Chrissakes Kingspeed, why obsess over his numbers? Sheed was never a monster rebounder at any point in his career but there was no denying the versatility he brings to the floor and his ability to guard 1-5, LMA has that kind of potential.
I don't worry about LaMarcus's rebounding numbers. A lot of times he is out on the perimeter because of a switch and defending guards pretty decent, and the other times he's streaking down court which again I'm pretty positive is what he has been instructed to do.
LMA's defense is definitely a big factor for us. His ability to switch is vital to our scheme. His help on pressuring the other team's guard is also big for us.
His numbers are slightly down from last year because he was "the" big man last season. LMA has definitely improved if you watch the games. His jump shot is just money out to 18 feet, and I'm sort of glad he isn't drifting out to the 3 anymore. You can tell a big drop-off when he's out of the game. I think LaMarcus is a stud PF, and will be for years to come. I don't know if he will average 20 a game simply because we may not need it. I could see 17-19 ppg, and Oden getting 15-18 ppg, and Roy being our leading scorer at 22-25 ppg when we really get going. I really really like what LMA continues to bring every night.
He's been more consistent the last few months. In the last 23 games he's averaging 19 ppg. However, on the downside, he's only grabbed 10+ rebs in four of those 23 games. We bitched and cried over the same exact thing abour Rasheed Wallace. The guy could have averaged 25 PPG if he wanted to. I don't think either player has that killer instinct to score that many game in and game out.
I think LMA would love to score 25 ppg. It's just that Roy is the #1 option. Sheed didn't play with a player who was as good offensively as Roy is this season.
I don't think it's so much the killer instinct thing with LMA... I think it's more about relying on a jump shot as much as he does. The guy put up a bunch of jumpers tonight, and he was on, so he was efficient. If those shots weren't falling he would have had a terrible game. The problem with Aldridge is that he doesn't really have anything to fall back on when his shot isn't falling. He needs to round out his game a bit more, but overall I've been happy with his development. I think in a couple years he'll be unstoppable.
