Has LMA reached his ceiling?

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Fez Hammersticks, May 5, 2010.

Moderators: 6

Moderators

  1. BrianFromWA
  2. Chris Craig
  3. Darkwebs
  4. Ed O
  5. PtldPlatypus
  6. SlyPokerDog
Page 2 of 3
  1. Pinwheel1

    Pinwheel1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2008
    Messages:
    23,204
    Likes Received:
    15,663
    Trophy Points:
    113
    If Miller helped him get closer to the basket by being on the end of alley oops, then you don't think Nash would help him even more? Is David West an All Star without Chris Paul? Is Boozer an allstar without Williams. Nash would get LMA 2-3 extra baskets a game. He already averages 18. 22-23 pts a game on the blazers is allstar worthy
     
    Pinwheel1, May 5, 2010
    #21
  2. KingSpeed

    KingSpeed Veteran

    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2008
    Messages:
    63,198
    Likes Received:
    22,395
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    actor
    Location:
    New York
    When judging LMA, compare him to all the second options in the league. You'll find he ranks quite high.
     
    KingSpeed, May 5, 2010
    #22
  3. blazerboy30

    blazerboy30 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 16, 2008
    Messages:
    5,465
    Likes Received:
    423
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Link?
     
    blazerboy30, May 5, 2010
    #23
  4. Charcoal Filtered

    Charcoal Filtered Writing Team

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2009
    Messages:
    4,748
    Likes Received:
    2,420
    Trophy Points:
    113
    He has reached his ceiling in Nate's system. If Oden ever shows the promise that everyone hopes for, look for his numbers to decrease. They are not bad numbers, just not All-Star stats.
     
    Charcoal Filtered, May 5, 2010
    #24
  5. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    Messages:
    26,096
    Likes Received:
    9,073
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Let's just look in the division first, shall we?
    Would you take LMA over:
    Billups (unless you think 'Melo is a #2 option)?
    Boozer (or Williams)?
    Westbrook/Green?
    Even Kevin Love in Minny is a better fit for us than LMA.

    Outside the division, but in our conference:
    Duncan or Ginobili or Parker?
    Amare or Nash?
    Gasol/Bynum?
    Terry/Kidd? (I'll give you that one) :check:
    So out of the 7 other playoff teams, LMA is the 6th-best 2nd option, by that reckoning.
    WC Non-Playoff Teams
    Rockets: If you count Yao as #1, then that leaves Scola, Martin, etc.
    Hornets: West and Okafor
    MEM: Zbo or Mayo or Mark Gasol?
    Kings: Sure, LMA wins. :check:
    GSW: If Ellis is #1, Curry's 2. Or Vice Versa.
    LAC: Not counting Griffin? Boom-Dizzle or Kaman?

    So, he's a better 2nd option than 2 of the other 14 teams. Do I need to look East to prove this point?
     
    BrianFromWA, May 5, 2010
    #25
  6. Pinwheel1

    Pinwheel1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2008
    Messages:
    23,204
    Likes Received:
    15,663
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I would take him over Boozer (Don't let this run fool you-he is not a team guy- he will bolt Utah in July) Billups/on the down side, Green/very good player but too much of a tweener, and Love.
     
    Pinwheel1, May 5, 2010
    #26
  7. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    Messages:
    26,096
    Likes Received:
    9,073
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I somewhat disagree, but even granting your 4...that leaves LMA in the bottom half of the WC in terms of "2nd fiddles". Which is what I was bringing up against KS's point.
     
    BrianFromWA, May 5, 2010
    #27
  8. Pinwheel1

    Pinwheel1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2008
    Messages:
    23,204
    Likes Received:
    15,663
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I was just looking at our division. I would take him over all 6 of the non playoff off team's second fiddle as well.
     
    Pinwheel1, May 5, 2010
    #28
  9. HailBlazers

    HailBlazers RipCity

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2008
    Messages:
    19,987
    Likes Received:
    17,207
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    PDX
    LMA is a team player. This year our team was not complete. Has he reached is ceiling? No, he needs a full roster to shine. He's young and still has allot of potential left to fulfill... IMO
     
    HailBlazers, May 5, 2010
    #29
  10. Tince

    Tince Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2008
    Messages:
    15,508
    Likes Received:
    15,076
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Fair point, and yes I would have said he would improve. Most might disagree, but I think LMA has improved over the past three years, just not as much as people would like. He'll never be the shot blocker people want him to be, but I think he has to ability to be a solid defender and improved inside post player.
     
