LaMarcus Aldridge An All-Star Once Again **UPDATE**
By Mike Acker
LaMarcus Aldridge is heading to the All-Star Game. Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
It’s official, LaMarcus Aldridge will participate in his second NBA All-Star Game.
Here are some Tweets confirming it:
Hearing @JHarden13 and @aldridge_12 have indeed made West All-Star team. Official annoucements in minutes
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 24, 2013
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Zach Randolph, LaMarcus Aldridge and David Lee are in as West reserves.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) January 25, 2013
New on OregonLive: LaMarcus Aldridge becomes 11th Blazers player chosen to a second NBA All-Star Game http://t.co/qiagdhI6
— oregonlive/blazers (@blazersblog) January 25, 2013
TNT makes it official: Western Conf. coaches have voted #Blazers PF @aldridge_12 to All-Star Game as a reserve. It's his 2nd All-Star nod.
— Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) January 25, 2013
Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge makes All-Star team, source tells Y! Sports.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) January 25, 2013
I can confirm, #Blazers F LaMarcus Aldridge was just notified he has been selected to Western Conference All-Star reserves.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 25, 2013
Well-deserved selection! Congrats to LA @aldridge_12 of @pdxtrailblazers for making his 2nd NBA All-Star team in a row! #RipCity
— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) January 25, 2013
Following Wednesday’s win over the Pacers, LaMarcus was not confident that he would get selected to represent the Western Conference in Houston. I can neither confirm nor deny that his post-game attitude was a put-on. What I can say is, LA has been better than decent the last few weeks, even with Portland dropping six straight games.
The reaction from the local media and fans to LA’s selection is positive, as you’d expect it to be. Across the NBA Twitter-sphere though, fans seem to think taking LaMarcus over Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors was a mistake.
Here are a couple examples:
West snubs: LaMarcus Aldridge and Zach Randolph over Steph Curry and Marc Gasol. East snub: Luol Deng over anyone else (mainly Brook Lopez).
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) January 25, 2013
How did @stephencurry30 not make the All-Star team, but Lamarcus Aldridge did? Smh
— Sal (@The_Standout) January 25, 2013
Take Lamarcus Aldridge off and put Curry in...the Warriors have beaten every good team this year
— Chubbs Peterson (@macktology101) January 25, 2013
To nobody’s surprise, really, Damian Lillard was not selected to the All-Star Game. He’s been great, there’s not doubt about that, but the last guard selected in his rookie year was Michael Jordan. Not even LeBron James got the All-Star nod in his rookie year. Kevin Durant made the All-Star Game in his THIRD season. Dame not getting selected doesn’t count as a snub. He’ll get there, don’t worry about that.
Damian will certainly be playing in the rookie game. So at least he’ll get a chance to showcase his talents against the other members of his draft class.
@mikeacker | @ripcityproject | mike.acker1@gmail.com
**UPDATE**
The team has released an official statement announcing LaMarcus’s selection to the All-Star Game.
Here it is:
"LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE NAMED TO 2013 NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR TEAMAldridge earns second straight All-Star bid, will represent Portland in Houston on Feb. 17PORTLAND, Ore. (January 24, 2013) – Portland Trail Blazers forward/center LaMarcus Aldridge was named a 2013 NBA All-Star reserve by a vote of Western Conference head coaches, it was announced today by the league.Aldridge will make his second consecutive trip to the NBA All-Star Game after making his first career appearance in 2012. He is the 11th player in franchise history to be selected an All-Star multiple times and the eighth to earn the distinction in consecutive seasons.“Everyone in the Trail Blazers family is proud that the work and dedication LaMarcus shows on a daily basis to this organization was recognized by the opposing coaches in the Western Conference,” said Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey.Aldridge, 27, ranks ninth in the NBA in scoring with 20.7 points per game to go with 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.95 steals and 1.28 blocks in 40 games (all starts) this season. Portland’s leader in scoring and blocked shots, Aldridge has led the Trail Blazers in scoring 15 times, rebounding 16 times and blocks on 22 occasions.“I’m very happy for LaMarcus, he is the foundation of what we are building here,” said Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts. “He is very deserving of this honor and I’m glad he was recognized by my fellow coaches.”The Dallas native joins Miami’s LeBron James as the NBA’s only two players averaging at least 20 points and eight rebounds this season. Aldridge is also the league’s only player averaging at least 20 points while committing no more than two turnovers per game.Aldridge has enjoyed a stellar month of January in which he ranks tied for second in the NBA with nine double-doubles and sits 11th in rebounding (10.5).The starting five in the Western Conference, decided by fan balloting, consists of Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Blake Griffin (L.A. Clippers), Dwight Howard (L.A. Lakers) and Chris Paul (L.A. Clippers). Rounding out the reserves from the coaches’ vote are Tim Duncan (San Antonio), James Harden (Houston), David Lee (Golden State), Tony Parker (San Antonio), Zach Randolph (Memphis) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City).The 2013 NBA All-Star Game will tip-off at 5 p.m. (Pacific) on Sunday, Feb. 17, from the Toyota Center in Houston. The game will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages."