Aldridge will represent the Blazers for a second year in a row.
Trail Blazer’s power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was named to a second consecutive All-Star roster Thursday, joining Tim Duncan, David Lee, Zach Randolph, Russell Westbrook, and Tony Parker on the West bench. Aldridge gets the nod over Marc Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, although in all seriousness, Dirk has done nothing to deserve a trip this year and probably welcomes the rest (assuming he doesn’t participate in the three point contest).
Leaving Gasol out of the squad seems like the much bigger story. He anchors the league’s second best defense in Memphis, is widely regarded as one of the game’s best passing post players, and the Grizzlies have a better record than the Blazers. Then again, he’s only averaging 13 points and around seven rebounds a game – not exactly eye popping statistics. That said, I’ll bet he has some sweet Sabonis-esque dimes in his repertoire that would’ve been fun to watch in a game with so many leapers.
Congratulations to Aldridge, and here’s hoping Scotty Brooks plays him more than 9:45 this time around.
Following the Trail 