    Tince, May 5, 2010
    #30
  11. UKRAINEFAN

    UKRAINEFAN Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Messages:
    14,883
    Likes Received:
    12,055
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    un-retired
    Location:
    Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine
    I'm leaning towards the theory that the problem is not heart or focus; it just seems to me he doesn't process information quickly and react to this information quickly. That also might explain why he seems to give teams time to doubleteam him after he receives the ball and is slow to pass out of doubleteams.
    I first thought this when a smaller player drove to the basket from the other side than Aldridge.
    Aldridge got there late. But the guy missed the shot, rebounded, missed again, rebounded and missed again. All while Aldridge never got off the floor. Admittedly Aldridge was behind the guy but he was several inches taller and all he needed to do was go up there and tip the rebound away from the basket.
    This actually might be fixable through specialized non-basketball drills, but the Blazers would first need to recognize that this is the problem.
     
    UKRAINEFAN, May 5, 2010
    #31
  12. DeanMoriarty

    DeanMoriarty Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2009
    Messages:
    313
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    18
    http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wallara01.html

    Look at Rasheed's numbers.

    He didn't do well offensively until his 6th year.

    Aldridge is already ahead in terms of offense. And he can develop defense. His help defense is already decent and his man-to-man has gotten better. It will take time before he develops the veteran savvy intangibles that Rasheed had.
     
    DeanMoriarty, May 5, 2010
    #32
  13. HailBlazers

    HailBlazers RipCity

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2008
    Messages:
    19,987
    Likes Received:
    17,207
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    PDX
    Nice Work! That's what I'm talking about, these things take time.
     
    HailBlazers, May 6, 2010
    #33
  14. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    Messages:
    26,096
    Likes Received:
    9,073
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Of course he has the ability---he demonstrated it in college. He also has been the shot blocker (at least I) want him to be. Since Zach went away, he's focused on being an 18-foot jump shooter. Perhaps he's just following Nate's instructions. I doubt it, though.
     
    BrianFromWA, May 6, 2010
    #34
  15. hasoos

    hasoos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2008
    Messages:
    9,418
    Likes Received:
    97
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Misleading. He had to split a lot of time with Brian Grant and Arvydas Sabonis. In crunch time we went to Grant for the most part, not Wallace.
     
    hasoos, May 6, 2010
    #35
  16. BlazerCaravan

    BlazerCaravan Hug a Bigot... to Death

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2008
    Messages:
    28,071
    Likes Received:
    10,384
    Trophy Points:
    113
    He averaged 35 mpg or more in two seasons (97-98 and 99-00); those two seasons are perfectly legit to use as examples.
     
    BlazerCaravan, May 6, 2010
    #36
  17. hasoos

    hasoos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2008
    Messages:
    9,418
    Likes Received:
    97
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Well we disagree. He wasn't offensive focus those seasons, so he wasn't called on to score a lot. He was a role player.
     
    hasoos, May 6, 2010
    #37
  18. Tince

    Tince Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2008
    Messages:
    15,508
    Likes Received:
    15,076
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I think that was Rasheed's choice. MD always talks about Rasheed never wanted to be a #1 or #2 option.
     
    Tince, May 6, 2010
    #38
  19. HailBlazers

    HailBlazers RipCity

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2008
    Messages:
    19,987
    Likes Received:
    17,207
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    PDX
    I think it's very unlikely we wont see an improvement. If the Blazers improve, so will LMA. So are you pessimistic or optimistic about the Blazers next year?
     
    HailBlazers, May 6, 2010
    #39
  20. hasoos

    hasoos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2008
    Messages:
    9,418
    Likes Received:
    97
    Trophy Points:
    48
    Choice or not, it was reality. Rasheed was a capable scorer his first year in the league. He played behind Cweb and a guy who is on our roster this year, Juwan Howard, who was a legit stud at the time. But even then he could score. The guy had NBA scoring skills when he was in college. The number of years before he started scoring at his highest level in the NBA is moot. The skills were there way before that time period. I watched North Carolina those years. I watched the Bullets/Wizards. Part of the reason he was moved was because he didn't want to stay behind those guys anymore. He was capable year one. How he was used, was different.
     
    hasoos, May 6, 2010
    #40
Page 2 of 3

Share This Page