The Brooklyn Nets were literally inches away from heading to the NBA Finals last season. Unfortunately for them, Kevin Durant stepped on the line when he made that iconic bucket in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the eventual champs Milwaukee Bucks.
That bittersweet moment still lives in the head of Nets veteran LaMarcus Aldridge, who for his part, was unable to take part in Brooklyn's playoff run last season. Aldridge had to watch from the comfort of his own home after he was forced to retire following a heart scare. The seven-time All-Star recently revealed that in his mind, he believes that things may have ended differently if he was with his team in the postseason:
“I definitely felt I could have helped in some type of way, whether it was trying to play defense or being down low, trying to get some shots to the rim,” Aldridge said, via Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “It was hard to watch because they were so close and the guys just needed one more player with all the injuries. I definitely could have tried to help.”
There were so many factors that came into play for the Nets last season, but there's no denying that their injury woes were one of, if not the biggest factor that led to their eventual downfall. For his part, Aldridge is using this as fuel now that he's returned for the Nets:
“It’s definitely motivation, but this team is a little different as far as it’s kind of stacked,” he said.
To say that the Nets are stacked would be a bit of an understatement. They are the heavy favorites to go all the way this season. Let's just hope they're healthy enough when it matters the most.
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