tlongII
03-30-2011, 11:31 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/03/lamarcus_adridge_shows_signs_o.html
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/adridgepregamejpg-a88b27a8f82f0b51.jpg
LaMarcus Aldridge is introduced before the start of Friday's game at the Rose Garden against San Antonio. Once he enters the game, Aldridge rarely leaves.
NEW ORLEANS -- After one of the worst individual performances in an otherwise exceptional season, LaMarcus Aldridge sat in front of his stall in the visiting locker room at the AT&T Center in San Antonio and divulged a bit of unfiltered truth that should not come as a big surprise.
"I'm gassed," he said, after the Trail Blazers' 100-92 victory over the Spurs. "I was gassed the whole game. I've been tired lately. I tried to push through it, but I couldn't find my rhythm because I was just tired. I was dead tired."
As the Blazers enter the final throes of the most important stretch of the season, their most important player has hit the proverbial wall. Aldridge ranks third in the NBA in minutes played per game, averaging 39.7, and has played more minutes this season (2,940) than all but one player (Golden State's Monta Ellis has played 2,992).
The Blazers have leaned hard on Aldridge as he flourished into one of the best players in the NBA after injuries thrust him into the role of franchise centerpiece. And it appears the demands and physical toll have finally caught up to him.
Over the past three games, Aldridge has recorded a combined 43 points and 18 rebounds. It's his fourth-lowest three-game scoring run of the season and worst since Dec. 5. On Feb. 1, Aldridge had 40 points and 11 rebounds in one game during a win over San Antonio.
During the Blazers' win over the Spurs on Monday night, Aldridge finished with nine points and three rebounds. It was just the fifth time this season he's failed to reach double digits in scoring and was the third-lowest points/rebounds combination he's registered this season. And it came against a San Antonio team that played without All-Stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and frontcourt rotation player Antonio McDyess.
Aldridge should have had a field day against the makeshift Spurs lineup that featured rookie center Tiago Splitter, the outmatched Matt Bonner and second-year forward DeJuan Blair in the frontcourt. Instead, Aldridge watched Bonner breeze by him on drives to the basket, allowed Blair to bulldoze him down low and appeared to be a shell of his usual self on offense.
It was the most glaring illustration of the way things have gone for Aldridge the past few games as he's encountered heavy legs, achy joints and a general lack of energy.
"I'm two steps slow," Aldridge said. "Like (Monday night), I felt two steps slow. Bonner went past me on the baseline and I'm going for up-fakes that I wouldn't normally go for. It's just ... when you're tired, you're not mentally into it all the way, so you make big, key mistakes. And I had some turnovers tonight just trying to force things that weren't there."
Aldridge has had an extraordinary, All-Star-caliber season. Since Dec. 15, when he replaced Brandon Roy as the Blazers' focal point, Aldridge is averaging 24.2 points and 8.9 rebounds and is shooting 52.3 percent from the field. He's twice earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors and in February was named the Western Conference Player of the Month.
All the while, he logged heavy minutes. He's played 40 or more minutes 44 times this season, including 11 games in March -- the most of any month this season. The Blazers have leaned on Aldridge especially hard in the second half of the season as he's eclipsed the 40-minute mark in 26 of the past 33 games dating to a Jan. 17 matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. With eight games left, he's already played more minutes than last season (2,922) and is just 64 shy of his career high.
Weeks ago, when Aldridge was in the middle of that incredible February run -- which included a stretch where Aldridge played 40 or more minutes in 15 of 17 games -- Blazers coach Nate McMillan was asked if his star was prepared to handle the increased workload through the end of the season.
"We don't know," McMillan said. "We'll see."
The Blazers' coach may be getting his answer. Aldridge has failed to score at least 20 points just 29 times this season and just 15 times since he caught fire on Dec. 15. Seven of them have come over the last 16 games.
After Monday's game, veteran point guard Andre Miller -- who is enduring his own share of fatigue -- approached Aldridge in the postgame locker room and offered encouragement. Miller, who held the NBA's Iron Man title before missing one game this season, is all too familiar with the ebbs and flows of an NBA season and he has learned when to push himself and when to dial it back.
The message? Your teammates have your back.
