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PORTLAND, Ore. – LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t walking through that door tonight for the Portland Trail Blazers. The Celtics don’t plan on letting that affect their mindset heading into their matchup at the Moda Center.
Aldridge, a three-time All-Star and the NBA’s sixth-leading scorer, is officially listed as out for tonight’s game due to a left hand injury. The absence of a player of Aldridge’s caliber oftentimes leads to a lack of focus by an opposing team, but Boston understands that it can’t afford to have that happen tonight.
“If we do (lose focus), we’re in trouble,” Brad Stevens said. “We won’t be successful if we look at it that way.”
The Celtics know first-hand that such is the case. They have played multiple games this season during which the opponent has lacked one of its top players. Boston has typically come out on the short end of those games.
One such loss stands out to Jared Sullinger. Nov. 12 is a date he will not forget anytime soon.
“You always look at the game when we played the Oklahoma City Thunder and there was no Russ (Russell Westbrook) and no KD (Kevin Durant),” Sullinger said Thursday morning, “and they just came out and played simply harder than us because they knew they were down two superstars.”
Sullinger admitted that the Celtics had a mental lapse heading into that game. They thought they could get by without bringing their best since Oklahoma City was missing its best.
Wrong. The Thunder won that game by 15 points and led by as many as 19, teaching the Celtics a lesson they have not yet forgotten.
“Every single night you’ve got to understand that you’ve got to bring the intensity, the effort, the heart to win basketball games,” said Sullinger, “because nothing is given in the NBA.”
Especially when your opponent has already racked up a 31-12 record this season.
Portland is undoubtedly one of the top teams in the league, despite the fact that it has dropped four of its last five games. It has plenty of firepower to get by while Aldridge recovers from his injury.
“This team that we’re playing against tonight has a guy that is one of the best, if not the best, fourth-quarter players in the league in (Damian) Lillard,” Stevens commented. “They’ve got another guy who’s second in the league in 3-point makes with (Wesley) Matthews. Another guy who’s gone through a little bit of a cold streak but has killed us and had 29 last night in (Nicolas) Batum. (Chris) Kaman smoked us the first game we played.”
In other words, as Stevens summed up, “I don’t think we have to worry about one person being out and that affecting us.”
One would certainly hope so. The Celtics have already learned their lesson this season in regard to taking a team lightly while its superstar(s) watch from the sideline. Boston does not want to – and cannot afford to – let that happen tonight while Aldridge sits for Portland.