Unsettled times? Uncertainty? Hey, Brandon Roy is out a few games. The schedule, including tonight’s game, has been brutal for the last four games. Let’s relax just a little bit, OK? I mean, the trading deadline is still a full month away and I don’t know if it’s time to panic quite yet.

There seems to be a lot of hand-wringing right now about the Trail Blazers’ bench. Roy’s absence has pushed Rudy Fernandez into the starting lineup and made the second unit a little weaker. OK, so what did you expect?

I take a different approach than most. My feeling about the second unit is “so what?” I mean, the Blazers play only two games this week. And why is it that when Roy is out, it automatically means you have to use your 11th man? For me, with just two games this week, I’d extend the minutes of the starters and simply trim the bench down. There’s no rule that says you have to have a 10-man rotation. Cut it to eight or nine.

And I certainly wouldn’t remove Rudy from the starting lineup. I think with Roy out, I’d try to play Rudy 40 minutes if I could. He could be starting for half the teams in the NBA — let’s give him as many minutes as he can handle. Same with Aldridge, Oden (that may not be possible, obviously) and Blake — keep them on the floor a little longer. I’d extend Batum’s minutes, too.

I’m not sure Jerryd Bayless should automatically play just because Roy isn’t playing. So far, that experiment has been a disappointment and a three-guard rotation is just fine for a few games. For a guy who seems so cocky Bayless has looked very unconfident with the ball in his hands. But tonight the dilemma for the Blazers is that that perhaps the only Piston guard small enough for Bayless to guard is Allen Iverson and if you bring him off the bench he runs into all those guys too tall for him to defend.

So if you’re determined to play Bayless, you may have to start him. If you try to use him on one of those big guards, the Pistons are going to take him right down to the post and punish him, just the way New Orleans did last week.

Rodney Stuckey, who has taken over the point for Detroit, is 6-foot-5 and is going to be a handful for Blake, too. And there’s nobody out there for Oden to guard at all. The Pistons are one of the hottest teams in the league and Portland’s best hope is to try to stay with a big lineup and just pound them on the boards and feed the big men for post-up baskets. Then hope the Pistons are having an off-night with their jumpers.

But again, win or lose tonight, easier games are ahead and it’s no time to panic. Roy should be back soon and I think all teams go through rough stretches. And for all you doomsayers out there who suddenly don’t think the Blazers are a playoff team, sorry — I’m not buying that. Utah may play most of the season without Carlos Boozer and the Rockets are suddenly a mess, with Tracy McGrady a basket case. I’m not sure how long Dallas can continue to play well and can Shaq stay healthy all season for Phoenix?

Sorry to keep repeating this, but perspective is your best friend. Hold on tight to it.

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It’s not just that Greg Oden has to play Andrew Bynum in the Staples Center on opening night of the NBA season. That’s fine. Bring it on, I guess.

But how about this: The guy meets Tim Duncan Friday night. Shaq Saturday, Yao the following Thursday and Dwight Howard the Monday after that. After a pretty soft exhibition season, Oden opens the season with Murderer’s Row.

“Look what the league has done to him,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said Monday. “It’s a marketing thing. He goes up against the best right away. But he’s ready. He’s healthy. But people are saying this is Bynum’s breakout season and he’s in what — his fourth season? Greg’s a rookie and it’s supposed to be his breakout season.”

It comes with the territory, though. “Big guys, big expectations,” McMillan said.

Oden says he’s watched a lot of tape of Bynum. “He’s good — big and strong, you don’t want him under the basket,” Oden said.

Oden said he went through practice with great care Monday. He’s this close to starting his first NBA season and he didn’t want anything to derail it. “I wasn’t making any quick movements,” he said with a smile.

At some point, the Oden vs. Bynum matchups are going to be nationally televised every time they meet up. It’s the two best young pure centers in the game. I would guess, though, that right now Bynum would be significantly ahead. That’s fine, too. Oden needs someone to chase in the beginning of his career. It will push him. In a year, though, it’s going to be a war whenever they match up.

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