So do you ever while shooting the shit with the players on the plane talk about the opinions that go on amongst this group we have here? I would think that would be a pretty funny if the players knew of some of these extreme opinions.
I don't think he would make it through one year. KP would be fired before the year was out. LMA would dominate on GS IMO.
Only Roy is truly untouchable, but I doubt we'd get equal value back for Oden or LMA in any trade given their still untapped potential and low salaries. Roy is among the best players in the game. He's entered that elite level like a Chris Paul, LeBron James, Kobe, etc. where he IS the franchise. Even in a straight up trade with some of these other players, you could argue against making the deal (such as Kobe is too old, LeBron would leave at the first chance), but he's on that level. The others aren't, but as I said you'd be hard pressed to get equal value back.
I have been feeling for a while that LaMarcus is just a fine PF - nothing special, nothing bad - fine. He's certainly not untouchable. He does what any decent PF in the NBA does - 17 and 7. NBD.
He's not a better defender than Oden or Batum. I don't even know if I'd say he's better than Roy defensively.
He obviously isn't untouchable... Roy isn't untouchable if we can get LeBron, but I wouldn't trade LMA. Bosh would probably leave, as would Amare. Other than those 2, not many young PFs i'd take over LMA. His game fits w/ Greg, and in a couple years they will be the best front court in the NBA.
If you really believe what you just wrote then you aren't watching the same games I am. LMA is not necessarily a good/great post defender but he's is very active with his hands, is good at funneling guys into help defenders, and is without a doubt our best perimeter defender. If you don't believe me I'll direct your attention here: http://www.82games.com/0809/0809POR.HTM and you can see for yourself what his presence and absence mean to the team (it's really simple: +7.8 when he's on the floor -7.7 when he's off).
what chance do facts combined w/logic stand against blustering emotion? Even if these Blazers turn into a consistent contender starting next year, I don't expect the complaining here to stop... not even if they win a championship or two. The same posters will still be calling the coach a moron, proposing ridiculous trades, and making ultimatums about must wins in December. We're treated to this sort on a daily basis despite the club being well ahead of most everyone's preseason predictions. Heck, this thread was started when LA has been trending up on his season stats going for 19.5 on 51% with 7.2 boards and over a steal and a block a game in the last 10 games. They are one of the youngest teams in the league starting 2 rookies with another in the rotation experiencing lots of success against the meat of their schedule and yet some posters want us to believe our glass is only half full... of piss. LA is a very nice player with his best years ahead of him who fits well on both ends of the court. He has the reputation of being a hard worker and a popular player among his teammates. I'm sure KP would trade him for LaBron and a few others if they were offered up so he's not untradable... pretty much no one is. But as I'm looking at it, the grass on the Blazer side of the fence is about as green as it gets and LA has been playing great. I'm enjoying having the team way over 500 and looking like they're more likely to host the first round of the playoffs then miss them. I'm especially enjoying this considering the putrid Nash era which preceded this one. Life is good! STOMP
I am watching the same games you are. LMA has been a big disappointment on defense, he hasn't lived up to his reputation at Texas. Yes he has long arms and busy hands and makes plays, but he is not consistent, he's not tough (in fact he's soft), he can't keep people in front of him, he's not blocking out, he's not rebounding up to his potential, he's not controlling space. He's simply not doing any of the things that great defensive big men do. And if by funneling to other defenders you mean getting out of the way and letting them right by then I agree. Defense is a well rounded skill, not just doing one or two things well occasionally. Nash gets a lot of steals, nobody would say he's even an average defender. You're using a subjective expression (not a statistic) to prove you point? +/- stats are Batum is by far this teams best defender, in fact he's probably a top-20 defender in the NBA right now. Joel and Oden can't guard and shut down any or all of Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Dwayne Wade, Tracy McGrady and really anybody in the NBA like Batum has done as a rookie. As soon as Batum is replaced by Outlaw or Rudy the entire teams defense immediately takes a dive. As soon as Batum was benched and taken off Wade, Wade went off and demolished the team. It happens against pretty much everyone Batum faces. He shuts them down, then he's replaced and that player goes off. People don't understand how good Batum is. He's equal to Kobe as a rookie prospect, IMO, and I watched every game of both of their rookie seasons. When do we play the Cavs? I bet Batum does a great job on LeBron, then he's replaced and LeBron will tear up Rudy and Outlaw. Only homers think LaMarcus Aldridge is a great defender. No other fan or analyst is going to make that claim, only homers.
who's the homer? Lebron has Batum by at least 50lbs (same height)and is just as fast if not faster...The only person who stops Lebron is Lebron
And seriously, even if Aldridge was a good perimeter defender, that's not what you want in a PF. It's a nice bonus, but you NEED interior defense from your POWER forward. Aldridge has been embarrassed repeatedly inside. Look at last season where he was so afraid of LeBron that he actually ducked in fear when LeBron went to dunk over him. Then on the game deciding drive instead of stepping inside to stop LeBron from taking an easy GAME WINNING LAYUP Aldridge decides to get out of the way and step outside, away from the basket.
I didn't say stop, I said he'd do a great job. Please work on your reading comprehension skills before posting in the Blazers forum.
