The thread about whether the Blazers have a chance included the sentiment that Lamarcus Aldridge is not capable of the necessary level of dominance to take over and single handedly change playoff games. I contend that is not the case...or at the very least has yet to be proven.

1. I think we can all acknowledge that the heavy workload that LMA shouldered last year, from both a minutes and positional standpoint, had a detrimental effect on him by the time the playoffs rolled around.

2. It is my opinion that the stretch of dominant basketball displayed by Aldridge in late 2010/early 2011 has been minimized and marginalized in our minds due to the events that followed.

12/15 @ DAL 35 pts 10 reb 14/26 FG

12/17 MIN 36 pts 10 reb 15/22 FG 5 blks

12/18 GSW 17 pts 12 reb 06/10 FG

12/20 MIL 29 pts 19 reb 12/18 FG

12/25 @ GSW 15 pts 08 reb 07/21 FG

12/27 @ UTA 26 pts 07 reb 10/19 FG

12/28 @ DEN 18 pts 13 reb 09/17 FG 7 blks

12/30 UTA 27 pts 03 reb 10/18 FG

01/02 HOU 25 pts 11 reb 10/22 FG

01/04 @ DAL 28 pts 10 reb 11/23 FG

01/05 @ HOU 27 pts 13 reb 11/18 FG

01/07 @ MIN 28 pts 10 reb 11/20 FG

01/09 MIA 31 pts 14 reb 12/23 FG

01/11 NYK 19 pts 10 reb 08/18 FG

01/14 @ PHX 25 pts 04 reb 09/15 FG

01/15 NJN 27 pts 09 reb 09/18 FG

01/17 MIN 37 pts 12 reb 15/24 FG

01/19 @ SAC 23 pts 09 reb 10/24 FG

01/20 LAC 28 pts 08 reb 13/20 FG

01/22 IND 25 pts 12 reb 08/20 FG

01/24 SAC 09 pts 07 reb 04/14 FG

01/27 BOS 17 pts 16 reb 08/20 FG

02/01 SAS 40 pts 11 reb 16/23 FG

02/02 @ DEN 18 pts 09 reb 07/14 FG 3 blks

02/04 @ IND 14 pts 10 reb 04/12 FG 4 blks

02/05 @ CLE 20 pts 10 reb 09/19 FG

02/07 CHI 42 pts 08 reb 15/23 FG

02/11 @ TOR 37 pts 10 reb 14/25 FG

02/13 @ DET 36 pts 04 reb 12/17 FG

02/14 @ MIN 21 pts 06 reb 08/19 FG

02/16 NOH 34 pts 07 reb 13/18 FG

02/23 LAL 29 pts 14 reb 12/18 FG

02/25 DEN 24 pts 14 reb 09/20 FG 3 blks

33 Games:

Lamarcus Aldridge - 26.3 ppg 10.0 rpg 10.33 FGM/19.33 FGA (per game) .534 FG %

Portland Trailblazers - 21-12 .636 win % (compared to .585 for the season)

Dallas Mavericks 2011 Playoff Statistics:

Dirk Nowitzki - 27.7 ppg 8.1 rpg .485 FG%

Next Leading Scorers: Jason Terry - 17.5 ppg, Shawn Marion 11.9 ppg, Jason Kidd 9.3 ppg

To Summarize: At this point in time I am entirely unconvinced that Lamarcus Aldridge is incapable of playing at the necessary level for playoff success. I also would gladly stack Gerald Wallace, Wes Matthews, Nic Batum, and Raymond Felton against Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, and JJ Barea.

What did they have that we don't? A Tyson Chandler more than anything, but I think the general gap between the two teams is greatly overstated. I believe that our capability for being a championship caliber team is closer than people think.

Weigh in below. Go Blazers

(Sorry about the lack of a jump, the post looked much better before I published it and then some things happened)