The Blazers do not have an injury curse.
The Blazers do not have an injury curse.
The Blazers do not have an injury curse.
The Blazers do not have an injury curse.
The Blazers do not have an injury curse.
The Blazers do not have an injury curse.
The Blazers do not have an injury curse.
Or so I wrote a couple weeks before this news of Aldridge being shut down for hip surgery.
Hm.
So do they?
Well, first off, Aldridge has had hip surgery before coming to Stumptown, and when you mess with one side of the body, many-a-times the other side figures out a way to screw itself up as well.
And secondly, no. Stop thinking that. And even if the Blazers have ended up with another star under the knife, this season was lost anyway. There would be no OKC upset a brewing in that first round. They’re too on. We’re too off.
And the Blazers can’t even tank their season towards a better draft pick, because the pick right below them (which actually belongs to them as well) is seven games “ahead.” Impossible ground to make up, unless you think the Nets are miraculously going to win seven of their next five and the Blazers rattle off seven straight losses (with only five remaining of course).
So now what? What’s this offseason to bring?
The Blazers have a bunch of money to drop. They have a good draft situation. Steve Nash is coming(?).
But really, who cares?
Because it’s all little-picture stuff. The above spells “we can transform ourself into a mediocre playoff team.” It doesn’t spell championship, and that’s what Rip City wants, no?
And none of the above actually matters championship-wise unless Aldridge becomes a super(duper)star. You don’t win without a superduperstar.
And the only way for him to take that leap this summer is to make that star-speckled Olympic team. He has to.
This hip injury and subsequent surgery is not about him getting shut down for the rest of the season. This injury is about him representing our country, flying down the court with the nation’s greatest, and learning how to lead from the ones who do it best.
Snagging a spot on a twelve man roster filled with win-first guys like Kobe, Durant, Rose, Love, Paul… plus the insane talent of Howard, Wade, Bosh, Melo… led into battle by the one and only Coach K., would do a world of awesome for Aldridge’s game.
There’s a slew of evidence for such.
Rose represented the Red, White and Blue, then became the youngest MVP in NBA history and carried his team from 8th seed to conference finalist, losing only to the team with three prior Olympians.
Durant? Oh, he only doubled up on scoring titles (only 11 players in history have done the same) and improved his 50 win OKC squad to 55, willing their way past Memphis to the conference finals as well.
Westbrook? Yeah sure, he’s a bit of a hothead, but he jumped from 16.1 PPG to 21.9, the year after Turkey 2010, also playing a gigantic part in getting his squad to the WCF.
Tyson Chandler? He arguably was the second most important piece on the team that, oh wait, yeah, was crowned NBA champion the year after his time with FIBA, effectively anchoring a defense that took down a destined, three-headed Heatle monster.
Then, of course, there’s Kevin Love, who made my second favorite leap (Bulls fan, gotta go Rose), somehow beating out Dwight Howard for Board King with an insane 15.2 RPG, a 4.2 per-game improvement, as well as obliterating his 14.0 PPG with a neat 20.2.
Damn. He barely played in Turkey too.
And this was just from the 2010 FIBA Championships. One year in history.
We could go back. The most blinding transformation obviously came after that magical 1992 Dream Team Scrimmage, deemed “The Great Basketball Game Ever,” where Michael Jeffrey Jordan announced to the rest of the league’s superstars that he was the alpha dog, and none ever would ever seize his throne.
Aldridge can be one of the above. Aldridge can take his insane skill-set and body-type, bump bodies with the best on a daily basis, combine it with a full summer of watching how the big boys prepare, and take Portland basketball to the next level.
If the Blazers want to be consistent contenders, then they need Aldridge to learn from the best. To hang with the best. To gain the confidence only held by the best.
To be the best.
He needs to become the best power forward in the league. He has to take over. He has to be Portland’s #1. And if Portland wants to win the ‘ship, they need other teams to be deathly frightened of its best player. They have to walk in the Rose Garden thinking “We can’t stop Aldridge, so what’s plan B?”
Because a top ten baller isn’t coming to Portland.
A top ten baller must be carved of LaMarcus.
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