Shaquille O'Neal has accomplished enough in his career that he will go down as one of the best big men ever to play the game.
Greg Oden is considered to have that kind of potential.The two centers meet for the first time Saturday night when O'Neal and the
Phoenix Suns look to beat Oden's
Portland Trail Blazers for the 11th straight meeting.O'Neal, the top overall pick in the 1992 draft, has played on four different NBA championship teams and has been named to the All-Star team 14 times. Although he is in the twilight of his career, he is still the second-leading scorer for Phoenix (8-5) this year with 15.1 points per game.
Oden, the No. 1 draft pick in 2007, is in his rookie season after sitting out last season because of microfracture surgery. He sprained his ankle in the season opener against the
Los Angeles Lakers, and missed the next six games, including a 107-96 loss at Phoenix on Nov. 1.
How the 7-foot, 285-pound Oden fares against the 7-foot-1, 325-pound O'Neal should go a long way toward deciding this matchup. O'Neal scored 16 points as Phoenix placed all five starters in double figures and shot 55.1 percent (38-of-69) in the win over Portland (8-5) earlier this month.Oden started the season opener, but has come off the bench in his six games since returning to action. He's averaging 9.7 points and 6.8 rebounds.Phoenix hasn't lost to Portland since a 111-101 defeat on March 12, 2006.The Suns are trying to avoid losing three straight for the first time this season. They were thoroughly outplayed Thursday in a 105-92 loss to the Lakers.
Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points and O'Neal added 15 and nine rebounds for Phoenix, which made 6-of-18 3-pointers."We're not really shooting the ball well," O'Neal said about the Suns, who fell to 3-3 at home. "When the jumpers aren't falling you've just got to put it on the floor and take it to the floor and just mix it up a little bit. We just have to fight back and keep it going."Stoudemire is averaging 26.7 points and 9.0 rebounds in his last three games. He had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the first meeting with the Trail Blazers.
Portland has posted blowout wins in its last two games, 116-74 over Chicago on Wednesday and 117-96 at Sacramento on Friday -- also the first two times this season it has shot over 50 percent. The Trail Blazers shot 50.6 percent on Wednesday and 55.6 percent on Friday.
Steve Blake made six 3-pointers and led six Portland players in double figures at Sacramento.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 and was the only Blazer to log more than 30 minutes, giving them enough rest to get ready for Saturday's game.
"I've had lots of rest the last two games," said Portland guard
Brandon Roy, who scored 16 points in 27 minutes Friday, failing to reach the 20-point mark for the first time in eight games.
, should be fun watching shaq vs oden I think shaq will get the best of oden tonight though but this will be a high scoring game.
