After listening to the trailblazers.com podcast the other day they were talking at great length about players you can't take your eyes off when they are on the court as a sort of barometer for who qualifies as a championship caliber player. It got me to thinking about this current roster, who on this team makes you constantly pay attention (and I do mean constantly, not just sporadically). I've got three: Roy? For damn sure. I'm always expecting something amazing to happen when he handles the ball. Oden? Last year not so much, the first 20 games of the season this year? Completely. Batum? Whenever he's on either end of the court I find myself constantly watching to see what he'll do and expect good things to happen. The rest of the roster? I dunno, certainly guys like Bayless and Rudy show flashes of brilliance, but I can't think of a single other player who commands my attention possession to possession -- and I'm a pretty big LMA fan and even I have to admit he doesn't pass this eyeball test for me. What thoughts do you guys have? Is this a valid test, does this kind of thing really matter to you?
I don't think it's a good test for "championship caliber" players. Honestly, players like Duncan and Shaq never thrilled me to watch. Absurdly effective, sure...but not all that exciting to watch. Bruce Bowen was a very effective cog to title teams, but definitely not someone I'd keep my eyes on (unless I were a referee). But it's certainly an interesting topic. I agree with you that Roy, Oden and Batum are must-see TV for me. Bayless is close. Miller is close (I'm probably a small minority in that, but I like his game a lot). Rudy is that kind of player during the brief periods when he's really into the flow of the game. Aldridge isn't. He's a good player, sometimes very good, but his game just isn't that dynamic to me. I feel like he has the tools for a dynamic game, but he largely just plays a passive game...catch, turn and shoot. I'm happy when it goes it, but he's not someone I watch waiting for amazing to happen.
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Yeah... among the Blazers, it's Roy, a healthy Oden, Rudy, Batum, and Bayless, in that order. Miller on occasion - because he makes some really smart plays, but never Blake, Aldridge, Howard, and Outlaw makes me feel like I used to with Ruben Patterson - crossing my fingers that he'll do something good, because God knows he's not going to do something smart. That said, I agree with Minstrel - there are some players who you don't feel like watching all the time who are incredibly effective. Karl Malone was that way, so is Tim Duncan these days, Dwight Howard, plenty of other guys, especially the polished post players. Aldridge could eventually fit that mold, but he's got a lot of work to do.
First one I thought of was Batum. Then I saw your list of Batum, Oden, and Roy, and I agree with that. Rudy in his first month last year (and Sergio in his first rookie month) was exciting, but soon McMillan rounded his sharp edges and toned down his game. Bayless would be exciting to me the very first time anyone sees him, but after that first game he is predictable. Sometime Outlaw is unpredictable, so he's on the list but lower.
I don't see why Aldridge couldn't be the starting PF on a championship team. Most nights he pretty much holds his own. It just happens to suck right now because without Roy and Oden we don't have any position where we have a major advantage against most teams. So Aldridge's limitations are more glaring. But a lot of championship teams are built around most of the players holding their own (or doing a little worse) against their opponent, while completely dominating at a couple of positions.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the whole "championship caliber" thing, mostly it was a way of saying "these guys are fucking good; you should watch them!"
I don't think Batum is as good as that quote would suggest right now, while he might be someone you and others like to watch, he just isn't quite that good yet.
I can't take my eyeballs off of any of them. They're my team and I don't want to miss a single possession.
I am a big LMA fan also and in fact he is the only current player I have a jersey of. However I have been so disappointed with his play this year. Even when he has big numbers I think he could have so much more. So he doesn't pass my eyeball test either.
