If you're not on the L-Train, what are you waiting for?

How is that ironic? Seems more hypocritical than ironic.

 

You're not even worth my time, Brian. Keep fighting the good fight, if that's how you wish to spend your weekend.

 

LOL! Gotta work on those trolling skills, Sly.

 

Man, D-Rose got ugly.

 

WTF! That's takin' it to a new level.

 

Oh my. LOL


Daddy use to say, "Give a man a little rope and let him hang himself." Of course, it's a figure of speech, and I don't mean it to be literal. Maybe he did though, I don't know.

I think the take away from all this is that if you're going to nit-pick at Blazers for the sake of trying to diminish the enjoyment Blazer fans experience from appreciating their stellar all around play, on a Blazer forum no less, troll somewhere else.

Brian talks out of both sides of his mouth. He doesn't even realize I'm calling him out BECAUSE he's all over LA's jock strap. He DID NOT simply say, "here is LA's shot chart and it appears it's not as good as it should be, and here are some possible explanations as to why."

No, Brian's response was, LA sucks, he's not even the MVP of the Blazers, he's a terrible shooter, and I going to my grave trying to validate the argument I've been making for years (according to some posters like PapaG) that LA should have been traded for scraps. So when someone shuts him down and makes him feel silly for ranting that LA isn't the MVP of even the Blazers, I and others see through this ruse and call it out for what it is. Is that "I told you so"? Is that "More holy than thou art"? You can decided, but I already know the answer depending on whether or not you think LA should should have been a Chicago Bull (Denny), or should have been traded years ago (Brian), or whether you are loving this team and how they work the offense better than ANY team in the NBA (Blazer fans).

 

QFT (Quoted For Truth.) It's the "story" Brian is trying to convey, the totality of his argument that I addressed. It is not that he pointed out that perhaps LA isn't making as many shots as some may think, it's that he built his argument around a different premise entirely, that LA is not even the MVP of the Blazers. He took a belief he holds dear, having wanted to trade LA for years, and sought out an advanced stat (see: Dwight Jaynes) to support his belief.

It's a horrible way to make an argument. And while I don't doubt Brian feels he "laid the smack down", I'm feeling even more confident in my argument knowing people have to really, and I mean REALLY, reach to confirm a long-held a deeply rooted bias toward LA.

When you have to resort to "you don't know what you're looking at, you don't know anything about basketball... you don't watch the game... etc.", as Brian did, you've already lost the argument.

As we see that argument can easily be flipped as Bufalo Blazer did, and what does it prove? Two individuals who neither believes the other knows what they are talking about. lol So, let's cut that argument out of the discussion and look at #1 offense, 30-9, and Brian's malcontent with LA for reason even he can't rationalize with more than a shot chart that lacks context.

QFT

QFT And it is this misconception that makes him feel that I am telling him "I told you so", when I'm really just pointing out his bias and suggesting he be forthcoming about it. And better still, put a sock in it and stop trying to sharp shoot and diminish everything good that Blazer fans want to appreciate about LaMarcus "MVP" Aldridge. Is it really shocking that on a Blazer fan forum, Blazer fans talking about how great LA is playing?

What was so controversial about my OP that solicited such vitriol and animus toward LA from Brian I'll never know.

Simple solutions to complex problems. The downfall of humanity. Yes, let's dumb it down. smh

Let's play a game I like to call: KISS.

● Denny is a Bulls Fan.

● The Blazer lead the NBA in 3P% - 39.8 (technically 0.1% behind SA)

● Denny's "choice" is a false one. It should be: would you rather take contested 3P shots at a lower rate OR uncontested 3P shots at a higher rate. One requires LA in the line-up, one does not.



The Blazer are 4-0 versus the best 2 teams in the West, 2-0 on their home court. They did so with the 3 ball and ball movement, created by LA in the post. Every team in the NBA respects his jump shot. Inexplicably, Brian does not and Denny do not.


I'm not going to force anyone to accept this reality. Unfortunately, that won't stop me from presenting a counter argument for my own entertainment, and to share my opinion with other Blazer fan who also are ecstatic with the amount of success the Blazers are having this season.

 

I spent a little time on NBA.com playing with their Player Shots stats and a few things popped out that make me think that Stotts knows a bit about how to best use his All Star. Here's a chart sorted by shot attempts in the 15-19 foot range:



The thing that stands out is that LMA leads the league by a huge margin in shot attempts in this range. He's attempted 299 so far and has made 141 shots from that distance, or 47.2%. The next closest player in shot attempts at that distance, Gerald Henderson, has "only" attempted 207 shots and made 83 for 40.3%. Dirk is clearly the best shooter in the league at that distance at 50.2%, but LMA's shooting percentage is remarkable given his volume of shots in the 15-19' range.

Now, let's move in to the 10-14' range:



Dirk is first and LMA is second in the league at shot volume at this distance. Notice, though, that LMA's shooting percentage has dropped to 41.4%. Still respectable, but a clear decline in efficiency over his shots in the 15-19' range.

Move in to the 5-9' range:



LMA drops down to a tie with Tim Duncan for 18th place in shot volume. But look at his shooting percentage; it's dropped to 31%! Shots are more tightly defended in that area so a decline is to be expected, but 31% is the lowest of any player on this chart.

Looks to me like Stotts and LMA know where his strength lies and are maximizing shot attempts in that area. Moving in closer, unless it's to inside of 5 feet, is not going to increase LMA's effectiveness.

 

Which leads open looks for the rest of the team and 39.8% 3P%.

30-9

Nice work. Rep.

 

Repped. You answered my question, and BrianfromWA never even tried to present an alternative on how best to use LMA offensively. Being critical is easy. Finding solutions is why people get paid big bucks in the NBA. Well done, eblazer. I hope we can all have another board party for a playoff game this year!

 

Y'all were way ahead of me. Can't take a day off without getting way behind on this forum. lol

 

e_blazer for President.

 

A tool is only a good as the individual using it. You're trying to use a rolling pin to open a can of soup, and you've gone and spewed Campbell's all over the Kitchen again. smh

 

Brain disagrees.

He also feels that if you disagree with this perception, although I'm not sure how my OP solicited this type of reaction, that you don't understand the game. He got everything he asked for in my response, and a whole lot more from other's.