LMA... What would you rather have?

I would rather a 20/12 guy, than a 25/8 guy. I really think Aldridge has it in him.

 

I'd rather have a 25/12 guy over both. Or a 30/15 guy.

 

LOL you and me both. I'm just thinking of something Aldridge could get. You think he could be a 25/12 guy?

 

Well, I've got some bad news for you, LaMarcus is probably never going to be a double digit rebound guy ... it's not because he doesn't care, it's not because he's not a very, very talented player and it's not because he's lazy. He's a mediocre rebounder because he doesn't have the instincts (or a big butt). A lot of this particular talent in the NBA comes down to knowing how to read the ball as it's traveling through the air and intuitively understanding angles. At this fairly advanced stage of his career (year 6) he's unlikely to suddenly be a revelation on the boards.

Assuming he can even get to 25/8 (decent chance) let's forget numbers for a second; what I want to see LA focus on is becoming truly great at the things he's already pretty good at. To me that means improving his face-up game, his post-game and becoming even more versatile on defense. I want the best LaMarcus we can get, not a radical transformation into a Kevin Love/Z-bo clone.

 

I don't think LaMarcus will ever average 12 boards per game.

 

I don't know, I think Aldridge does have at least 10 boards a game. But we are winning, and it's good that he is scoring, so it's not a #1 need.

 

Besides you wanting it to be true, what evidence have you ever seen that he can be a double digit rebound guy? The only way I see it happening is if he ups his minutes to 48 per game.

 

Yeah...if he plays 42 minutes a game.

 

He got 19 rebounds a game. I've seen many other games with him getting 15. If he got them, then he has the ability to get them again.

 

Steve Blake also got 18 assists in a quarter one time ... that doesn't mean I expect him to ever average 11 for a whole year.

 

Actually the talent level between Blake and Aldridge is laughable. Aldridge has the talent and athleticism to get 10+ boards a game. You talk about the "Big butt" thing, yet Camby was a known heavy rebounder and is a toothpick.

 

And looking at this link

LMA had plenty of games of over 10 boards a game. It wasn't a fluke, like a blake 18 assist game. He is very capable of getting 10 boards. I don't buy that he doesn't have rebounding in him.

 

He also talks about how rebounding is reading how the ball comes off the rim. Guys like Kevin Love and Marcus Camby are great at this. That's why you always see them in the right position to grab or tip a ball. Aldridge doesn't have this skill, he gets a good portion of his rebounds with the ball falling into his lap. He'll never be a great rebounder, and you should give up this idea that somehow getting more stats makes him a better player. He should work on what makes him a great player, like his shot, or post game. That's the best chance he has of reaching superstar status.

 

So all those games on my link, were rebounds falling in his lap? You think 36 games last season with 10+ boards was just being lucky?

 

You're really going to cherry pick the "big butt" comment (which was thrown in mostly as a joke)?

And really you're only half-right; LA has plenty of athleticism to be a great rebounder but he absolutely lacks the "talent", because he just doesn't have whatever intangible(s) that makes for a great rebounder ... and I don't care, because I like him for all of the other great things he's able to do.

 

I think LA played over 40 minutes a night in a helluva lot of those games and he was almost completely out of gas at the end ... but if you want to keep bulldogging this go right ahead.

 

A lot of rebounds fall into your lap when you're playing huge minutes and are very tall.

 

I'd rather have a 34-24-36 gal.

 

I do to... But I think he is very capable of averaging 10+ boards a game. He had 36 games 10+ last season, and around 15 more of 8-9 boards. Basically half the season, he was able to get close to or over 10 boards a game. He will be a star regardless. I'm just stating something I think he can do and it will help our team. Maybe playing more in the post will help as well. It's hard to get a board, when you are shooting 20 ft from the basket.

He isn't a Kevin Love or Zbo rebounder, but he's very capable of being a Horford type rebounder.

 

Aldridge got plenty of rebounds as a center last year, when Camby went down. As a PF, he doesn't go after them, because our system sends the center to the boards but has the forwards leak out on the break. So if you want a 25/12 Aldridge, you have to grind him through the mill as a center instead of playing him easier minutes as a PF.

My solution: Let LMA be himself (25/8), and pair him with a rebounding Center.