LaMarcus Aldridge delays surgery, turns in gutty performance in win over Wizards

Photo Credit: WashingtonTimes.com

Portland Trail Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge was supposed to have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. The injury would have sidelined Aldridge six-to-eight weeks, and the scuffling Trail Blazers may have found themselves in some trouble in the Western Conference, especially with Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum hurting as well. But instead of going ahead and getting the surgery as recommended, the power forward decided he was going to try and gut out the rest of the season and then have the surgery after the year was over.

While this may have seemed like a questionable decision at the time, it was a good one for at least one night. Aldridge scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-22 shooting in a big 103-96 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. The big man also had nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win after missing the previous two games.

At first, it looked like the Wizards were going to run away with the game. Washington went up by 14 points in the first quarter, and although Portland fought back, the deficit remained 10 at halftime. But the Blazers dominated the second half, outscoring the Wizards 58-41 to earn the victory. That included a 34-point fourth quarter in which Aldridge had eight points and Damian Lillard had nine. Aldridge did much of his damage in the final frame from the foul line, going 6-of-6 on free throws.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Portland, who had also lost five of six entering play Saturday. A four-game road trip against the Eastern Conference awaits the Blazers, and while the first game is against the reeling Brooklyn Nets, the final three games of the trip come against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks.

Then comes a February in which five of the nine games are against current Western Conference playoff teams, with a sixth against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are basically as good as a playoff team when everybody is healthy. This would have been a really daunting schedule without Aldridge, but if he can play through the pain and play effectively like he did against the Wizards, everything should be okay.

Portland is currently 32-13, which is percentage points behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the second seed in the West. Both teams are five games back of the Golden State Warriors, so it’s likely nobody is catching them. But with Aldridge sticking around, there’s a decent chance the Blazers can maintain their spot in the standings or even reclaim the No. 2 spot, rather than sliding without him.

In terms of winning the 2015 NBA championship, Portland has 18/1 odds, according to VegasInsider.com. Those odds are seventh-best in the West, slightly ahead of the Houston Rockets.