Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
LaMarcus Aldridge was hot, but his Portland Trail Blazers were not.
In the final game of the regular season, the Trail Blazers lost 99-88 to the Golden State Warriors and ended the season with a 13-game losing streak, matching the franchise record from the 1971-72 season. The Trail Blazers hobbled off the court with a 33-49 record for the season. It was disappointing, considering where the team was at a few month ago.
But it wasn’t because Aldridge didn’t try. He had 30 points and a season-high 21 rebounds in just 32 minutes of action. He scored 14 of his team’s first 17 points in the first quarter. He finished the season with a career high 38 double-doubles.
Aldridge was putting up a lot of shots. He was 12-of-23 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the line. For the season, Aldridge had 21.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Those are all up from his career averages of 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks a game.
His shooting percentage of 48.4 was down slightly from his career mark of 49.3, but that’s still a solid shooting performance. He averaged two minutes more of playing time per game this season than in his career.
Aldridge deserved a better fate with his team. He was a winner all season even if his team was not. Unlike the last several weeks of play, Aldridge was doing everything he could to make the Blazers a playoff team. Once the team went on a downhill slide, it couldn’t be stopped, but it wasn’t because Aldridge didn’t try to stop it.
