Blazers' Rodney Hood suffers torn Achilles tendon

Just as the Portland Trail Blazers seemed to be getting back on their feet, the team was hit with a major injury to a key player.

Blazers starter Rodney Hood suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, almost certainly ending his season.

Hood suffered the injury after coming down with a rebound and landing awkwardly, then collapsing to the floor. He had to be carried to the locker room.

Entering the game, Hood was averaging 11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game with a career-best .626 true shooting percentage. Hood signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the team this offseason after a big performance against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals.

More importantly for the Blazers, Hood was one of the few players the team could trust outside of its vaunted starting backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

The team was needy enough for wing help that it signed Carmelo Anthony — a move that has more than worked out — and now it loses a starting wing. With power forward Zach Collins still out for months, the 9-13 Blazers face an uphill fight to make the playoffs just a season after reaching the Western Conference finals.

As for Hood, a torn Achilles is among the most dreaded injuries in basketball and could cost him a good chunk of next season as well. Well wishes poured out from the 27-year-old’s fellow players once the news broke.

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