Empty the Bench

Let’s hope this isn’t something that sidelines Aldridge very long, much less have a detrimental effect on his very promising career. It’s being reported all over the place now, but we first read about Aldridge complaining of dizziness and a rapid heart beat against the Clippers over at True Hoop. From Brian Hendrickson’s blog on The Columbian:

Aldridge left Saturday’s game with 4:44 remaining in the first quarter after experiencing dizziness. He was taken to a local hospital for observation and was released after receiving fluids to treat dehydration. But as a precautionary measure, Aldridge wore a heart-rate monitor on Monday to check for any abnormalities. That test came back inconclusive, and with two differing opinions Pritchard said the team was obligated to run more tests to determine the cause.

Pritchard said Aldridge would undergo one more test in Portland, then fly to Los Angeles later in the week for another series of tests with several doctors that include more than just heart specialists. Pritchard said Aldridge was doubtful for this weekend’s three-game road trip to Texas, and his availability beyond that is uncertain.

We saw something like this with Eddy Curry before he joined the Knicks, and he seems to be doing fine nowadays, so hopefully this is nothing but an irregular hiccup that Aldridge quickly recovers from. “Quarterback” Joey Harrington also experienced an abnormally fast heart rate during his tenure with the Detroit Lions, and he, too, made a full recovery (which is not the case with his career). Thus far in his rookie season, the second-overall pick in last year’s draft is averaging 9 points, 5 rebounds, and over 1 block a game.