Earlier this week, Bethlehem Shoals (FreeDarko himself) had an interesting perspective on Medium in which he coined the term “New Rationalism” in the NBA and explored the more conservative approach many teams are now taking when it comes to their players and injuries.
In the piece, among other points, Shoals spotlights the Pelicans, a team with no shot at retaining their lottery pick, resting their best player (Anthony Davis) in the thick of a playoff race:
"But there’s been a clear shift away from the play-at-all-costs warrior mentality. It’s just not worth the risk."
This is not how the Portland Trail Blazers or LaMarcus Aldridge have handled the torn ligaments in his left thumb. When the news came out that Aldridge was injured, and then that he had decided to play through the injury, it was generally viewed as heroic. It was very much the “play-at-all-costs warrior mentality.”
As a potential free agent this offseason, rhetoric surrounding the news was that Aldridge was putting the well-being of the team ahead of his own personal well-being, and this was viewed as especially generous of him (despite the many insinuations that Portland would “repay” that loyalty in the off-season).
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A night after becoming the all-time rebounding leader in Portland history, Aldridge injured the same hand (David MacKay of RipCityProject is reporting the two hand injuries are unrelated) in the first quarter in Memphis on Saturday.
Shortly after the incident he came out of a timeout and made his patented turnaround jumper as a former Defensive Player of the Year (Marc Gasol) looked on helplessly.
Aldridge didn’t play in the second half and X-rays were negative. According to Mike Richman of The Oregonian, Aldridge was listed as doubtful against the Warriors on Tuesday night.
Neither Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, or Chris Kaman played, and the undermanned Blazers put up a valiant first half effort, but when Stephen Curry and the Warriors turned up the heat in the third quarter, the Blazers just couldn’t hang.
A tough loss like that, and a five-game losing streak, might cause Portland to think that getting Aldridge back in the lineup as soon as possible is wise, but viewed through the lense of Shoals’ piece, I have to wonder, should the Blazers give Aldridge (and maybe Batum?) some extended rest over the next 13 games?
Sure the Blazers are in the thick of the Western Conference where three games is the difference between third and seventh place, but the Blazers have an advantage in their back pocket that no other team in that group has. The Blazers currently occupy fourth place in the West, and as long as they lead their division, there is no risk of them falling any lower than that.
Rip City Project
The Blazers currently sit four games above the Oklahoma City Thunder (five in the loss column), a team clinging to eighth place. The chances of Oklahoma City making up four games on Portland even if Aldridge doesn’t play again this season are remote.
And I’m not advocating shutting Aldridge down, but maybe the team should consider giving him a week off and limiting his minutes after that.
The one thing Portland could sacrifice by resting Aldridge would be home court advantage in the first round. That’s nothing to dismiss considering the Blazers are 28-7 at home and 16-18 on the road, but playing Aldridge doesn’t even assure them home court. As the standings sit currently, the Clippers would have home court in that first round 4-vs.-5 match-up.
Rest LaMarcus Aldridge in this mini-road trip in Utah and Phoenix. Then Portland has winnable home games against Denver and Phoenix again. Give Aldridge those four games off. On Wednesday, April 1 the Blazers host the Clippers. That should be the target for Aldridge’s return.
That gives him a full week and a half of rest since the Memphis game. That is the biggest game left on Portland’s schedule as the season series will be up for grabs (Clippers currently lead 2-1). From there you can pick and choose when Aldridge could grab more rest heading into the playoffs with remaining games against the Lakers, Timberwolves, and Nets.
It’s clear now that without Wesley Matthews for this year’s playoff run, the Blazers are even more reliant on the offense of Aldridge and Damian Lillard than they already were. Keeping those two fresh for the playoffs should be of paramount importance if they want to entertain thoughts of an extended playoff run.
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