The NBA's two biggest dramas came together on Friday as the Nets visited the Sixers. The Nets, of course, are without Kyrie Irving who has no return-to-play timeline. Irving is not eligible to play in Brooklyn because he isn't vaccinated. The team is not allowing Irving to play on the road either since accommodating a “part-time player” is not something they're interested in. The Sixers were without Ben Simmons, who met with his team recently and admitted he is not mentally ready to play for the franchise that made him the number one overall selection in 2016. But despite all of that there was a game to play.
On the Nets side, their void has left head coach Steve Nash looking up and down his entire roster for help. If you ask Nash, the Nets goal is to compete, while figuring out exactly who they are. On Friday they found an unlikely hero.
Things didn't look like they were headed in the right direction all along. The Nets trailed by ten with just over five minutes remaining. But front-court reserve LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up for Brooklyn and helped give them just enough to walk out of Philadelphia with a huge win.
Aldridge only played 23 minutes but he had 23 points on a blistering hot 10-12 from the field. The seven-time All-Star also kicked in 5 boards and 2 blocks. Nash may not have originally intended to rely so much on Aldridge, who abruptly retired last season because of an irregular heart-beat. But Aldridge met with medical professionals, talked with his family, and once he was cleared to play he decided he couldn't stay away from the game he loves. Now here he is, playing a clutch role in a big win just 2 games into the young season.
KD clearly excited for LaMarcus Aldridge to find his legs and play a big role in the win.
— DaveEarly (@DavidEarly) October 23, 2021
James Harden gives credit to LaMarcus Aldridge for defending Embiid on one end and spacing the floor on the other. Adds that they’ll figure out their slow starts they’ve had in both games now.
— DaveEarly (@DavidEarly) October 23, 2021
The pick-and-pop game really hurt the Sixers. Joel Embiid is a force around the basket, defensively. But he can be reluctant to chase stretch-bigs like LaMarcus Aldridge out on the perimeter to contest jump shots for fear of leaving the paint vulnerable. The Sixers chose to fall on that particular sword, hoping analytics would work in their favor, and LMA's mid-range shots would rim out. They didn't.
After the game, the former Blazer and Spur was asked about that subject.
“In this day and age the midrange is considered a bad shot I guess. But you know I got 19,000 some points off the midrange so you tell me it’s a bad shot, I don’t believe you….”
Not only did Aldridge play a role in slowing down 2021 runner up MVP in Embiid (who only finished with 19 points on 6-of-15 from the field) he just couldn't seem to miss. And now he finds himself honing in on a major major milestone. The Austin product is just 25 points shy of 20,000 career points, one of the 50 highest scorers in NBA history.
“Last year I was told I’m like 49 points from 20,000 so I don’t know where I’m at now,” said LaMarcus Aldridge. LMA added “I’m gonna go play, and when I hit it, I’ll hit it.”
Capable of a 23 point explosion like this one, we'd bet on that happening sooner rather than later. And LaMarcus Aldridge “hitting” a lot more.
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