Oden to Miss Rest of Summer League

By Adam Kiefaber

Greg Oden will miss the rest of the Summer League in Las Vegas.

Oden will undergo a tonsillectomy Saturday at the Vancouver Clinic in Vancouver, Washington.

I can’t imagine how big Oden’s tonsils actually are, but it’s got to be close to a record. It’s going to take two or three weeks for the big man to recover.

“Greg felt that this was the right decision to make in the interests of his health, and we support that decision 100 percent,” Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. “The sooner he gets the procedure done, the sooner he can get back on the court at full strength.”

In two games, Oden scored 18 points and committed 19 fouls. The Summer League rules allow a player 10 fouls before fouling out.

This means that the #1 draft pick will miss Sunday’s matchup with Seattle, who has the #2 draft pick in Kevin Durant.

Other Summer League Notes:
Daequan Cook struggled offensively in his second summer-league game in Pepsi Pro Summer League. Cook hit only two shots while taking 13 in the Miami Heat’s 73-65 loss to the New Jersey Nets. Cook finished with seven points and three rebounds. Cook hit two of eight three-point attempts and connected on one of his four shots from the free-throw line. The only positive was the work load, as Cook lead the team in minutes played; he played for over 35 minutes.

Ron Lewis saw his first action and while he started in the Houston Rockets 90 to 76 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, he was only in the game for less than 20 minutes. Fellow guard and draft pick Aaron Brooks (Oregon) stole the show and scored 21 points (8 assists) in over 31 minutes of playing time. Lewis scored five points, grabbed two rebounds and committed two turnovers. Lewis shot one of three from the floor, zero of two for three, three for four at the free-throw line.

Mike Conley Jr. and his Memphis Grizzles next game will be Thursday evening at 6pm EST against Cleveland. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein calls the battle between Kyle Lowry and Conley Jr. as the best of the summer league. he writes
My favorite battle: Kyle Lowry vs. Mike Conley
“Lowry is ahead on points at present, but one interesting theory I’m stealing from an Eastern Conference personnel man is that these two could form Memphis’ answer to the T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon combination in Toronto. There will be nights, in other words, when you don’t know which guy is better until the game unfolds. Or perhaps new Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni will find a way to play them together.”