Portland Trail Blazers: Does LaMarcus Aldridge Need a 20-Second Timeout?

As the season draws on, progressive fatigue becomes a huge factor in the overall productivity of all players.

From the starters to the role players; the sixth men to the bench warmers. Everyone gets tired in the home stretch of the regular season.

LaMarcus Aldridge has undoubtedly been the rock for this Portland Trail Blazers team. He's averaging 21.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

But in order to put up such big numbers, he's had to play big minutes.

Aldridge is third in the NBA in minutes per game, averaging 39.7 each night. That kind of playing time can easily take a toll on a player's legs.

The chance for injury greatly increases when a player gets so many minutes for so many games. And another injury is something the Trail Blazers do not need.

In their 100-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs, Aldridge had nine points and three rebounds in 37 minutes. Fatigue was an obvious factor.

"I'm gassed," Aldridge said after the game. "I've been tired lately... I'm two steps slow."

But the Trail Blazers simply can't afford to rest him. He's the best player on their team and without him, they could easily lose a few games; games that are necessary for them to stay in the playoffs.

Even coach Nate McMillan said that they can't afford to sit him right now.

McMillan said, "LaMarcus can rest all he wants to in July and August. We need him now."

But is coach overdoing it a little? Even in games where the Blazers have a big lead, Aldridge remains in the game. Maybe coach McMillan needs to take some pages out of the Zen Master's book and play Aldridge less minutes?

What do you think?

The Blazers don't have a lot of depth with big men, but they do have Gerald Wallace, who is a versatile small forward that starts at power forward. They also recalled Luke Babbitt from the D-league and have Marcus Camby and Chris Johnson on deck, waiting for their number to be called?

Can LaMarcus Aldridge's playing time be cut down from 40 to 25 minutes for the rest of the regular season?