LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge has been the best player for the Trail Blazers this seasonReuters

After defeating Washington Wizards in their last NBA fixture, Portland Trail Blazers are keen to come up with a similar performance as they take on Brooklyn Nets tonight.

The Trailblazers lie third in the Western Conference standings having won 32 games and lost 13 in the season so far.

While, the story is different for the Nets, who are struggling with only 18 wins and 26 losses and lie in the ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

To make matters worse, the team might be low on confidence as they were thrashed by Utah Jazz 108-73 in their last game.

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The Portland Trail Blazers have been handed a major boost as their key player,  LaMarcus Aldridge has stated he will play for the rest of the season, despite the injury.

Aldridge was expected to be out of the team, at least for six weeks, after being diagnosed with a radial collateral ligament tear in his left thumb.

He has postponed his surgery.

"My idea now is to play the rest of the season," said Aldridge, as quoted by AP .

One understands that it is a risky affair to play with an injury, as the chances of it aggravating increases.

"But if it gets too much where I can't handle it or I'm not playing at a very good level then I'll stop. But hopefully it goes well for us," he added.

In the last game against Wizards, he contributed majorly towards the win, scoring an impressive 26 points and nine rebounds, just missing a double-double.

Aldrirdge did not look like a player playing with a ligament tear in his left thumb.

''I'm not into the rah-rah story,'' Aldridge added. "I just wanted to come back and play. I wanted to test it out at home, and versus these guys because I felt they were a physical team, and if I could play against these guys then that would be good.''

But, it is not only Aldridge, who needs to play well to help his team win, but also point guard Damian Lillard, who has been in decent form this season as far as his shooting is concerned.

Nets are set to miss their guard, Deron Williams for their tenth straight game and his loss has been felt with Brooklyn losing eight of their last ten games.

Brooklyn Nets forward forward Mason Plumlee feels that the teams needs to give more.

"Collectively, we need to put more into the game effort-wise," he said. "It's not really a strategic thing anymore, we just need to give more."

Where to Watch Live

The game is scheduled for a 7.30 pm ET (6 am IST, 12.30 am GMT) start with live TV coverage in NBA TV in the US.

The game can be watched via live streaming online by audience across the world on NBA.com