The Portland Trail Blazers' already-thinning frontcourt took a mortal blow on Friday, with the announcement that star LaMarcus Aldridge will require thumb surgery and will miss six-to-eight weeks of action.
Per Des Bieler of the Washington Post, "Aldridge tore a ligament in his left thumb on Monday, in a loss to the Suns. According to the announced timetable, the 6-foot-11 forward could rejoin his team in mid-March, about a month before the playoffs start."
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Portland’s frontcourt situation has already been pretty bleak, as the team has been playing without centers Robin Lopez (broken hand) and Joel Freeman (shoulder injury). However, Alridge is leading the team with 23.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, so his absence looms large for a Trail Blazers team looking to maintain its foothold in the highly-competitive NBA Western Conference.
Aldridge considered playing with his hurt thumb, but with the advice of his doctors, he decided surgery was the best course.
“We just talked to the doctors and they didn’t feel the risk [of playing with the injured thumb] was going to be worth the reward,” Aldridge said. “It could be worse on the back end, or I could even wait two weeks and try to play and not end up playing anyways. So we just felt like, to us, the right thing to do is take care of it now.”
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