Deandre Ayton misses Trail Blazers game due to ice around his home

NBA players have become well known for taking "load management" days, and that's often to the chagrin of the fans who would rather see their favorite star player on the court than in street clothes on the end of the bench.

That's part of life in the NBA, though, whether fans like it or not. There's a lot of basketball to be played and for some players, taking a day off here or there allows them to be fresh for the home stretch. That's, at least, the justification.

Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton has missed his team's last few games with a knee injury, so chances are he's itching to get back into action and not even wanting to think about load management. 

Unfortunately for him, Mother Nature had other ideas on Wednesday. He was set to return for the Blazers on Wednesday night, but an ice storm that hit the Portland area on Tuesday left the 7-foot center homebound.

The ice was apparently bad enough that even a team of people sent to help Ayton by the Blazers wasn't successful in freeing him from his driveway.