The first half of the Portland Trail Blazers’ season went better than anyone expected. Not only did they win 36 of the 53 games before the All-Star break, they were the only team in the league that used the same starting lineup for every game. That is an amazing stat. This league is so physically taxing that you rarely see a team stay so miraculously healthy.
Well, the injury bug finally caught up with the Blazers. Not only did they lose Joel Freeland for a month just before the All-Star break, word came out Tuesday that LaMarcus Aldridge is out for a week with a groin injury and Meyers Leonard is out for 3-4 weeks with a sprained ankle. This thin front court almost became non-existent.
Injuries are never good things, especially when it happens to the best player on the team. But is there possibly a benefit to playing a few games without L.A.?
When a team is on a streak, like their 53 straight games with the same lineup, players play through injuries to keep the streak alive. These guys do not live under a rock. They know what the media is saying and how everyone kept asking how much longer they could stay healthy. These are some of the most competitive people in the world. Nicolas Batum played weeks with a splint on a broken finger, whether that was to keep the streak alive or just because he’s tough, he’s not the only one that has played through pain for the Blazers.
However, this team’s goals are completely different at this point than they were before the season. Before the season the thoughts were that this team was a borderline playoff team that could grow together and maybe add another piece or two to build for the future. Now, there is little doubt that this is a team that is going to be competitive in the playoffs in the Western Conference.
There is a delicate balancing act when it comes to winning games now and being fresh and healthy for the playoffs. Coach Gregg Popovich of the Spurs has been criticized and praised for the way that he treats his aging vets when it comes to resting them even when they’re healthy. On multiple occasions he has sat Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan while citing “Old” on the injury report as the reason they didn’t play.
Having a healthy, fresh Aldridge is going to be very important down the stretch at the end of this season when it comes time to really battle for playoff seeding. If it takes a week or a little more for him to get healthy, you’d rather he sit now than in March or April.
Having such a thin front court will also give a few guys the opportunity to play heavy minutes and show Coach Terry Stotts that they deserve to get more consistent playing time. I think that the two that are going to benefit the most are Thomas Robinson and Dorell Wright. Robinson will have to step up in rebounding and in helping Robin Lopez defend the paint. Wright will play some stretch-4 when the Blazers are forced to play small ball.
The next week has a handful of winnable games, but they get significantly harder without the anchor of Aldridge. Starting with the Spurs on Wednesday; the Blazers play the Jazz, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Nets.
The Blazers really need to come out and win 4 of these games in the next week to really establish themselves as a contender. That is a tall task for a team lacking their leader and All-Star. I think it will open up the door for some other guys to step up offensively and it may even open the door for some kind of Trade Deadline deal this week to obtain another big man. Keep an eye out for that.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