"I told him just you need to relax a little bit," Miller said. "You've played a lot of minutes. It's different for a point guard because you're not getting banged on a lot. He's down there hitting all these big bodies and playing a lot of minutes. He deserved to get gassed out. So I just told him to relax a little bit and prepare himself for the playoff run. He's working so hard, carrying a big load, he deserves to get a breather and get some help from everybody."
Therein lies the rub. The Blazers (43-31) need a refreshed and effective Aldridge if they are to maintain their sixth-place standing in the Western Conference -- much less make a playoff run. McMillan no longer works Aldridge into scrimmages and high-intense workouts at practices, but he has no intention of resting Aldridge with eight games remaining in the regular season and valuable playoff positioning at stake.
Aldridge is countering his fatigue the old fashioned way: with extra rest, extra treatment and by eating. A lot. Aldridge is one of the most health-conscious players on the team and he has been devouring more food than ever lately, loading up on carbohydrates and proteins. He also drinks nutritional supplements before and after most workouts and games.
And he sleeps constantly. After Monday night's game, Aldridge watched cartoons for about an hour with his 2-year-son Jaylen, who lives in San Antonio, and then both passed out for the night. After a flight to New Orleans and a light practice Tuesday, Aldridge sat in a chair along the baseline in New Orleans Arena next to center Marcus Camby, took off his basketball shoes and started to put on a sweat suit to leave the arena.
Camby rose to exit first, looked over at Aldridge and said: "All right, LA, you make sure to get some good rest tonight." The 15-year veteran is all too familiar with what Aldridge is going through.
"He's been carrying the load ever since B. Roy went down," Camby said. "He's done a terrific job of doing that and it's understandable he feels the way he does. He's been playing a lot of minutes. I know the coaching staff has been trying to give him some breaks here and there, but he's so valuable to the team we can't afford to have him off the court for extended periods of time. It's a tough situation for him to be in right now, especially with the playoffs coming up right around the corner. We need him more than ever."
Aldridge said he felt a little more lively Tuesday and is optimistic that he will discover his second wind soon -- perhaps tonight when the Blazers visit the Hornets in a pivotal game. With 17 days left in the regular season, it couldn't come at a better time.
As McMillan said when he walked out of the AT&T Center Monday night, pulling a black travel bag along the ground behind him through a dark tunnel that led to the team bus:
"LaMarcus can rest all he wants to in July and August. We need him now."
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/adridgepregamejpg-a88b27a8f82f0b51.jpg
LaMarcus Aldridge is introduced before the start of Friday's game at the Rose Garden against San Antonio. Once he enters the game, Aldridge rarely leaves.
NEW ORLEANS -- After one of the worst individual performances in an otherwise exceptional season, LaMarcus Aldridge sat in front of his stall in the visiting locker room at the AT&T Center in San Antonio and divulged a bit of unfiltered truth that should not come as a big surprise.
"I'm gassed," he said, after the Trail Blazers' 100-92 victory over the Spurs. "I was gassed the whole game. I've been tired lately. I tried to push through it, but I couldn't find my rhythm because I was just tired. I was dead tired."
As the Blazers enter the final throes of the most important stretch of the season, their most important player has hit the proverbial wall. Aldridge ranks third in the NBA in minutes played per game, averaging 39.7, and has played more minutes this season (2,940) than all but one player (Golden State's Monta Ellis has played 2,992).
The Blazers have leaned hard on Aldridge as he flourished into one of the best players in the NBA after injuries thrust him into the role of franchise centerpiece. And it appears the demands and physical toll have finally caught up to him.
Over the past three games, Aldridge has recorded a combined 43 points and 18 rebounds. It's his fourth-lowest three-game scoring run of the season and worst since Dec. 5. On Feb. 1, Aldridge had 40 points and 11 rebounds in one game during a win over San Antonio.
During the Blazers' win over the Spurs on Monday night, Aldridge finished with nine points and three rebounds. It was just the fifth time this season he's failed to reach double digits in scoring and was the third-lowest points/rebounds combination he's registered this season. And it came against a San Antonio team that played without All-Stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and frontcourt rotation player Antonio McDyess.
Aldridge should have had a field day against the makeshift Spurs lineup that featured rookie center Tiago Splitter, the outmatched Matt Bonner and second-year forward DeJuan Blair in the frontcourt. Instead, Aldridge watched Bonner breeze by him on drives to the basket, allowed Blair to bulldoze him down low and appeared to be a shell of his usual self on offense.
