What was even funnier was their lamentation at the end of the game. I have never heard announcers lament about how their team had no answer for Aldridge. They were in flat out disbelief about how he picked their team apart. The NBATV crew was giving him some love too, and actually did start to mention that they think he is emerging as a canidate. If the NBATV crew is noticing, he has a chance.
David Stern is the wild card. Doesn't he pick the replacements for injured players? Although LMA deserves to be on the team, Stern is all about Marketing. He will pick Blake since it is in LA. Unless he really wants to replace a center with a center. But the coaches don't give a shit about all those stats. Who know what motivates their vote. (How long did it take Deron Williams to make it?) I bet Love doesn't make it though. Duncan shouldn't, but he will. LMA has a chance if he keeps playing this well.
compare LMA over the last 11 games - 26/10 shooting 54%, PER 25+ (while deferring a ton of rebounds to camby).
The two starting front line players have been grabbing 20 to 30 rebounds a night. That is amazing, considering most teams don't get over 40 for a game. If you can somehow get the offensive efficiency up, this team starts winning, often.
Interesting "LMA is awesomesauce" stat of the day: When LMA shoots 3 or more FT's in a game ("Feed LaMonster down low!"), the Blazers are 18-9. They are 1-8 when he shoots 2 or less. FT% doesn't matter at all in this case; he just needs to get to the line, which shows his aggressiveness. Imagine if LMA had Hulked Out before 12-15-2010...
Well yeah, and don't forget coaches could vote in Gasol and Duncan as centers since Bynum's not really deserving. I think if Aldridge gets in before Griffin, Stern will send him, but if Blake is in with the coaches vote, then LMA would get the nod over ZBo for character reasons... but then there's Rudy Gay also, or some guard who was snubbed.
I think wins and losses is going to play a big part of it, and that is where it gets sketchy since Portland is roughly .500'ish most of the season so far. But when you consider that the Clippers don't have that many wins, it hurts Griffin. The same could be said for Monta Ellis. Great stats. Few wins. Look at Zbo. Great stats. Memphis record? Not so good so far. (Pretty much the story of Zbo's career.)
LaMarcus Aldridge an All-Star? He's making a strong case. http://probasketballnews.com/story/?storyid=1244
But, if you look at LMA's "Transform into Beast-mode" date (12-15) versus the Blazers' record, you get a much better slice: 7-4 (7-3 since Roy last played).
The Blazers' schedule between now and the end of month should help LaMarcus's chances a lot. The Blazers could likely be 8 to 9 games over .500 by then, which would be significantly better than the records of some his opposition's teams.
Seriously? I don't see this at all. Miller loves to pass, and is always looking for the open man. He is the main reason why Aldridge is getting those lobs around the basket. Miller usually only makes a move on his man when everything else has broken down.
You actually think Oden is going to have a career? Good grief! Please let me know what crystal ball you've been peering into.
I guess I wouldn't mind if he got to the All Star game. A few more superstar calls might go his way. But it's really a win-win. If he doesn't make it, he'll be that much more motivated to continue dominating. Anyway, I think his odds are improving with every game. Every coach now is getting a scouting report before playing us that they should ignore what they used to think about him and realize that LA is on a 25/10 tear. And then they see it with their own eyes. These aren't empty stats on a bad team, or inflated stats on a D'Antoni team. These are the real deal. Plus he gives you all that defense. Without Aldridge where the fuck would this team be? Maybe a .300 or so record? That's the difference between Aldridge and guys like Boozer or Blake or Randolph.
Well I thought about this some, and here is the deal. I supported Aldridge in the beginning but after years of softyness I became bitter and grew tired of defending him. I literally gave up on him. I figured year 5, he is playing just like every other year, it's over, he is who he is. Then what happens? Aldridge nuts up and becomes the player I always dreamed he would. 25 and 10 every god damned night. Well what is the right thing to do? The right thing to do is, even though he won't win the vote, the right thing to do is to start going to the all star page and throwing him a vote every day, and so that is what I have started to do. His play deserves our support, and our support includes throwing some votes at him so he gets noticed more for the all star game.
I've been a LMA homer ever since we drafted him so it's nice to be right for once. This line up plays to his strengths very well. LMA for All Star '11!
