Just happened to look up Aldridge's numbers, and it's truly stunning how little he's changed from last year, and even the biggest Blazer homer has to be stunned at how little he's changed. I mean, he's one bad/good game away from being statistically the exact same player he was last year. With Oden in and out of the lineup, all the changes the team has made, and the growth most young stars undergo, I find it just astonishing how close he is. Is this Aldridge from now on? (I'm not really complaining--these really aren't bad numbers for a second/third banana, provided his defense improves.) http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/players/4130/index.html Code: <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr class="cnnRow1"><td class="cnnCol0">Year</td> <td class="cnnCol1">Team</td> <td class="cnnCol2">G</td> <td class="cnnCol3">GS</td> <td class="cnnCol4">MPG</td> <td class="cnnCol5">FG%</td> <td class="cnnCol6">3P%</td> <td class="cnnCol7">FT%</td> <td class="cnnCol8">OFF</td> <td class="cnnCol9">DEF</td> <td class="cnnCol10">RPG</td> <td class="cnnCol11">APG</td> <td class="cnnCol12">SPG</td> <td class="cnnCol13">BPG</td> <td class="cnnCol14">TO</td> <td class="cnnCol15">PF</td> <td class="cnnCol16">PPG</td> </tr> <tr class="cnnRow3" onmouseover="this.className='cnnRow3';" onmouseout="this.className='cnnRow2';"> <td class="cnnCol0">2006-07</td> <td class="cnnCol1">Trail Blazers </td> <td class="cnnCol2">63 </td> <td class="cnnCol3">22 </td> <td class="cnnCol4">22.1 </td> <td class="cnnCol5">.503 </td> <td class="cnnCol6">.000 </td> <td class="cnnCol7">.722 </td> <td class="cnnCol8">2.3 </td> <td class="cnnCol9">2.7 </td> <td class="cnnCol10">5.0 </td> <td class="cnnCol11">0.4 </td> <td class="cnnCol12">0.3 </td> <td class="cnnCol13">1.2 </td> <td class="cnnCol14">0.7 </td> <td class="cnnCol15">3.0 </td> <td class="cnnCol16">9.0 </td> </tr> <tr class="cnnRow2" onmouseover="this.className='cnnRow3';" onmouseout="this.className='cnnRow2';"> <td class="cnnCol0">2007-08</td> <td class="cnnCol1">Trail Blazers </td> <td class="cnnCol2">76 </td> <td class="cnnCol3">76 </td> <td class="cnnCol4">34.9 </td> <td class="cnnCol5">.484 </td> <td class="cnnCol6">.143 </td> <td class="cnnCol7">.762 </td> <td class="cnnCol8">2.9 </td> <td class="cnnCol9">4.7 </td> <td class="cnnCol10">7.6 </td> <td class="cnnCol11">1.6 </td> <td class="cnnCol12">0.7 </td> <td class="cnnCol13">1.2 </td> <td class="cnnCol14">1.7 </td> <td class="cnnCol15">3.2 </td> <td class="cnnCol16">17.8 </td> </tr> <tr class="cnnRow2" onmouseover="this.className='cnnRow3';" onmouseout="this.className='cnnRow2';"> <td class="cnnCol0">2008-09</td> <td class="cnnCol1">Trail Blazers </td> <td class="cnnCol2">62 </td> <td class="cnnCol3">62 </td> <td class="cnnCol4">36.7 </td> <td class="cnnCol5">.485 </td> <td class="cnnCol6">.176 </td> <td class="cnnCol7">.761 </td> <td class="cnnCol8">2.9 </td> <td class="cnnCol9">4.1 </td> <td class="cnnCol10">7.0 </td> <td class="cnnCol11">1.8 </td> <td class="cnnCol12">1.0 </td> <td class="cnnCol13">0.9 </td> <td class="cnnCol14">1.4 </td> <td class="cnnCol15">2.7 </td> <td class="cnnCol16">17.9 </td></tr></tbody></table>
Yeah he's been pretty inconsistent this year. I do think he's close to his ceiling as far as scoring. He may bump up his average a few points but I don't really expect it. He really relies on his jumper more than anything. Unless he develops a better face up game where he can effectively put the ball on the floor I don't think he'll average more than 22 ppg in his high season.
