Yesterday, the NBA announced that Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge and Orlando's Dwight Howard have been named Players of the Month for the month of February.
For Aldridge, it's the first time he's won the Player of the Month award in his six year career, and only the 3rd time in team's history that a Blazer has won it. Aldridge definitely made a strong case for getting the award, with the only player in the NBA that averaged more points per game in February being Carmelo Anthony. Also, by now, it's also been well established that Aldridge has carried the team on his back for much of the season.
From the NBA's official news release:
Aldridge helped the Trail Blazers to an 8-4 month by leading the Western Conference with 27.8 ppg -- his highest scoring average in any month this season -- on .563 shooting from the field, to go along with 9.3 rebounds, 1.67 steals and 1.58 blocks. Aldridge opened the month with a 40-point, 11-rebound effort in a 99-86 win over San Antonio Feb. 1. He scored over 30 points five times and posted six point/rebound double-doubles.
And from the Blazers' official news release:
"It's an honor to be named player of the month, something I will always remember," said Aldridge. "But I wouldn't have won it without my teammates and coaches, and I want to thank them as we work to build on last month's success and focus on making a playoff run."
For the season, Aldridge is averaging a team-high 22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.18 steals and 1.23 blocks, while starting all 60 of Portland's games. He has led the Trail Blazers in scoring 28 times and rebounding on 26 occasions. Aldridge has scored 20 points or more in 36 contests, including 10 games of 30-plus points.
After the first couple of weeks after Aldridge seemed to "take his game to the next level", I didn't think it would last. Now, I would venture to say that this is the LaMarcus Aldridge that we'll be seeing for a while.
