Rookie bigs stand tall to fill Oden's void

Greg Oden is expected back by the time December rolls around.
When the MRI results diagnosed a mid-lateral right foot sprain, Trail Blazers nation let out one huge exhale.
Depending on how quickly his powers of recovery are, he'll miss somewhere between eight and 15 games. It's a setback, but definitely nothing to despair over. The fact it's Oden, who hasn't been able to make it through a season without injury since graduating high school, shouldn't alter reality.
A very big man suffered a routine basketball injury when his very big foot tried to make a landing it didn't have clearance for. His sprain occurred in a way nearly every basketball player in the world can identify with. His foot will feel tender for a while and then it will heal. We'll have to wait a few more weeks to see his career begin, but there's no reason for alarm just yet.
By now, Oden is a rehab veteran and appears quite good at it. Judging by how much damage he was doing this preseason on a surgically repaired knee, it's safe to assume he'll bounce back from this.
In the meantime, there are apparently a few more intriguing first-year big men to keep an eye on than first thought, at least if the first full night of NBA action is to be believed.

Darrell Arthur and Marc Gasol, Memphis: Gasol started in the middle and scrapped, playing a style more reminiscent of Luis Scola than his more refined brother Pau. Finishing with 12 points and 12 boards (five offensive) in 36 minutes, little bro Marc served notice that he belongs in this league. As solid as Gasol was, Darrell Arthur's night was the true revelation, forcing second-year coach Marc Iavaroni to re-evaluate his rotation. Arthur, who was traded by New Orleans, Portland and Houston before his career even started, exibited a tremendous amount of energy and earned 27 minutes, playing like he was unleashed from the green room at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theatre, where he sat until 26 players were taken ahead of him on draft night. He finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds, capitalizing on playing time that was expected to be taken up by Darko Milicic, who finished with more fouls (3) than points or rebounds (2).

Kevin Love, Minnesota: Randy Wittman gave the No. 5 pick just over 18 minutes of run and saw him make the most of his time, helping deliver a 98-96 victory over the Kings by displaying old school efficiency in a 12-point, nine-rebound, two-block effort. Love's first basket was a rebound and put-back, and his personal highlight reel put the fun in fundamentals.

Jason Thompson, Sacramento: The Rider-to-NBA leap didn't look so tough. Thompson went for 18 points and 10 boards in 22 minutes, thrilling his proud parents despite the Kings' loss. Second-year center Spencer Hawes has apparently gotten a lot tougher than he looked as a rookie. Starting in place of the suspended Brad Miller, Hawes wound up with 12 points, 14
rebounds and six blocks and did a nice job at containing Al Jefferson in the second half to aid a Kings rally that fell just short.

New Jersey's Brook Lopez (8 points, 8 rebounds) got off to a solid start, and although Phoenix's Robin Lopez, Golden State's Anthony Randolph, Washington's JeVale McGee, Cleveland's J.J. Hickson, Indiana's Roy Hibbert and Philadelphia's Marreese Speights didn't have an impact in their debuts, all have shown signs this preseason of being further along than expected.
I'll hesitate that the 2008 Draft will prove to be stiff-free, but it might wind up being far more fruitful than most anticipated it would be. At the very least, they'll combine to entertain us while Oden mends.

Hold the Mayo; Beasley, too
Can't talk rookies and not mention how disappointing Miami's Michael Beasley and Minnesota's O.J. Mayo were with their first efforts.
Mayo showed no signs of shyness in his first start with Memphis, shooting a ghastly 5-for-20, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range. He's athletic enough to thrive as a rookie, but his judgment must make huge strides.
At least his team won.
Beasley had told the Sun-Sentinel prior to his debut against the Knicks that he felt "the first impression is the best. Why not come in with a bang? Why not come in and let people know you're here?"
Instead, Beasley hit the NBA scene with a thud, shooting 4-for-14 from the field in a performance there wasn't much to look back fondly on.
"I had a bad game," Beasley told the Miami Herald. "I missed [a] couple shots, and my confidence just went out the window."
Chalk it up to a learning experinece for the No. 2 pick, who needs to have a short memory and make sure not to think too much, relying on his overwhelming talent and instincts more.
Mario Chalmers, notorious for his role in turning the rookie symposium into a personal playpen, has gotten back in the Heat's good graces and started next to Dwyane Wade ahead of Chris Quinn. The University of Kansas standout made a great first impression (17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists), nearly rallying the Heat from a double-digit fourth quarter disadvantage in an eventual 120-115 loss in New York.

