Yup, Lamarcus has been a beast. I thought he settled into his pick n pop groove, and wouldn't go beyond that in the half court, but lately he's been aggressive at attacking the rim. He's playing pissed off. I think Joel is finally rubbing off on him.
I still can't believe we got Roy and Aldridge in the same draft. I bet Pritchard didn't even know they'd be this good. These two guys are going to lead us to multiple championships, with a little help from Oden, Blake, Batum, Rudy, Outlaw, Bayless, Przybilla, Frye, Webster, etc., etc. . . . It's good to be a Blazer fan!
LaMarcus is my favorite Blazer in a long time. I pined for him to declare (and Portland to draft him) following the McD's game and again after his freshman year at Texas. Yet I don't disagree with those that call him soft because I see it more as a description of his versatility rather then a true insult. He's more of a speed/length/skills guy then a brute force banger 4.... Millsap would be a good example of that. I love that he has game outside the paint because I don't want both of the Bigs camped down low allowing the D to clog the paint. Of course I'm enjoying how well he's been playing of late... dude is balling STOMP
I came to this forum this morning to start this exact thread. I know we all appreciate LMA, but I am not sure we appreciate him enough. He creates his own shot and he is making everyone elses job much easier. Look at his D cpompares to someone like Boozer. No comparison. He posts up, runs the floor, and can shoot from the outside. He is so essential to their success. The dude is really really under appreciated. Even though we all do appreciate him.
Your all preaching to the choir here. IMO the big difference is the way he is attacking the rim. He finally has got comfortable with the part of the game where he bangs, drop steps, or lowers the shoulder and gets to the rim. I have also noticed a lot more of those are going for dunks, not just layins. He is even scoring against double teams now. He has learned you can turn away from it and still get a good shot. Throw in the rebounding improvment, and the load he takes off of Roy, and it's good times in Blazerville.
My disappointment with Rasheed was always the vast gulf between the player he was and the player he should have been. LMA doesn't have Wallace's court vision, passing ability or defensive skills, but he's the better player.
Bill Bayno nice! Batum and L-Train are beasts both take pressure off roy! L-Training is turning into a Sheed/KG clone!
Aldridge is turning into a go-to guy, which is what Wallace never quite became. Wallace was a great complementary player, but never had the aggressiveness to keep attacking the hoop. Aldridge has begun displaying that "they can't stop me, so I'm going to keep scoring" attitude. Roy is already a go-to player. Oden has the ability to become one. Batum and Fernandez are fantastic complementary threats. (And who knows about Bayless...he may be a go-to type of weapon himself down the line.) The team could become truly fearsome. Oden as the low-post force, Aldridge as the high-post force and Roy as the perimeter force. Oden and Aldridge both providing excellent interior defense, Batum (and hopefully Bayless soon) providing excellent perimeter defense. If Roy can improve his D, this could be a frighteningly complete team 1-5, with great reserves like Fernandez, Blake, Outlaw and Przybilla.
If aldridge comes out and plays like this at the beginning of the season next year and throughout the season, he will get serious consideration from the coaches for an all star game invite. When aldridge is on, I think he is almost as unstoppable as Roy, maybe sometimes moreso due to his size.
That's an interesting take, but I'm not sure I entirely agree. Sheed was probably a better individual defender on the post because he has a wider physical frame and heavier base, so harder to move against. Aldridge is probably quicker and I would bet his (blocks, steals, deflections) are better than Sheed's. I'm not so sure Sheed is the better defender at the same age of 23. Both have(had) the ability to adequately defend the perimeter and make switches. I think Sheed had more natural assets: wider frame, better hops and explosion. So, his ceiling was probably higher. Which is actually complimentary to Aldridge, because Sheed's ceiling was maybe as high as any player that's ever played.
I would say that the state of the micro-breweries in stump-town has actually gone up since the Sheed days - so I disagree with this assessment. I do not think this was his intoxicant of choice, anyway.
I remember a lot of discussion before the Roy/LMA draft. Some of the old sages around here thought that Roy would be the best player right out of the box, because of his four years at UW. But, they speculated/dreamed that if the Blazers Gods smiled, LMA might turn out to be the better of the two over the long haul. I don't think that's out of the question, and how freak'n awesome would that be? I also don't see a problem with calling LMA soft, if the other choice is banger. But that seems to be changing. His D is very good and getting better. His finesse game is solid already. When he fully develops his post game, there will only be a handful of 4's that can check him. When GO's clicking, there won't be an option to guard LA with a C. I wonder what Mr. Stern thinks about all this? He'd be hate'n having lil ol Portland in the finals for the next 6-7 years.
Even though LMA can hit the three, he's not falling in love with it like 'Sheed did. I don't think he ever will either. He knows his strengths and he's been sticking to it.
