Blazers F LaMarcus Aldridge (Knee) To Play Thursday Vs. Warriors

Portland Trail Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge will play in his team's preseason finale against the Golden State Warriors after missing time with a sore knee.

Blazers forward Nicolas Batum hinted on Sunday that Aldridge might play against the Warriors.

Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports that Blazers coach Terry Stotts plans to use his regular season rotation after staying mum over the weekend on some of his "tough decisions."

"I think we're going to have a pretty serious approach to the Golden State game," Stotts said. "It'll be the first game that we've had everybody available. So I would like to at least try to get a close resemblance to a rotation that we'll use in the season."

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"I'd like the starters to get some time together and for me to get used to a rotation," Stotts said. "It's a final tune-up."

Mike Tokito of The Oregonian quotes Aldridge...

Aldridge described the issue in his left knee, which sidelined him the last two games, as a "tight muscle" that he treated with ice and stretching.

"I always worry, but everything looked good," he said. "I saw the doctor, he said it was just from running a lot, being tight, just got to try to stretch some more. I did. I feel ready."

Erik Gundersen of The Columbian also reported on Twitter that rookie guard Allen Crabbe was back with the team on Tuesday after missing time with an illness.

Aldridge underwent an MRI last Friday after sitting out practice on Thursday, and the results came back negative. He did not play on Friday during Portland's preseason win over the Los Angeles Clippers or on Sunday during Portland's preseason win over the Sacramento Kings.

Joel Freeland started in place of Aldridge against the Clippers, tallying 0 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes. Thomas Robinson had 7 points and 13 points off the bench. Robinson started in place of Aldridge against the Kings, tallying 14 points and 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. Freeland had 7 points and 9 rebounds in 18 minutes.

Aldridge missed a portion of training camp earlier this month with a quad injury.

Aldridge, 28, appeared in 74 games last season, averaging 21.1 points and 9.1 rebounds. He ranked No. 9 in the NBA with 37.7 minutes played per game in 2012-13.

Thursday's game against the Warriors in Oakland marks Portland's preseason finale.

The Blazers open their regular season schedule against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 30.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter