Portland Trail Blazers: LaMarcus Aldridge Postponing Thumb Surgery
By Shane Young
Remember this? Remember when LaMarcus Aldridge could only play 14 minutes against Sacramento because of a severely hurt thumb?
Aldridge was diagnosed with a radial collateral ligament tear in his left thumb, and was scheduled to miss 6-8 weeks after having surgery.
According to Marc Spears from Yahoo Sports, none of that will be the case now. Aldridge decided himself that he would continue to give it a try with the injured thumb, and Spears reports that he’s back in the starting lineup Saturday vs. Washington.
In the NBA, where a star seems to go down with an unfortunate injury each week, you never see anything quite like this. To some, it’s borderline insanity, sprinkled with a touch of stupidity. To others, it’s the epitome of team dedication. For those supporting Aldridge’s decision to play, it’s a sign of ultimate determination to help his teammates fulfill their season goals. It’s a type of action that explains how fed up he’s been with little to no playoff success during his career.
It’s also a very high threshold of pain. With a torn ligament in any finger, it’s constant throbbing of pain every time it bumps something, every time you catch something. Aldridge is now choosing to go out there on the court, which the intensity and physicality will only increase as the weeks continue, as a wounded troop.
“We are having a good season and I want to keep it going,” Aldridge told Yahoo. “Going to try and play with it if I can and go from there.”
It’s impressive, considering it was his decision and no part of the Trail Blazers’ organization urged him to play. He comprehends that in the West, Portland’s standing (31-13, third overall) could be totally diminished by the All-Star break. Between now and the NBA’s magical weekend, Portland is set to play 10 games. Six of them are against tough, demanding teams that currently own playoff seeds (Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston). This is after the Blazers have already lost two straight games without Aldridge.
Necessary and imperative would be the only ways to define Aldridge playing. The only way this team could snap out of their funk — losers in five of their last six games — would be to have him at his full strength.
We know he’s obviously not close to that level right now, but the first game will let everyone know how capable he is playing high minutes with a mangled thumb. If it’s anywhere close to the production he was providing before the injury, you can trust his teammates to rally around him and step up their games.
In his last 10 games, Aldridge has averaged 23.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 19.4 shot attempts per game. He’s shot 47.7 percent from the field, and 66.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line when he stretches out the defense.
In those 10 games, Aldridge has surprisingly been better in the losses than he has in the wins. In Portland’s three losses during that stretch, he’s averaged 31 points and 9.7 rebounds, while shooting 50 percent. In their five wins, he’s averaged only 19 points and 7.2 rebounds, while shooting 46 percent.
Thus, the formula is there for this team. As he’s playing on an injured thumb, they don’t necessarily need him to explode like a wild animal. When they play team basketball and everyone increases their effort and contribution, Portland is better than they are when Aldridge is doing all the work. At least, recently that’s been the case.
Spears’ report claimed that Aldridge examined himself how he could play with the hurt thumb. He tested it with a splint and it seemed to him that he could continue without any harmful consequences. It’s going to hurt, but it must be mild enough to withstand.
As of right now, his surgery is postponed until further notice. Of course, the evaluation after Saturday’s game could result in another sidelining, calling for immediate surgery. But, taking it one day at a time is the approach here.
The All-Star Situation
We live in a wacky world, where huge implications can change in the matter of a day.
Before Aldridge’s injury, it was a no-brainer that he would be voted in by the coaches as a 2015 All-Star for the West. He’d been having a monstrous season for the second-best team in the hardest conference. That calls for something, in my book.
After the injury was revealed, it was obvious the coaches could do something to alter the roster. They would’ve left Aldridge off their ballots (they haven’t voted for reserves yet) because it would make zero sense to vote someone in that couldn’t even participate.
In Kobe Bryant‘s case last year AND this year, the coaches had no control over him getting voted in with injuries. The fans voted Bryant in, because he’s a 19-year phenom that people still adore. If the fans had no vote, he would’ve missed the original ballots both years because of injury.
In Aldridge’s case, he’ll now be re-considered for the reserves.
With All-Star reserve voting being pretty strict — you get two guards, three frontcourt players, and two “wildcards” — the thought is that Aldridge will still easily fit one of the frontcourt spots. The only thing for the coaches to do now, is evaluate whether or not they should vote him in if it’s possible he’ll be hurt worse in mid-February.
At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter. It’s just All-Star voting. It’s just voting for one game, which nothing serious ever takes place. It’s a joke.
The real feature here is the fact that Portland doesn’t have to do without him.
After tonight’s performance in a splint, the decision to hold off a much needed surgery will be open for judgement.