The Trail Blazers need LaMarcus Aldridge back.
Portland is 3-8 in their last 11 and lost to lowly Orlando on Tuesday. They have slid down to fifth in the Western Conference, given up home court in the first round, and now find themselves just two games ahead of nine seed Dallas (tied with 8 seed Phoenix) and the possibility of sliding out of the playoffs completely.
Portland need’s it’s All-Star power forward — and they will get him back Thursday night against Atlanta reports Chris Haynes at CSNNW.com.
Aldridge missed seven games after a hard fall on his back in a game against the Spurs. What kept him out longer than expected? It hurt to run.
It hasn’t been one thing during Portland’s slide, both their offense and defense have struggled. Aldridge and his 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds a game, his floor spacing on offense and solid play on defense, can help change that.
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Portland has 10 games left, four on the road (including the Hawks Thursday) and five against teams over .500. Not a tough schedule, you would think Portland could hold on to its playoff spot. Getting Aldridge back makes that much more likely.
