View full sizeFileBlazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge plans to donate $1,000 to Japan relief for every point he scores tonight against Oklahoma City.LaMarcus Aldridge watched the devastation and destruction unfold on TV earlier this month as a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami battered Japan. He read about contaminated water and nuclear radiation and widespread human suffering.
And the Trail Blazers’ big man picked up his phone, called his agent and told him he wanted to do something to help.
“I know they are going through a lot over there,” Aldridge said. “I had to do something.”
As a result, Aldridge, as part of a collaborative effort among several NBA players, will donate $1,000 for every point he scores tonight against Oklahoma City to Direct Relief International’s Japan Relief and Recovery Fund.
Aldridge will join Paul Gasol (Lakers), Marc Gasol (Memphis), Al Horford (Atlanta), JaVale McGee (Washington), Derrick Rose (Chicago) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City) in donating based on their performances in separate games played Friday through Sunday. Players who designated Friday as their relief game raised $77,000. Thirteen other NBA players have pledged to donate a set amount.
“We’re truly blessed over here,” Aldridge said. “We have water and we’re not dealing with that type of crisis. I’m just doing my part to try to help because I can and I think any little bit they can get is going to be big for them.”
Aldridge, who is averaging 22.1 points per game this season, decided not to set a dollar figure on the amount of money he donated because he didn’t want to limit his contribution. Instead, he’ll let his play decide the amount — he’s scored at least 30 points 11 times this season and has recorded a combined 32 points in two games against the Thunder.
“That’s the good part about it,” Aldridge said. “I’m not putting a number on it. It’s kind of like faith. Whatever number I go out and score, I’ll donate. If I have 40 that night, they get 40,000. If I have 16, they get 16. That’s what makes it kind of cool.”
Thunder matchup: The Blazers and the Thunder have played twice this season, but they will have a hard time recognizing each other when they renew their Northwest Division rivalry at Oklahoma City Arena.
Both are vastly different than they were during those early-season meetings played over a nine-day span in November, in part because each made blockbuster trades last month before the NBA deadline. The Blazers acquired All-Star forward Gerald Wallace, who has since moved into the starting lineup, and the Thunder added centers Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed and guard Nate Robinson, significantly changing their rotation.
“I don’t know what to expect,” Blazers point guard Andre Miller said of the Thunder.
During the first meeting this season, a 107-106 overtime win for the Thunder, Oklahoma City featured a starting lineup of: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Green and Krstic were traded to the Boston Celtics for Perkins and Robinson, prompting the Thunder to move Serge Ibaka and Perkins into the starting lineup.
The Thunder, who are bigger and brawnier because of the moves, are 11-2 since the deadline and 5-1 since Perkins debuted in the lineup.
The Blazers also have evolved. Their starting lineup against the Thunder in November featured Brandon Roy and Marcus Camby, who now come off the bench in favor of Wallace and Wesley Matthews. Rookie point guard Armon Johnson was the backup point guard and Dante Cunningham and Sean Marks — who were traded to Charlotte for Wallace — played a combined 36 minutes against the Thunder.
In a sense, the teams each have switched playing styles.
“They played small ball before and we played big,” Blazers forward Nicolas Batum said. “Now we play small ball and they play big. It’s going to be two different teams playing.”
And that might not be a bad thing for the Blazers, at least based on the first two games in the series.
On Nov. 4, the Blazers squandered a five-point lead with 2:10 remaining and failed to score during their first seven possessions of overtime en route to a crushing loss at the Rose Garden. Nine days later, they blew a nine-point lead as Rudy Fernandez missed a wide-open three-pointer with about three seconds left that would have won the game. The Blazers lost 110-108.
“They have two All-Stars now and Perkins makes them bigger and tougher,” Batum said. “They’re going to be different. But they are still very dangerous.”
Babbitt making most of D-League stint: Blazers rookie forward Luke Babbitt, who has been playing for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League since March 3, had one of his most successful weeks of professional basketball last week.
Babbitt scored 24 points in back-to-back games against Dakota and Rio Grande Valley, shooting a combined 19 for 31 from the field. Against Dakota on March 19, Babbitt added 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals, registering his fourth double-double since being optioned to the Stampede. His best D-League game came March 16, when Babbitt finished with a season-high 30 points and 14 rebounds against Tulsa.
Babbitt, selected with the No. 16 overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft, is averaging 19.0 points and 7.6 rebounds and is shooting 49.1 percent from the field in 13 appearances for the Stampede this season. He’s reached double figures in scoring in eight of the nine games he’s played in March, scoring at least 20 points five different times.
He sat out Saturday’s game at Austin because of a thigh contusion and a strained hip – the results of taking a knee to the hip during a game Wednesday – but is expected to return to the lineup Sunday when the Stampede play at Austin again.
– Joe Freeman
twitter.com/blazerfreeman
From www.oregonlive.com