The Portland Trailblazer center Greg Oden has showed a bit more consistency, but not quite enough.

Granted he was injured last year and has returned this year to the court to mixed results, but as a rookie one notices he has some merits. The Portland Trailblazers are hardly the best team in the league but have playoff hopes; with potential MVP candidate Brandon Roy injured, the team needs Oden to produce. The Western Conference is too tough for a team to go on a prolonged losing streak or even lose a few games and not find themselves far out the playoff picture. Yesterday, they lost to the LA Lakers 100-86. The Lakers are one of the NBA’s best teams and even though rookie Nicolas Batum scored 17 points, the Blazers need consistent scoring from Oden if they are to take the next step. He can do it. Blazers fans everywhere are hoping he does.

There is no denying that Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers can potentially be a great NBA player. He’s tall, he’s strong, he’s thick, he’s athletic, he can jump and he’s relatively light on his feet. And, as you can see in the picture below, Oden is also quite good with the ladies – a trait we applaud here at SteamySports.

The problem with Oden is he can’t stay healthy. In his one year at Ohio State, he hurt his wrist and missed a large portion of the season. After being drafted first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden couldn’t even make it out of the summer unscathed. He suffered a knee injury that forced him to undergo microfracture surgery and miss the season.

This year, Oden was back and looking to get his rookie season off to a good start. He played decently well in preseason, but everyone was waiting for his regular season debut against the defending Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. However, less than three minutes into the game, Oden hurt his foot.

After limping around the court for much of the first half, Oden would stay in the locker room at halftime. He had an x-ray on his foot that proved to be inconclusive. Right now, the Blazers are calling it a foot sprain.

Although Oden may just be experiencing a lot of bad luck, it might be time to wonder if he’s ever going to withstand the rigors of the NBA season. He’s yet to play three healthy minutes in the NBA. It seems like he’s getting hurt almost constantly.

Can Oden become the NBA star he was destined to be or will he be remembered as potential wasted? Oden still has time but right now it’s not looking good for him or the Trail Blazers.