AT&T CENTER – With a 22-point win over the Golden State Warriors Saturday evening, the San Antonio Spurs (51-14) have tied the Warriors (52-14) in the loss column for the best record in the NBA. Should both teams go down to the final game of the season to see who clinches the number-one overall seed in the standings, the Spurs helped themselves out by winning the regular season tie-breaker against the Warriors.
Still, for San Antonio, Saturday’s win was just a part of their season. The team’s main focus is on the overall health of forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who has been diagnosed with a minor heart arrhythmia and is out for an indefinite period of time.
Prior to facing the Warriors, Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich provided the latest update on Aldridge, stating that Aldridge will continue undergoing further testing in the coming week.
“Sure, you just think more seriously,” said Popovich of Aldridge’s status. “Tony (Parker) it’s his back, and Dejounte (Murray) it’s his pelvic bone, and then somebody says, ‘heart’ and you start thinking a little more possible long-term kind of stuff.”
“That’s a little scary, but, you don’t go there yet.”
“They’re doing tests, they did some tests today and they’re going to continue it on Monday,” continued Popovich. “He’s going to see some people on Monday and based on what they do and see, we’ll figure then what we’re really looking at. I don’t know right now.”
While the Spurs don’t know how long Aldridge will be out, there is hope that their other top scorer, Kawhi Leonard, could return to the court as soon as Monday.
“He’s just moving through the (concussion) protocol,” said Popovich. “We expect and hope he’ll be fine by the end of it. It just takes a while. The next possible game is Monday. I’m hopeful he’ll be ready for that.”
Monday the Spurs will host the Atlanta Hawks. While they can see the number one seed right in front of their sight, the team’s overall hope is that Aldridge will come out his situation with a positive outcome. For the team, a healthy Aldridge long-term is more important than a basketball game.
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