Historically speaking, the jump in production for most talented players comes between their first and second year. There's a pretty noticeable pattern among some of the most talented players in the league of a slight plateau in their second and third years in the league. I remember reading a recent column about B-Roy and the author specifically remarked how incredible this year has been for Brandon because his numbers have increased significantly in his third year (as opposed to the development of most players). Point of my reply is ... don't worry about LaMarcus' production this year. He's going through a normal plateau point of his career. I would expect his production to steadily increase the next 3-4 years. -Pop
Statistics dont show it all. IMO I think LA has show more toughness (albeit inconsistently) than last year... and has shown he can really step up when the load is put on him and Roy or GO is out.
I like his play better this year than last. That being said, I think our championship aspirations lie primarily on Roy and Oden....While LMA may contribute, I don't think he'll be a huge part of our success (doesn't mean that I'm anti-LMA btw )
He's more consistent IMO. Adding Rudy's scoring, Blake's improvement, Oden when healthy take away a bit of his shots. He could easily be averaging 22-24 ppg on a crappy team.
Check his +/- numbers. Aldridge has some league-wide awesome +/- numbers this year. I know, as with any stat, there's a lot of people who doubt the worth of +/-, but it's interesting nonetheless. One area that Aldridge is undervalued, I think, is team defense. He has to do odd jobs like help out with presses and the like. I think he's a lot more disruptive a defender than people think (at least, that would help to explain his +/- score). Everyone has compared Aldridge's game to Rasheed's, and I'd be happy with that if it brought the championship that 'Sheed brought Detroit. If Oden and/or Joel can stay healthy, we're set for rebounding (like Detroit with Ben Wallace). I think maybe Aldridge would benefit from a more bossy PG who would order him around more on offense - make him post up a bit more.
Don't forget how much of a second-half player LA is. In his first two years and so far this year, his production has been way up after the All Star break. But again, stats don't tell the entire story. His jumper has gotten less consistent but he's more of a threat in the post, has finished way more tip-jams and fast break dunks, and has been far superior on the offensive boards this year.
Which kind of shows that my thinking that he has improved defensively to be on the right track. He is not close to a finished product - but you have to love what he is doing out there - even if his offensive output does not look to be bigger. I also think that there is more of a leadership thing going with him - from the dunk on birdman after he ridiculed Rudy to him being more vocal when Roy was out. Kid is getting better even if his individual stats seem to be the same.
Yeah, mark me down for "Aldridge has significantly improved his defense." His offense/rebounding hasn't substantially improved, though I think he seems slightly more aggressive. That isn't showing up in the numbers, at all, but it may be a good sign down the road.
1) Remember, he went through a bad slump early in the year which is probably holding back his overall stats a fair bit. 2) Lots more offensive options on this year's team, meaning it's tough for any one person's stats to improve significantly despite improvements in efficiency.
I would be interested to see his "fouls drawn" numbers between the two years. I'm guessing it has doubled. His stats may be the same, but his defense has improved and his offense has become more diverse. I really don't think he is anywhere near his ceiling.
He had a really sub-par first month of the season which skews his overall numbers down for the year, but in the past couple he's been pretty consistently hitting at or around 50% from the field, his rebounding jumped up and overall his defense is much improved from last year when he consistently gave up prime post position to offensive players and he's much more polished with his inside game (that running hook is now a consistent weapon) and his ball handling skills are noticeably better. The numbers don't really show it, but LMA is a much better player this year.
I agree that he hasn't improved. That's why I think he's one of the most disappointing players of the season. Quick got me us hyped up for how LaMarcus was "dominating". But he's just his old self, some nights he looks like he could be dominant, some nights he's LaPussy, but most of the time he's just a back ground type player that puts up decent numbers (like Shareef Abdur Rahim).
