Hardwood Paroxysm Presents: First round moments from the NBA Playoffs

LaMarcus Aldridge can’t leave Portland on that note, can he?!

By Chris Reichert (@Chris_Reichert) — Upside & Motor

When I was younger I used to remember playing sports with older kids and thinking to myself, “man they’re just so good”. That wistful notion that those kids are the best sticks with you and really resonates, until you see them play kids older than them and you realize that your belief in them was all for not.

I don’t want to cast Aldridge in a negative light due to one bad series, but as I watched him foul out of Game 5 against the Memphis Grizzlies, it suddenly hit me that Portland’s best player (and one of my favorites) maybe isn’t as elite as I had once believed. Weirdly, almost simultaneously, I realized that if he leaves and signs with the Spurs my once belief will almost assuredly come to fruition and it will eat away at my insides for all eternity. 

There were 31 seconds left until the inevitable doom of the Blazers not making the second round of the playoffs, Aldridge had just fouled out and all I could think was “dammit he better not leave after this bulls**t!”.

LMA finished the last 7:48 of the 4th quarter going 0-4 from the field and subsequently fouled out. Here I am wallowing in my sorrows and somehow Portland fans are thrilled that McCollum scored 33, when they clearly should have been sulking in the realization that the cornerstone of this franchise is leaving and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it!

It’s a pity this is how I will remember Aldridge as a Blazer, but I’m super pumped for Spurs’ fans whose team won’t skip a beat as they pick up a 29-year old All-Star in the prime of his career to replace their hall of fame power forward of 18 years — good for them!