Spurs can kiss playoffs goodbye after Aldridge's shoulder surgery

LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs reacts in an NBA game against the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 21, 2020. /VCG

LaMarcus Aldridge, star power forward of the San Antonio Spurs, has been ruled out for the rest of the NBA season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder, the team confirmed on Monday.

This was basically the Spurs waving goodbye to the playoffs. Without Aldridge, the team lost their No. 2 scorer, the No. 1 rebounder, the No. 5 assist deliver, the No. 3 3-pointer shooter and No. 1 blocker.

More importantly, Aldridge was basically the team's only solution when they ran out of offensive choices. DeRozan has no threat from downtown, not to mention he's the Spurs' true orchestrator. Rudy Gay's body and stamina limited his contribution so only Aldridge was able to change the opponents' defense thanks to his posting up skills and jump shooting.

LaMarcus Aldridge #12 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots in a game against the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena, February 21, 2020. /VCG

Aldridge hurt his shoulder against the Utah Jazz on February 21 and missed six straight games after playing against Oklahoma City Thunder two days later. Though he returned and helped the Spurs defeat the Dallas Mavericks 119-109 at home on March 10, the league decided to suspend the season because of the COVID-19 pandemic the next day.

The Spurs might have been better prepared for the bad news since Aldridge had the surgery on April 24, according to ESPN.

If San Antonio miss the playoffs, it will be the end of the team's 22-year-long record of making the playoffs. In fact, they have been struggling since Kawi Leonard left in the summer of 2018. Though San Antonio landed DeMar DeRozan via Leonard's trade, the DeRozan-Aldridge pair never reached the level the team and the fans expected them to.

Nikola Jokic (L) and Gary Harris of the Denver Nuggets defend against LaMarcus Aldridge in Game 7 of the Western Conference NBA playoffs at the Pepsi Center in Colorado, April 27, 2019. /VCG

Last season, San Antonio ended with a 48-34 record, making the playoffs before they were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in seven games. Though the team started this season 5-3, San Antonio soon suffered eight losses in a row and never reached a 50-percent winning rate again.

Currently, they trail the eighth Memphis Grizzlies by four games and their hope of reversing the situation in the restarting regular season is only theoretical. Reconstruction seems the only choice for San Antonio and they may want to start with the head coach.