Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes that Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is getting tired... ------------------------- "I'm gassed," he said, after the Trail Blazers' 100-92 victory over the Spurs. "I was gassed the whole game. I've been tired lately. I tried to push through it, but I couldn't find my rhythm because I was just tired. I was dead tired." As the Blazers enter the final throes of the most important stretch of the season, their most important player has hit the proverbial wall. Aldridge ranks third in the NBA in minutes played per game, averaging 39.7, and has played more minutes this season (2,940) than all but one player (Golden State's Monta Ellis has played 2,992). ... As McMillan said when he walked out of the AT&T Center Monday night, pulling a black travel bag along the ground behind him through a dark tunnel that led to the team bus: "LaMarcus can rest all he wants to in July and August. We need him now." ------------------------- ed: bumped to front page