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Fantasy Basketball: LaMarcus Aldridge Is Doing The Impossible

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By @bradberreman24

LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trailblazers, Fantasy Basketball

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LaMarcus Aldridge’s season seemed to be over a couple weeks ago with news he would need surgery on his injured left thumb, but the Portland Trailblazers All-Star forward only missed two games and has decided to try to delay surgery until the offseason. In six games after that relatively brief absence, he is averaging 26.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, with two 30-plus point games and five straight double-doubles.

Aldridge’s fantasy basketball owners are surely glad he has continued to play, but is he on borrowed time?

After Thursday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, when he had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Aldridge acknowledged to TNT’s Rachel Nichols that he was dealing with pain in his thumb during the first half due to taking some contact. That in itself is a troubling revelation, and it’s worth noting that Aldridge has gone 22-for-52 from the floor (42.3 percent) over the last three games, while attempting at least two three-pointers in each of the last five games.

Aldridge had a field goal percentage of 46.2 percent and averaged just over one three-point attempt per game over his first 38 games this season, which of course was prior to his thumb injury. So the recent trend of poor shooting and more three-point shots look like big red flags, and seem to show some hesitancy by Aldridge to initiate action around the basket.

He should remain highly productive as long he is able to play, but Aldridge’s fantasy owners won’t be able to replace him very well if winds up missing time down the road. With the inherent high level of risk that has to be embraced at a crucial time of the season, if I owned Aldridge in a fantasy league I would think about trading him now, at the high point in his value for this year.

Brad Berreman is a Columnist/Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.

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