Edit - Maybe "horrible rebounder" isn't the right way to put it. But rather, why does Aldridge not get as many rebounds as other PF's his size? He's a tall guy at 6'11. Has a pretty decent vertical. Yet he's averaging 7 boards a night, which is pretty generous looking in my opinion. I really have no idea how a PF playing 35+ minutes can somehow manage to get less than 5 rebounds some games. Is he just lazy? I know we have Pryz in the middle, but still. There's a lot of time where neither Pryz nor Oden are in the game but LaMarcus still can't grab more than 10. With his height and athleticism, I've expected to see a handful of games where he gets 15+ but that's strangely hard to come by for him. With Oden out, Pryz being sick, he needs to step up his game in this department for us in this stretch of games. He's had a few games where he gets on the O-boards and does some powerful put back dunks, but that has never been consistent for a whole game, let alone the whole season. It's really his defensive rebounds that need work. I think he relies way too much on our guards to pick up boards and we miss out on a lot of easy ones. It angers me so much when there's more Blazers in the paint but we simply get out-hustled by a guy like Jose Barea.
He's a reasonably good offensive rebounder. He's just a finesse player and doesn't attack the defensive glass. That's "soft" to me. Whether it's laziness or just a physical or mental weakness isn't clear to me. Ed O.
On offense he plays out on the perimeter a lot, but still manages to be a pretty darn good offensive rebounder. On defense, he always switches onto perimeter players (or the PF he is guarding is on the perimeter) when the shot goes up, which along with regularly playing next to Joel and Oden who rebound like crazy (per minute) I think makes up some of the reason he doesn't rebound as much as he should. Probably sounds like an excuse, but meh... I also think he should be gettin' at least 9rpg, but i'm fine with LMA's game and how he is improving year to year.
Portland is currently #2 in the league in Rebound Differential... or collectively they are doing great on the boards. Should guys be ripping the ball from teammates to pad their individual stats? If they are boxing out and tipping the ball to a teammate like I saw both do several times last night, I really don't think it matters which Blazer is collecting the actual stat. STOMP
If reasonable means top 10 in total offensive rebounds and top 20 in offensive rebounds per game then yes. I happen to think that is exceptional offensive rebounding. Oden by the way also is a really good offensive rebounder FWIW
Yea well it is no coincidence that the Blazers have been outrebounded in the majority of their games since Oden went out. The Blazers immediately went from one of the top rebounding teams in the league, to below average instantly. The only games they have outrebounded their opponent are the blowout against San Antoinio, and the Clippers game.
Not going to argue that LaMarcus is a banger, but I don't quite get you calling him soft, Ed. You've always been a Rasheed supporter, yet LaMarcus's career 2.7 offensive boards per game makes Sheed's 1.5 look pretty sad. Of course, with Sheed, we'll never know for sure whether it was just a physical or mental weakness either.
So, is this thread valid criticism, or is it just another example of "fickle" fans? I have a hard time keeping up these days. LMA is a plus on defense, and his offensive skills offset his defensive rebounding IMO. Of course, his one weakness is magnified when the person who was drafted to offset that weakness has difficulty staying on the court.
He's a good offensive rebounder, but on defense ends up being the switchee on pick n rolls a lot, putting him farther away from the basket. Also, having Joel and Oden when healthy takes away a lot of chances. Even with those excuses/reasons, I'd like to see a bit more from him, especially with Oden out.
#1) LaMarcus is a "soft" player, ie, plays more to the finesse game. He will never be a dominating rebounder. #2) LaMarcus is a fundamental, team rebounder. He is more inclined to do what you are supposed to do, which is find an opponent to put your body on, ie, box out. Doing this, sometimes another player will get "his" rebound. The guards as you mentioned. Or Joel/Oden who both think every board is "theirs". LaMarcus lets them have it. Doesn't seem to care about stat padding. You can see this in action just by watching the games. Observation is confirmed by the team having better rebounding numbers with LA on the floor than when he is off. At the very least, his "soft" rebounding doesn't hurt overall team rebounding. #3) LaMarcus is one of the fastest PF's in the NBA, and to try to take advantage, he looks to leak out when he can. That is in conflict with defensive rebounding. McMillian has been saying he wants the team to run (smartly) when it can. And when you have Pryz (and Oden when healthy), why wouldn't you want LaMacus to leak out, and also play to his strength? Seems the Blazers wanted things this way. #4) LaMarcus is a pretty good offensive rebounder. He would have more, but for his dominating mid-range game keeps him out of position so often. As it is he is 17th in Offensive Rebounding Rate. #5) LaMarcus is a primary offensive option. His focus and energy are more directed towards being excellent in that arena. Excellent rebounding is harder than many realize. It isn't only "effort". You need to constantly practice anticipating rim bounces, cram every game for scouting notes on the other team's rebounders and shooters shot tendencies, etc. In the same way we wish Brandon Roy played excellent defense, it would be nice if LaMarcus expressed his inner Rodman - but that doesn't make them bad players just because they aren't excellent at every aspect of the game. Especially with younger players, you have to pick and choose what parts of their game to emphasize. #6) The Blazers decided to create a division of labor. Since going into training camp this season the Blazers found themselves with TWO outstanding - nay - dominating - rebounders - there was little reason to spend a lot of time and worry about LaMarcus being a great rebounder. Pryz and Oden can't score that well. But, they sure can board. LaMarcus is a premier scorer, but is "soft". Instead of trying to make Pryz a scorer and LaMarcus a bad-ass rebounder, the team decided to let each focus on their best skill. #7) The Blazers play at a slow pace, are a good shooting team and allow opponents to shoot well. Fewer misses provide fewer opportunities for boards. LaMarcus' total board numbers won't look as good as a similar quality rebounder who is on a fast pace team and/or a team that makes/causes more missed shots. On that type of team LaMarcus per game numbers would look a bit better. LaMarcus has a Total Rebound Percentage of 12. Not great. But he shares a similar rate this season with: Amare 13. Yet Amare has a game average of 8.1 to LaMarcus' 7. David West 12.7% has an 8 per game average. Dirk 12.6%, has an 8.3 per game average. Or, we could have traded a real valuable asset in order to move up to the number 1 overall pick that year and had Andrea Barganni instead of LaMarcus. Then we would have a guy with a rebounding percentage of 10.3% getting 5 boards per game. Sweet.
I never said that Rasheed wasn't soft. He certainly was on the boards, although his effectiveness with his perimeter shooting puts him farther away from the bucket most of the time than Aldridge is. Rasheed was a more aggressive defensive player, though. Ed O.
Masbee raised several good points. I would offer one more (at least I hope it is a good point!). I'm not sure LMA is as strong as he needs to be in the legs. While he boxes out, he (too) often seems to get bumped off balance. While he keeps his opponent away from the ball, this makes it hard for him to grab the rebound either.
