LaMarcus Aldridge is "taken for granted," but emerging as best power forward

Considering how young we are otherwise, a productive LMA with our core, plus a deepened bench wouldn't be a bad lineup for the next 4-5 years. Deepen that bench, add another quality start-type to play 6th man (or add another starter, thereby pushing a current starter to 6th man), figure development for Lillard and some of the younger guys, and I like it.

 

I'm just waiting for Natebishop3 to strut into this thread and once again declare happily that he'd trade Aldridge for MKG and Ben Gordon since LA and Lillard aren't in the same 'window'.

 

I DOUBT HIS BBALL IQ IS THAT LOW.

 

What? The addition of Buck is what solidified the team that went to the championship two out of three years. He was the backbone of the team. The mental toughness. He played great here.

 

Buck was the heart and soul player, the blue collar guy, but never a focus of the offense in Portland. That's not taking anything from Buck, just a fact. I loved Kersey but he was not the long range shooter Nic is. I am still reluctant to compare, however, until this team reaches at least WCF.

 

Buck was certainly a great PIECE for that team, but he was not a great power forward. Without looking, I can't imagine he ever put up more than 10PPG while in Portland. He did offer some tenacious defense and rebounding, but imagine that team with LMA at power forward - that offense (which was hard to stop as it was) would have been ridiculous.

 

Definitely. When a young team cements 4 of 5 starting positions, and has a true 7 foot center project waiting in the wings and has a ROY at PG, it's a great sign that the team is heading in the right direction.

Trading Crash for the pick that yielded us Lillard has advanced our rebuild by years.

 

My only gripe with Aldridge this year, is how much he's seemed to float at times. During last season's run up to the all-star game (and the season before) he certainly seemed more efficient and steadier when it came to carrying the team through games.

However, I think it's pretty easy to connect the dots and look at that hip surgery he had last summer and understand why he's been playing more at the elbow than in the post, but he seems to be getting healthier and stronger the past couple of weeks, so maybe the sluggishness of the first month is behind him and he's about to break through and resume the level of play we saw from him the past couple of years.

We'll see.

 

Ha ha - thanks for the shout out!
I haven't been watching games lately, so I can't really speak on what he's been doing the past few weeks. Prior to that I did see some slightly improved play, but I was hoping to see him continue playing that way before buying into the idea that maybe he's improving. His RPG is certainly up, but I don't know if he's just grabbing more meaningless rebounds or if he's actually grabbing contested rebounds. It also appears that he's scoring more around the basket - that's always a good thing. But my major gripes with him haven't been about his stats (other than FG%!), they've been about his skills and toughness. For what it's worth, I did once see him put the ball on the floor and dribble past his defender for a lay-up - if that's something he's continuing to do, then color me impressed. Still, I rarely see him keep the ball high when he gets fouled on his way to the basket - doubling over and trying to get the continuation by throwing the ball off your shoulder/hip is pansy-assed. I also haven't been keeping tabs on his 4th quarter scoring, though a cursory glance makes it appear that he's finally scoring more than 4 points in the 4th quarter. But still missing clutch FTs? One of my biggest gripes about him is mostly centered around his undeserved reputation as a great shooter - so half of that gripe falls on the media for perpetrating an idea that just isn't true...but I also fault him for shooting so many jumpers when he's just not THAT good at it. It's not his fault that he's been labeled a great shooter, but it is his fault for shooting so much.
But I've always been open to changing my opinion on the guy - I just never thought it would happen. Perhaps it will though...

 

He averaged 13.6, 11.7 and 11.3 PPG his first three seasons in Portland. He also led the league in FG% 2 of those 3 seasons.

Buck averaged 9.4, 9.8 and 9.4 RPG his first three seasons in Portland, but you have to take into account that those teams played at a very high pace. The league pace, in general, was much higher back then, and the Blazers were among the league leaders in pace. Two of those three years, the team averaged over 114 PPG, compared to 97 PPG this season. There were a lot more rebounds to go around back then. If you look at Buck's TRB%, they were good, solid numbers , in the 15 - 16 range. Those are good, but not great numbers for a starting PF. Certainly better than Aldridge (currently 13), but it is amusing that Buck was considered a great rebounder, but Aldridge is consider weak. Buck was better, but not great vs. weak better.

