Has LMA reached his ceiling?

Um, no, not at all.

 

Kind of like a certain power forward that plays for this one pretty kickass team.

 

We (and I'm including you in that) don't know what LMA wants.

 

This.

 

yup. I'd add in that LA's #'s came on in the 2nd half of the season when he wasn't playing through two (reportedly) badly twisted ankles. To have a better idea of his (and the team's) ceiling, it would be nice to see him/them enjoy a season avoiding injury next year.

STOMP

 

I'm very happy with LA getting 18 and 8.......... if Greg is healthy and averaging 12 and 10! I wish I had a link, but I heard somewhere that there were only 4 other PF's that averaged more points/rebounds then LA........ ZBO, Boozer, Stat and David Lee. Not bad. He is on my opinion 1 of the top 5 or 6 PF's in the league and I'm cool with that. We paid him a bunch so we didn't lose him, more then on potential! Of course I'd like 25/15 out of him, but 18 and 8 works just fine for me with Brandon at 22 ppg. As soon as some of you on here realize he is not a top 3 PF, the easier it will be to accept what he is.

 

Here's the other question: how much causality is there between the stat and the record? There's certainly correlation, but think of this: if other teams get worse, you get better relatively speaking. Because you get better relative to your competition, you are more efficient in dispatching your opponents, and your PER goes up. You win more games, so your Win Shares go up. You score more points (because their defense is worse) and your ORtg goes up. Your opponent misses more shots, scores fewer points, and your DRtg goes up.

Is it any wonder why the best players PER-wise in the last 20 years have been mostly from the East? Look how many horrible teams are there for a team like Chicago or a player like LeBron or a team like Boston to feast upon. Look how good they all perform over there.

Not to get of on a tangent, but my point is that sometimes the tail (your opponents in a division or conference) wags the dog (your stats overall). The West has been brutally difficult the last five years, and a team that can win 50 in the NW division is particularly talented (and probably would win 58-60 in the Atlantic division with NY/NJ to play four times each).

As the West ages further, they will deteriorate, and the young West teams (OKC and Portland) will feast. We will get better both by default and through growth, but we are also better than it seems now.

 

I believe with Brandon, a scoring PG in Miller and possibly a healthy Greg, I believe his #'s will not get higher. If you judge a players value on strictly #'s, I could see why people might be disapointed. I'm just saying I'm not. I never thought LA would be a top tier PF and guess what, he's not. You can't have a superstar at EVERY position. If he fills a role this team needs and we succeed, I could care what his #'s are.

 

Unlike a lot of people around here, his offense doesn't bother me that much, it's his defensive intensity that I found lacking this season. Part of that passivity was trying to stay out of foul trouble with no other great options to go to if he was out of the game, but with his wingspan, versatility and mobility he should be generating a lot more blocks and not getting beat as often as he does. Hopefully with a guy like Camby to learn from (with a very similar body type) he'll improve next season and can be more aggressive, but it remains to be seen.

 

I agree that he could learn a ton from Camby. Let's hope he does!

 

This is my biggest problem with LaMarcus. He has the speed and hops to be more of a force as an off the ball defender then he has been. In his defense he did start to come on strong as the season progressed.

I would like to see him become a real two way player like a homeless man's Kevin Garnett