NBA Portland Trail Blazers

Young Players Will Have A Big Hand In Portland Trail Blazers’ Success

Fresh Videos

By @b2brennan

July 11, 2014; Soobum Im: Convince LaMarcus Aldridge to Sign A Contract Extension This Season

Soobum Im- USA Today Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers are having yet another unfortunate run of injuries. Yes, I’m still crying about Brandon Roy and Greg Oden. Next up on the list is beloved superstar LaMarcus Aldridge with his second injury this season. The first time he missed three out of four games, and now it’s 6-8 weeks. There are some young players who will need to step up in his place over the next two months.

But first, what’s with all the hand injuries this season in Portland? I haven’t seen this many hand issues since Brandon Bostick (too soon?). This list is absurd:

Aldridge – thumb surgery, six to eight weeks

Robin Lopez – broken hand, missed 19 games and counting

Damian Lillard – sprained two fingers, no games missed

Nicolas Batum – wrist issues all season, no games missed

CJ McCollum – broken thumb, missed 14 games

Joel Freeland – shoulder injury, missed last 10 games (kind of counts?)

Chris Kaman – always has tape on his hand, not sure if that means anything

That’s a pretty long list of solely hand injuries. It’s amazing how one of the only guys not on that list is Wesley Matthews. He’s the one diving for every loose ball and looks like he’s going to break his wrist every time he punches himself for missing a three-pointer. Anyway, sorry to get off track, but let’s look at the young players who need to step up.

McCollum, Meyers Leonard and Thomas Robinson are my big three. McCollum has shown signs of being able to get his own shot and score in a number of ways, and Portland will need that in order to make up for missing Aldridge’s 23 PPG. Leonard might be the least expected (50 percent FG, 40 percent 3P, 90 percent FT). They’ll need his efficiency along with his potential to be a rebounder and shot blocker. Robinson is a beast. There’s a reason why Mike (Rice) and Mike (Barrett) call him Truck or Tank. He’s explosive and has shown some around-the-hoop scoring ability which is another asset needed off the bench.

Aldridge’s injury sounds like it could spell doom for the Blazers, but they have the young weapons to make up for it in other ways. In order for Portland to remain successful, they’ll need everyone to step up, but those three stick out to me. As a fan, let’s hope they can prove themselves, and let’s also hope they watch their hands.

Brian Brennan is a Portland Trail Blazers writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b2brennan.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on