For old times sake
Josh Smith and Dwight Howard go way back -- "to preschool," as Smith puts it, which is why it gave the Hawks forward so much pleasure at getting the better of his former AAU teammate in Atlanta's 99-85 win in Orlando.
Smith set the tone with a pair of first quarter swats of Howard, ending up with five in the game, not to mention the big smile on his face when I caught up with him in the Hawks locker room.
"I don't know if you remember last year, at home (in Atlanta), he dunked on me, got an and-1," said Smith, icing his knee while savorning his revenge. "When I met him in the offseason he kind of got at me about it and I didn't like it. I wanted to try to prove a point when we came down here."
"It's all good," Howard replied when I relayed the message. "It happens. Next time we play him I'll be ready for him to come. Tonight, he timed me every time I get to the basket to get some good blocks, but it's the first game. They beat our butts tonight, but hey, next time, Josh jumps and I'm coming down, he'd better watch out. I think he had three blocks on me. He has good timing. He knows what I like to do."

Odds and ends
Don't lose sight of the two very special comebacks that took place on Wednesday night, even though neither was celebrated with a victory.
Etan Thomas finalized the long road back from open heart surgery performed just over a year ago, starting at center for Washington and racking up 10 points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, Shaun Livingston made his unexpected return from that gruesome knee injury anyone who saw it winces at the memory of back in February of 2007.
Miami's newest addition wasn't supposed to be on the active roster for Wednesday's game at the Garden, but impressed Erik Spoelstra with his mobility in recent practices and wound up breaking a sweat. Livingston, who many feared would never play again, hit a pair of free throws and added a steal in 4:20.

Detroit replaced Flip Saunders with Michael Curry in the biggest move of the team's offseason follwoing its latest playoff disappointment and added a subtle tweak in their opener, starting Amir Johnson ahead of Antonio McDyess in a move intended to maximize the energy level of the starting five. Johnson is a superior athlete whose wingspan causes problems, but he'll have to learn to play off his more experienced teammates and make sure not to get in the way. His first attempt showed promise, with three offensive rebounds and three blocks supplying the spark this experiment seeks.

The folks in Oklahoma City got love from the visiting David Stern, but none from the referee crew of Mark Wunderlich, Derrick Collins and David Jones, who rung up the Thunder's Kevin Durant for three first half fouls, leading to goose-eggs in points and rebounds for the reigning Rookie of the Year. Jeff Green struggled, too, shooting just 2-for-7 and finishing with five turnovers.

Kevin Martin missed two 3-pointers that would've given Sacramento an last-minute edge over the new-look Wolves, then John Salmons failed to tie with a tip-in at the buzzer. No doubt, there had to be fresh frustration behind Reggie Theus' claim that if Martin "has any type of game at all, we beat this team," but you've got to love that he said. It's the opposite of coach-speak, filled with emotion and the type of spirit perfect for the young rebuilding effort he's been put in charge of.
He's got their backs and isn't opposed to say so.

Proof Gregg Popovich was in a good mood prior to running into Shaquille O'Neal and the Suns.
Proof he probably wasn't as pleased post-game: Tony Parker and Tim Duncan combined for two-thirds of the Spurs' points and getting little help, losing despite their top threats combining for 63 points on 58 percent shooitng. Hurry back, Manu.

The LA Lakers have put together an impressive first 96 minutes of ball. They enter the weekend favored to righfully leapfrog everyone in front of them and take the top spot in the PBN Power Rankings.

Current No. 1 New Orleans found out just how valuable James Posey can be, molesting Golden State's Corey Maggette during an inbounds pass to keep the ball from getting to the Warriors top scorer with 14.1 seconds to go. The play earned him an excited pat on the back from Byron Scott, who's thrilled to have someone so capable at doing all the little things to help a team win.
Stephen Jackson, who threw the errant inbounds pass, ran out gas after playing all 48 minutes, much of which was spent guarding Chris Paul. The workload took its toll, contributing to Jack-O missing his last seven shots.

Wednesday's +/- report: Another Laker took the day's top honor, as Pau Gasol pulled off an impressive +29, leading a group six who finished at +18 or better against the overwhelmed Clippers. Despite playing less than 20 minutes, Tim Thomas wound up a pathetic -28. You had to know new Rocket Ron Artest would come in at his guns-blazing team-aiding best, delivering a +19. Rafer Alston, despite a 1-for-6 clip from 3-point range, notched a +15. No turnovers... Every Memphis starter was outscored by double-digits while out on the floor with the exception of Gasol. No one is ever going to forget how cheap the Lakers got Pau, but Marc Gasol should ease a little of Memphis' burden... Utah's Ronnie Price went 1-for-9 from the field as Deron Williams' replacement at the point, but the poor shooting didn't stop him from registering a team-high +14 in a good win over Denver... Mike Bibby and Josh Smith were each +23 in helping Atlanta step on Orlando's throats. Magic fans got their wish as J.J. Redick joined the rotation and played a reserve-high 19 minutes in which he finished a team-low -18. Love was brilliant in his short stint for Minnesota, pacing the team (and all rookies) with a +20.