As teams continue to jockey for position in the Western Conference — and fight for 50 wins just to get in — one of the early season darlings continues to sink.
That would be the Portland Trailblazers. Once the talk of the NBA, the Blazers have hit a rough patch at the worst possible time, losing nine of their last 13 games and are now just a half game ahead of the Golden State Warriors for the 6th spot in the West.
That doesn’t sound so bad, but if you look just below the Warriors, the Blazers are now just 2.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for ninth.
And well, ninth does not quite get you in the playoffs. And a playoff miss would be a far cry from the early season championship talk, albeit a bit premature.
These dire straights have caused LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland’s star forward and an early season MVP candidate, to rush back from injury. Due to a back contusion, Aldridge has missed the Blazers last seven games, including Tuesday nights loss at Orlando.
Yikes.
Here’s more from Basketball Insiders Alex Kennedy:
The star power forward wanted to play on Tuesday against the Magic, but had trouble running prior to the game. He’ll try to practice at full speed on Wednesday, facing contact for the first time, and then attempt to return for Portland’s game against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.
“I wanted to play tonight, but I can’t run,” Aldridge said following the Blazers’ loss to the Magic. “So if you can’t run then what do you do? I’ve been wanting to come back. I didn’t think it would take this long, but it ended up being more serious than we thought it was. I’ve just been trying to get back out there. It’s a process and we’ve done everything that we can do, the medical staff and myself. I’m going to work out tomorrow and see how it feels. … I’m trying to go no matter what [on Thursday]. If I look good enough to play, then I’m going to play. It’s on the medical staff.”
Back issues are nothing to be taken lightly, and it’s one of the most difficult areas of the body to figure out how to treat. Aldridge claims that his biggest hurdle in returning to the court has been his mobility.
“It messes with your running,” Aldridge said. “The last couple of days have been better, so that’s been positive. … It’s gotten better. The last two days it has been better, but it’s not normal. I still had a discomfort running and that’s why I wasn’t out there, I couldn’t really move. But the last two days have been great.
“It’s not really my game that I’m worried about, it’s just being able to move. I mean my lateral quickness seems fine, it’s just running. I hit that spot, and when you flex back your glute, it touches that spot that I really knocked hard on the floor, so that’s my only worry.”
The Blazers could use Aldridge now more than ever. It’s a good sign that he wanted to play on Tuesday, because the Blazers have Wednesday off before traveling to Atlanta on Thursday and Chicago on Friday to wrap up a five game East coast road trip before hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday back in Portland.
LMA’s reward for rushing back from injury would be a battle against Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson followed by battling with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Despite the bruising he would be setting himself up for, watching the Blazers drop like flies in the standings may force him back onto the court.
“It makes me want to play even worse, yes it does,” Aldridge said. “But it’s not about me, it’s about the medical staff and when they say I can play. I’ve been wanting to play, but honestly if you can’t move then you can’t play. … It’s been hard because I know what I can help with at times, I’ve seen areas where I can make guys’ life easier out there. I know at times they can use what I do, so it’s been hard to watch. But I had to do it, I had no choice. I’ve tried to take what I saw and tried to store it in my memory so when I start playing again I know what I saw and I make sure I don’t do it. I can’t sit for long periods of time [watching the games], so I’m up and down, talking to the TV, pacing around, things like that.”
“Guys are tired,” Aldridge said. “It’s a tough road trip and our shots aren’t falling right now. Guys are competing and playing hard and playing the right way, it’s just guys are just tired. Hopefully I can come back next game and try to help out with that. Guys are playing hard, it’s just our shots are not falling and guys are just tired. … [I can tell from the] body language. Guys are trying, but they’re, like, one step slow. I know guys want to win and I know all these guys work hard, it’s just we are one step slow.
“There’s a sense of urgency to get wins, as there should be. We definitely let ourselves slide too far. We all want to get wins right now and we understand the magnitude of trying to trying to take care of business right now, so I think everybody knows the importance of winning. … I’m trying to stay in the moment. We need wins. I want to get healthy. I want to play again. That’s my main focus right now.”
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