverage is comparable to that of Howard, Roy's scoring explosiveness is not inferior to Kobe, and Aldridge, a solution-free medium-range machine." In fact, in the simulation of 2K games, the healthy trio entered the Finals three times between 2012 and 16 and won the championship twice.

### 4. Legacy and Inspiration: The injury management revolution in the modern NBA

This tragedy indirectly promoted the transformation of the league's medical system. Since 2013, the NBA has mandated the team to adopt a "load management system" and set up a central medical database to share player injury history. Trail Blazers doctor Jay Jansen admitted: "If it were today, Oden's tibia problem would be corrected by surgery before the draft, and Roy's playing time would be strictly controlled within 30 minutes."

Now, when fans see Aldridge's steady performance at the Spurs (6 All-Stars), Roy transformed into a high school championship coach (leading the team to win the championship in 2023), and Oden as a college basketball commentator, they can't help but imagine: if there were no damn injuries, would there be more championship flags over the Rose Garden Arena? The answer to this question will always stay in the cold "62 games" on the data table, becoming the deepest regret in basketball history. As Sports Illustrated wrote: "They let us see what perfect basketball looks like, and then prove in the cruelest way that perfection does not belong to the world."