Spurs Have Strategy For Aldridge

With Tim Duncan out for a couple games, leave it to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich to hatch an inventive plan for stopping LaMarcus Aldridge.

“Tiago Splitter — The Brazilian Flash,” Popovich joked a couple hours before Friday’s tip-off in the Rose Garden. “Hold him to six or eight points, I think.”

Splitter is a 6-foot-11 rookie who has appeared in 50 games this year, averaging 12 minutes, 4.2 points, and 3.1 rebounds.

Considering that Aldridge torched the Spurs — and Duncan — for 40 points in the teams’ last meeting, Popovich’s prediction would seem overly optimistic. Then again, I’m not the one with a .678 regular-season winning percentage and four NBA titles.