Only the questions appear to be getting a little old.

Such is life for one of the most anticipated arrivals in the NBA since . . . oh, let's say LeBron James. Now that the big guy is actually playing, following a year off for knee surgery, the storm is building.

It's a good thing that the mounting attention hasn't cracked his stoic veneer. More important, Oden is learning to be patient with himself.

His numbers (8.0 points, 7.8 rebounds) are modest, but as C's coach Doc Rivers noted on Thursday, numbers aren't the point here - learning to fit in is.

``I have been patient with myself,'' he said. ``Young guys sometimes feel that they have to speed themselves up to fit in. That's hard, because the game is a faster game.''

The good news for Oden is that under coach Nate McMillan, and thanks to the talent that runs through the Portland roster, he hasn't had to stretch his game.

Unlike Kevin Durant, taken by Seattle right after Oden in the 2007 draft, the Blazers big man isn't being asked to be his team's everything. ``In this system, it's good,'' he said. ``I can just come in and rebound and be who I am.''

Not surprisingly, Oden's defensive abilities - that base that is expected to lead him to greatness - are now his most apparent strength.

``It's up there,'' he said. ``My rebounding is up, but I can be better at that, too. There's always things that you can improve on.''

His modesty, though, doesn't need any work.

``It's a Big 2,'' he said of the perception that he had bonded with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge to form a new Big 3. ``Those guys are the captains. I'm just a rookie.''

Ring him up

It appears that James Posey will be getting his Garden ring ceremony after all.

The former C's swingman, who signed a four-year contract with the Hornets last summer, will be honored in some form of pregame ceremony when New Orleans comes to town next Friday.

Posey, who missed both the team's summer visit to the White House and the season opening festivities, is expected to receive his ring at that time.

Group gathering

Ray and Shannon Allen hosted a group of 50 people last night - all of them family members attached to a diabetes support group from the Allen's neighborhood.

``At the time we joined the group, there were 10 or 11 people in the group, so a lot of these people we haven't met yet,'' said Allen. A private function room was reserved for the group, all of whom come from families with members who suffer from diabetes.

``For a lot of them, they get to meet Walker for the first time,'' Allen said of his 22-month-old son, who was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes during the NBA Finals. ``It's the first time we'll be meeting a lot of them.''

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