Buck was also a great position defender, but undersized. He was a true warrior, that played good, solid defense in spite of physical limitations.

All-in-all, by the time he came to Portland, Buck was a role player. He had PER = 14.3. 14.3, 15.0 his first three seasons in Portland. He wasn't the same 18/12 player he had been in his younger years in New Jersey. You could easily argue that he was the best role player in franchise history, but he wasn't nearly the offensive player Aldridge is. Buck scored efficiently off lay-ups and dunks. He was smart enough to not take too many jump shots. On a team where he was the 5th leading scorer, he knew his role and played it to perfection.

Aldridge's role is much different. He is the focal point of the offense and is leading the team in scoring to the 3rd straight year. He is averaging over 20 PPG for the third straight season. Even in his New Jersey days, in spite of the much higher league pace, Buck never averaged more than 18.3 PPG and his career high PER was 18.6. They play/played the same position, but have/had very different roles. Aldridge is definitely the better all around player and, with his ability to run the floor would have been great on those early 90s Portland teams.

BNM

 

To me the difference between Buck and LMA - besides toughness - is that Buck knew the proper techniques for playing the PF position and LMA gets by with poor technique and increased length and athleticism. But I agree - Buck was a role-player. He was essentially Nick Collison+ who was able to excel as a starter rather than a back-up.

 

Blue... Didn't want to quote that long post, but I'm replying to it. I actually agree with your take. In order for Aldridge to be considered a superstar; he needs to do all those other intangibles you mentioned. He definitely needs to me more forceful on both ends of the court. His d isn't as much of a concern as him getting more defensive rebounds.

You did question did these rebounds happen when it counted? Well remember just the last 10 games; he's grabbed two nice late 4th rebounds for the putback. I also remember him grabbing a couple defensive rebounds late in the fourth. I think that's what's been impressing me the most. He is really doing dirty work in clutch situations. This is why I like hickson playing with Aldridge too. It seems hickson really gives Aldridge more of an opportunity to rebound.

My biggest want for Aldridge is and always has been being a double double guy. He has the skill to get there. He just needs the motivation to excell in that area.

 

Which is probably why you should be watching the games before jumping to any conclusions. Aldridge is averaging 11.0 RPG over his last 5 games, and the Blazers are 4-1 in those 5 games. And yes, he is grabbing rebounds late in games and he is pulling down rebounds in traffic. Several times during the recent road trip, I noticed LaMarcus grabbing key, heavily contested rebounds in the 4th quarter and overtime. I'd see a tightly bunched a group of four big men fighting for the board and when I'd see someone in the Blazers uniform rip it down, my first instinct was to assume it was Hickson, but more times than not it was actually Aldridge.

LOL... So, in other words, if the guy who is already playing at an all-star level improved all of his weaknesses, both real and aesthetic, you'd be happy with his play?

Aldridge is traditionally a slow starter and comes on stronger and stronger as the season progresses (and you admittd you haven't been watching the games lately - you should be, you've missed some very exciting basketball and some big wins). This year, with the off season hip surgery and a new coach, new offense and new role, it's taken him a while to reach peak performance. But, he's made the adjustments and is coming on very strong.

Most of all, beyond the stats and aesthetic qualities of his game, his improved play is helping the team win games. Lilliard and Batum got off to amazing starts. At different times earlier in the season, both were averaging over 20 PPG and leading the team in scoring. We also had a losing record at those times. They are both still playing well, but have definitely come back down to earth. Now, 34 games into the season, we are 19-15 and Aldridge is our leading scorer and still our best player. He is the rock, the cornerstone of this franchise. Yes, we need everyone else to step up, especially with our anemic bench, but in order to win enough games to make the play-offs, we need LaMarcus Aldridge to continue to play like an all-star - whether, or not, he actually makes the all-star team.

BNM

 

NOW that I'm at a computer; take a look at his shooting chart.

If you The shot attempts; he's been taking the 15-0 ft shots at a much higher rate. His shot is still that "jump shot" that has been his trademark; but the location has changed. AND I believe that we will see this number change by season's end; knowing that the beginning of the season, he took way more jump shots.

 

[video=youtube;INL5ouA4cjE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INL5ouA4cjE[/video]