San Antonio’s superstar LaMarcus Aldridge is going to miss the rest of the season due to a surgery he had to undergo.
Spurs Rule Out Aldridge
The 34-year old can’t help his teammates in the battels for the playoffs. According to the statement released by the franchise, he had a surgery of the right shoulder, and isn’t able to play until the next campaign.
Even though this procedure happened on April 24, the team from San Antonio kept the details hidden from the public, probably to help Aldridge and speed up his recovery.
However, the restart is approaching pretty soon, and that might be a reason why they decided to come forward with the info.
Aldridge is one of the best players in the league, and the best and the most influential player in the Spurs. Even though his numbers are not as they used to be in the years prior to this one, the No.2 pick overall from the 2006 draft is still the essential piece in San Antonio’s team.
With 18.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 53 games, Spurs’ game is revolving around the veteran. He does have lower figures than DeMar DeRozan, for example, but is far more valuable to the team’s game than the former Raptor.
His offensive skillset is forcing the rival’s players to make a double coverage on him, which leaves other players free. Also, the versatility of his solutions is far more diverse than with any other player in Gregg Popovich’s side.
So far, Aldridge participated at the All-Star Game seven times, and was elected in the NBA All-Team five times. It provides him the status of one of the best big-players in the last decade.
He currently has one more year on his contract following the closure of this one, in which he earns $24 million.
Spurs In the Combination for the Playoffs
Besides, Sacramento, New Orleans, Portland, and Phoenix, San Antonio, too, is in the position to capture the playoff spot. Right now the eighth-placed team in the West is Memphis, who is just four games ahead of the Spurs.
But if by any chance, they finish ninth, with under four wins of distance, they can play a best-of-three series with the eight-placed and whoever wins, advances further. So the chances for their comeback into the playoff race are very good.
For the moment, the situation is not bright for the five-time champions. They lacked chemistry in the first part, and 27 wins with 36 losses are just a mere reflection of their performances.
Coach Popovich was trying to put all the pieces into their place, but it didn’t work out well, and there were already some rumors that there might be a big rebuild starting already after this campaign.
Aldridge’s place in that situation wouldn’t be guaranteed, because he already now has 34 years and is very expensive for his age. For now, there won’t be any talks about that, but once the season concludes everything is possible,
