HOT
The Best of the Day: April 15th, 2021
See the best of the day in sports from April 15, 2021 including Aldridge announcing his retirement, Boston's dynamic young duo, and more!
Pounding the Rock
The ‘Best of the Day’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the most significant stories, highlights, and facts going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened on 4/15 here.
NBA fans received some surprising news on Thursday after 7x All-Star big LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement due to an irregular heartbeat. The announcement came just weeks after Aldridge signed with the Brooklyn Nets. In the midst of Jaylen Brown’s breakout season and another All-Star season from Tatum, the stars are aligning for these two studs to become the best duo in Boston’s storied franchise. Also, Chimezie Metu had a ridiculous block (goaltend?) vs. Phoenix, the defending champion Dodgers are off to a historically scorching start, and PSO evaluated USC OL Alijah Vera-Tucker’s NFL potential.
Here is the best of the day from April 15, 2021:
LaMarcus Aldridge surprisingly retired at 35 years old, less than a month after signing w/ BRK
LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement due to an irregular heartbeat seemingly out of nowhere on Thursday. Aldridge was selected No. 2 overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. In nine seasons in Portland, Aldridge was a perennial All-Star candidate before signing with the San Antonio Spurs in 2015.
Brooklyn Nets big man LaMarcus Aldridge has announced his retirement.
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 15, 2021
STORY: https://t.co/U0iugfCrgB pic.twitter.com/vZj7Fptq9b
Full statement from LaMarcus Aldridge, who has retired after 15 NBA seasons that included seven All-Star appearances and five All-NBA teams: pic.twitter.com/x2st5gsAse
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 15, 2021
Injuries plagued him towards the end of his tenure in San Antonio, leading to him being bought out by the Spurs this season. Able to go anywhere, he chose to join Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Blake Griffin in Brooklyn. He played five games with the Nets before Thursday’s announcement.
Aldridge averaged 19.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 blocks during his 15-year NBA career. One of the best mid-range shooting bigs in the game, Aldridge was named an All-Star seven times and an All-Pro five times.
LaMarcus Aldridge is one of only 25 players in NBA history with 19,000+ career points and 8,000+ career rebounds.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 15, 2021
A 7x All-Star and 5x All-NBA.
Hell of a career. pic.twitter.com/CLqqVFVNn2
Now that he is officially retired, the debates of him being a Hall of Famer will officially begin due to his superb individual numbers. However, at the end of the day, Aldridge never made it to a conference championship, failed to ever be in the MVP consideration, and lacked the super longevity to reach various milestones that would be worthy of induction. While his individual accolades will put him in consideration, he’ll have a hard time getting in without any championships, MVP votes, or major milestones.
Related: Stories of the Day
THE YOUNG JAYS ARE PRIMED TO BECOME BOSTON’S BEST DUO EVER
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been showing everyone all season long that they are a duo to be taken seriously. Brown is fresh off a 40-point game against the Lakers and both are averaging career-highs in points and field goal percentages this season. Combined, the duo is averaging over 50 PPG this season alone, with 24.3 from Brown and 25.9 from Tatum.
This duo in Boston are both under 25 years of age and are getting better with each season. With this stellar production so early in their careers, they have the potential to become the best duo ever in Celtics history. When it comes to the era of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, only Pierce had a season for the Celtics with more PPG than the young stars do now, and that was before he had a teammate worthy of such consideration.
They’ve shown they can catch up to Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. Brown and Tatum have both received All-Star bids already, and are primed to obtain many more throughout their careers. McHale never averaged more than 26.1 PPG and only above 23 once. Brown and Tatum are already combining for 50.2 PPG with 5-10 more years of elite production ahead of them. Championships will be key to be considered the greatest duo, but they’re already making their case as the best scoring duo in Celtics history.
COLORS KEY | FULL CELTICS OUTLOOK
Tatum with the behind-the-back dime 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6VR17HGH45
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 16, 2021
Jaylen Brown (40 PTS on 17-20 FGM) is the first player in @celtics history to score 40+ PTS with a field-goal percentage of 85% or better. pic.twitter.com/5XBdnwo8ck
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) April 16, 2021
Tonight Jaylen Brown of the @celtics became the first player in NBA history to score 40+ points on 85.0+ percent shooting on the road against the defending champs.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 16, 2021
Related: NBA Takeaways of the Day
What a block from Metu
✈️ @Chimezie_Metu taking flight for this snag
— Barstool USC (@BarstoolSC) April 16, 2021
An absolute jaw (and pants) dropping block 🚫https://t.co/pQs0feZQOm
Related: NBA Highlights
SF Jaylen Brown, BOS (W @LAL): 40 PTS (17-20 FG | 3-5 3P), 3 AST, 9 REB, 0 BLK, 1 STL, 6 TO
#PlayerOfTheDay (4/15/21) - SF Jaylen Brown, BOS
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) April 16, 2021
TOP FACTS:
- 1st player with 40+ PTS & 85+ FG% in Celtics history
- Highest FG% (88.2) w/ 15+ FGA by Celtics player ever
- Boston tied for 4th in the East after 5 straight wins
KEY STATS:
40 PTS, 8 REB, 17-20 FG (85%), 3-5 3PM https://t.co/FchZN1usLB
Related: Players of the Day
Boston Celtics (121) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (113)
[Highlights] CELTICS (-238) d. @LAKERS (+205) 121-113 [BOS -6 | o213]
Related: Games of the Day
Related: Facts of the Day
PSO Scouting Report: OL Alijah Vera-Tucker (USC) by Ricky Eisenbart
PSO breaks down USC OL Alijah Vera-Tucker’s future outlook and how his game will translate to the next level in the NFL
Alijah Vera-Tucker's NFL Scouting Report:
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) April 16, 2021
Physical Tools: ??
Game Film: A
Production: A-
Risk: ??
Overall: ??
FULL evaluation: https://t.co/sJrg2J7CwE
Related: Latest PSO Posts
DATE: April 15, 1947
SIGNIFICANCE: Jackie Robinson became the 1st African-American to play in a MLB game, breaking the color barrier in sports
April 15, 1947: Brooklyn Dodgers 2B Jackie Robinson officially broke baseball’s color barrier, becoming the 1st African American to play in an MLB game
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) April 15, 2021
pic.twitter.com/fRFZQyJJYU
Related: Significant Sports History
Share the Best of the Day and follow below for more great sports content!
