Say what you want about LMA, he is and has been very durable, and now Nate is playing him the most minutes in the NBA. I think this is another bad decision by Nate just like it was having Roy play so many minutes when he knew Roy's knee condition - that was just stupid. So now lets take our PF who overall has played solid and beat the hell out of him - get a brain Nate.
Re: Nate: Lets not hurt Aldidge I've wondered for a couple of years about all the minutes he plays. But with Oden, Godzilla and Pendy all out he's needed for those minutes.
Re: Nate: Lets not hurt Aldidge Aldridge's minutes aren't up that much. He's currently play 38.5 MPG compared to 37.5 MPG last season and 37.1 MPG the season before. An increase of 1.0 - 1.4 MPG really isn't that much. Aldridge is currently 12th in the league in MPG. OKC has three players (Durant - 42.0 MPG, Green - 40.8 and Westbrook - 39.0) all averaging more MPG. 35 year old Ray Allen is playing 39.7 MPG. Sure, every minute you're on the floor increases the odds of some freak accident/injury, but Aldridge has proven durable playing big minutes over the previous two seasons. And heck, Andre Miller has been logging big minutes in the NBA since LaMarcus Aldridge was in junior high, and never misses a game. I don't want to jinx anyone, but some guys are just more durable than others. BNM
Re: Nate: Lets not hurt Aldidge Mike & Mike are vastly overselling the total minutes angle and skimming over minutes per game... Of course, they conveniently harp on the Blazers leading the league in total games played when it isn't a matter of individual player statistics.
Re: Nate: Lets not hurt Aldidge Yeah, it's not like Nate is suddenly playing Aldridge 44 minutes a game. I look at it this way; with so many games under their belts early, our guys will have more time to rest between games later in the season when everybody else is tired, traveling and playing a bunch of back-to-backs. A rough schedule now means a favorable one later. Every team in the league plays 82 games. It all evens out in the end. BNM
He's playing a lot, but it's not like he has a bruising style of game that takes a lot out of him (relatively speaking). Aldridge should be fine, especially if Joel comes back in a couple of days and can spell Camby some at center which means he should be able to play at the 4 some.
Aldridge is the pin that holds it all together right now. He's the only guy that seems to play with both the first unit and the "scrap" unit. If he could be a more consistent scorer, he'd be much more valuable.
