LaMarcus Aldridge Injures Thumb

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Andrew R Tonry, GoLocalPDX Contributor

UPDATE:

X-rays of LaMarcus Aldridge's left hand are negative. He will be further evaluated on Tuesday.

— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) January 20, 2015

 

 

Even on an off-night, Damian Lillard carried the Blazers down the stretch to victory.

More on that in a moment. Because the Blazers might have a significant injury on their hands. (No pun intended.)

Early in the second quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge swiped at a driving DeMarcus Cousins. Going for a block before Cousins brought the ball up, Aldridge followed through and whacked his left hand against Cousins' knee. Aldridge appeared to hyper-extended his thumb, as can be seen here:

Aldridge knew something was wrong, looked at his hand, and quickly went back to the Blazers' locker room. Before halftime the team released a statement that he had a left hand injury and would not return. Aldridge reportedly underwent x-rays, but the results have yet to be released. The thumb he appeared to hurt, it should be noted, is on his left, non-shooting hand.

 

 

To be sure, losing the Blazers' leading scorer and rebounder for any amount of time would be devastating--doubly so because Portland's front line is already precipitously thin, as Robin Lopez and Joel Freeland are both out with injury.

We will have more on this story as detail emerge. Now, back to the game.

For the better part of three-and-a-half quarters--even while Aldridge was in--the Blazers struggled. Kings Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins scored while the Blazers bricked. Yet the Blazers, who fell behind by as many as 13, hung around long enough to watch the Kings unravel in the fourth quarter.

Midway through the final period the Blazers, playing unlikely bench dogs like Will Barton and Thomas Robinson, went on a 12-2 run, capped by a Nicolas Batum three-point. Portland took their first lead since the second quarter.

Still, the Kings pushed back. It was nip and tuck until Cousins fouled out with 1:42 remaining.

Then Lillard did his thing.

He began by snagging an offensive rebound and scoring on the put back. Then, with :34 seconds remaining, he lit the Moda Center on fire with this drive and dunk:

 

 

The momentum, however, was squashed by a pair of official reviews, which seemed to drag on forever. 

And while Lillard did come up with a few crucial plays in the last two minutes that pushed the Blazers over the top, he also missed a few few free-throws that would've iced it much sooner.

Still, considering that the Blazers had lost their previous three games, and that severity of Aldridge's injury is yet unknown, the win provided the Blazers and their fans something to smile about--if only a moment.

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LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE: N/A
Before hurting the thumb on his non-shooting hand Aldridge looked sharp. He had 10 points.

NICOLAS BATUM: D
Another carbon copy, poor performance for Batum. He finished with eight points, four board and four assists. And while his one made three-pointer (of four attempted) was an important one, the Blazers could've used much more from Batum with Aldridge out most of the game. Should Aldridge miss significant time, it'll be more important than ever for Batum to get his act together.

CHRIS KAMAN: D-
Let's be frank: Kaman was, at best, a non-factor. He played 19 minutes, in which he managed four points and four rebounds, and struggled with DeMarcus Cousins. Indeed, as being forced into the starting lineup has highlighted Kaman's deficiencies, one can only shudder at the thought of asking for more should Aldridge's injury demand it.

DAMIAN LILLARD: C-
Tough night for Lillard, who shot 6-of-19 from the floor and 2-of-9 from deep. At times he appeared to be pressing, forcing difficult shots from distance. Still, he made a few plays down the stretch that changed the game.

WESLEY MATTHEWS: C-
Matthews was active and fighting all game, even though he couldn't buy a bucket. He hoisted a staggering 12 three's, of which he made only two. He was a little better close in. Overall Matthews went 7-of-20. 

THOMAS ROBINSON/WILL BARTON: B-
Both Robinson and Will Barton saw extended minutes, as the Blazers rotation was upended with Aldridge out. Both offered much-needed energy, as well as a few boneheaded mistakes--their young careers in a nut-shell, really.

IMPORTANT STAT: FOURTH QUARTER TURNOVERS
Looking at the poor personal grades, it's difficult to believe the outcome was a Blazers victory. Part of that was due to the Kings' ineptitude. Part of that was due to Portland's home crowd advantage. And part of that was due to turnovers. In the fourth quarters the Kings turned the ball over eight times while the Blazers took perfect control of the ball. (How one explains the Blazers win in terms of rebound discrepancy--the Kings won the battle of the boards 53-35--I have no idea.)

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