It was the most glaring illustration of the way things have gone for Aldridge the past few games as he's encountered heavy legs, achy joints and a general lack of energy.
"I'm two steps slow," Aldridge said. "Like (Monday night), I felt two steps slow. Bonner went past me on the baseline and I'm going for up-fakes that I wouldn't normally go for. It's just ... when you're tired, you're not mentally into it all the way, so you make big, key mistakes. And I had some turnovers tonight just trying to force things that weren't there."
Aldridge has had an extraordinary, All-Star-caliber season. Since Dec. 15, when he replaced Brandon Roy as the Blazers' focal point, Aldridge is averaging 24.2 points and 8.9 rebounds and is shooting 52.3 percent from the field. He's twice earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors and in February was named the Western Conference Player of the Month.
All the while, he logged heavy minutes. He's played 40 or more minutes 44 times this season, including 11 games in March -- the most of any month this season. The Blazers have leaned on Aldridge especially hard in the second half of the season as he's eclipsed the 40-minute mark in 26 of the past 33 games dating to a Jan. 17 matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. With eight games left, he's already played more minutes than last season (2,922) and is just 64 shy of his career high.
Weeks ago, when Aldridge was in the middle of that incredible February run -- which included a stretch where Aldridge played 40 or more minutes in 15 of 17 games -- Blazers coach Nate McMillan was asked if his star was prepared to handle the increased workload through the end of the season.
"We don't know," McMillan said. "We'll see."
The Blazers' coach may be getting his answer. Aldridge has failed to score at least 20 points just 29 times this season and just 15 times since he caught fire on Dec. 15. Seven of them have come over the last 16 games.
After Monday's game, veteran point guard Andre Miller -- who is enduring his own share of fatigue -- approached Aldridge in the postgame locker room and offered encouragement. Miller, who held the NBA's Iron Man title before missing one game this season, is all too familiar with the ebbs and flows of an NBA season and he has learned when to push himself and when to dial it back.
The message? Your teammates have your back.
"I told him just you need to relax a little bit," Miller said. "You've played a lot of minutes. It's different for a point guard because you're not getting banged on a lot. He's down there hitting all these big bodies and playing a lot of minutes. He deserved to get gassed out. So I just told him to relax a little bit and prepare himself for the playoff run. He's working so hard, carrying a big load, he deserves to get a breather and get some help from everybody."
Therein lies the rub. The Blazers (43-31) need a refreshed and effective Aldridge if they are to maintain their sixth-place standing in the Western Conference -- much less make a playoff run. McMillan no longer works Aldridge into scrimmages and high-intense workouts at practices, but he has no intention of resting Aldridge with eight games remaining in the regular season and valuable playoff positioning at stake.
Aldridge is countering his fatigue the old fashioned way: with extra rest, extra treatment and by eating. A lot. Aldridge is one of the most health-conscious players on the team and he has been devouring more food than ever lately, loading up on carbohydrates and proteins. He also drinks nutritional supplements before and after most workouts and games.
And he sleeps constantly. After Monday night's game, Aldridge watched cartoons for about an hour with his 2-year-son Jaylen, who lives in San Antonio, and then both passed out for the night. After a flight to New Orleans and a light practice Tuesday, Aldridge sat in a chair along the baseline in New Orleans Arena next to center Marcus Camby, took off his basketball shoes and started to put on a sweat suit to leave the arena.
Camby rose to exit first, looked over at Aldridge and said: "All right, LA, you make sure to get some good rest tonight." The 15-year veteran is all too familiar with what Aldridge is going through.
"He's been carrying the load ever since B. Roy went down," Camby said. "He's done a terrific job of doing that and it's understandable he feels the way he does. He's been playing a lot of minutes. I know the coaching staff has been trying to give him some breaks here and there, but he's so valuable to the team we can't afford to have him off the court for extended periods of time. It's a tough situation for him to be in right now, especially with the playoffs coming up right around the corner. We need him more than ever."
Aldridge said he felt a little more lively Tuesday and is optimistic that he will discover his second wind soon -- perhaps tonight when the Blazers visit the Hornets in a pivotal game. With 17 days left in the regular season, it couldn't come at a better time.
As McMillan said when he walked out of the AT&T Center Monday night, pulling a black travel bag along the ground behind him through a dark tunnel that led to the team bus:
"LaMarcus can rest all he wants to in July and August. We need him now."