Yikes. The Blazers’ fears about LaMarcus Aldridge’s thumb injury have come true. The big man will miss 6-8 weeks thanks to a ligament tear that requires surgery. Details, from the Blazers team website:
A second magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirms that Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge has a radial collateral ligament tear in his left thumb. He will undergo surgery later this week and is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks.
Aldridge sustained the injury in the second quarter of Portland’s 98-94 win over Sacramento on Monday at the Moda Center.
A three-time NBA All-Star, Aldridge is averaging a team-high 23.2 points (46.2% FG, 51.2% 3PT, 86.3% FT) and 10.2 rebounds to go with 1.9 assists and 1.18 blocked shots in 38 games this season. One of just three players averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds per game, Aldridge was named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the weeks ending Dec. 7, and Dec. 21, respectively.
Aldridge passed Jerome Kersey for second on Portland’s all-time rebounding list on Friday at San Antonio. Earlier this season, Aldridge passed Terry Porter for second place on the Trail Blazers’ all-time scoring list. Trailing only Clyde Drexler (18,050 points, 5,339 rebounds) in both categories, Aldridge currently has 11,782 points and 5,095 rebounds in 615 games over nine seasons.
