Man I was tough on LA in previous years, and probably well deserved, but this guy is a monster right now.
Sounds like a Bruin! All kidding aside, if that putz ever learns to play defense, he really could be an all-star. Funny that he is willing to do the dirty work on the boards, but not when it comes to guarding his man.
I think it's ridiculous that tipping the ball in the air over and over and having no real control of it counts as a rebound, let alone getting 3 out of it and no real shot attempt. It's practically a loose ball.
Minny threw single coverage against Aldridge. Big no-no. BTW, Darko sure looked worth his ~$5mil salary tonight. He's got some great skills for a big man. And he's rough with his D, and fouls without a care. Like Sheed used to say, he's the "Serbian Gangsta." I think he'd look great in a Blazer uniform next to LA.
Is Aldridge the best pure post up player in the NBA right now? I'm trying to think of a guy who you can throw the ball into in the post, no matter who is guarding him, and you stand a decent chance of drawing a foul, getting a bucket, or creating an open shot for a teammate by drawing the double. Basically what Shaq and Duncan did for about a decade. If he isn't, who is? I don't watch a ton of non-Blazer hoops, so I may be forgetting somebody.
I'd put him up there with ZBo. And Griffin isn't too bad either, but LA is more skilled, while Blake overpowers people. It's such a stark contrast from where he was before to the back to the basket beast he is now.
Yeah, Zbo came to my mind too. He's pretty damned good. He's got the ability to draw fouls, the ability to score....but he's not really that much of a threat to kill you by passing out to the open teammate. He's not tall enough to see the court and he's really got a little too much pit bull in him (too soon for that analogy?) He's better than he was in his Portland days, but he's still not what I'd describe as a willing passer like Duncan and Shaq were. Griffin is a very bad man. I forgot about him. It seems to me like he gets a lot of his buckets facing up. Which is totally legit. But I was kind of thinking of traditional back-to-the-basket players.
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He's good, easily one of the 10 best, but nobody even comes close to Zach Randolph. He's the best pure post up player there has been in decades. Absolutely unstoppable.
zach is great around the rim BUT and this is a huge but..... he gives back about 20 on defense. thats why he is not a great player.
Nah, you were just hating on a guy who was being asked to play a role. Welcome aboard the bandwagon, though. Seats are available far behind mine...
Yes, he is the best. Griffin is still very raw (LMA is still a bit too), Z-Bo has way too many other deficiencies. He's a top 2 PF in the league now IMO. Posts up well, dunks well, lays in well, tips in well, shoots well, able to shoot the 3, plays mildly good defense, creates many turnovers, and is a pretty good rebounder, even though he plays next to Camby. Only Nowitzki is contributing to his team more than LMA, and that might be arguable too.
