lol! I'll admit I was a LMA homer who happened to have his favorite player prove him right. As for Batum, he's definitely worth keeping around; he's streaky but young, soft but fast, and I like that he's added taking the ball to the hole this year. The step-up pop shot off the 3-point pump fake is new. He's steadily increased the number of "good games" (marked roughly by a Game Score of 17 or better) every year: 2008-09 - 2 2009-10 - 4 2010-11 - 7 (I bet he gets one more, too, before the season ends) He's doubling up every year, which is a clear sign of growth; we also win when he plays well -- 9-2 (.818) when he has a GameScore of 15 or better this season -- so he's obviously making an impact on the team's performance where it counts: wins. By comparison, we're 22-8 (.733) when LMA has a GameScore of 15+. He's not Pippen or anything right now on defense, and I worry that he's getting a reputation of being a guy who fouls on defense instead of being a "good defender"; he may in fact be a good defender, but reputation is everything in the league. I can't wait until he's 25. He will be a solid #3 option or better by then, and LMA will be 28, in his prime, and hopefully still beasting it up.
I wanted Aldridge, and if you read my subsequent posts, I sour on Morrison before the draft. But, whatever. I certainly wasn't pimping Morrison, and attacking posters who didn't like him. Are you still going to come in for that sandwich? Remember, ask for Grant!
We don't serve mayonnaise. It's a vegan deli, Silly. As a reminder, be sure to ask for Grant, and tell him that you're from S2!
I liked Bargnani, Aldridge and Gay. I thought Morrison was going to be a bust. I wasn't enamoured of Roy's upside, but I thought he would be a safely solid NBA player. It's a mixed bag.
I was dead set on drafting Tyrus Thomas. I was a sucker for his run in March Madness. This was before I really analyzed players though, like him being a little undersized(measured 6ft 7.5in w/o shoes) and a knucklehead. I was just enamored with his athleticism. Once the Blazers traded Telfair (which upset me, lol) I didn't know what I wanted anymore at that point. Never wanted Morrison or Shelden. I did think the Blazers would draft Roy because he was a Seattle guy and thought McMillan liked him. And oh yeah, I was perfectly fine with the Blazers trading Khryapa. I thought it was funny the Bulls actually wanted him.
tidbit about LA: I saw a few days ago somebody said my tattoos were nice. All my tattoos have important meaning to me! I never got a tattoo just to get one !
Bullshit! I dared him to get HCP on his arm and he did! It's on the bottom point of the cross on his right arm!
didn't you just ask who'd pegged LA as a stud? I devoted a whole sentence pointing out that I have and that you've literally been arguing with me about him for over 5 years now. Thats patting myself on the back too much? How about saying something that isn't completely over the top? In this thread you said "bingo" to the thought that he's "not very good" called his PER "garbage" said you wanted "a real PF", "lol'd" at someone who sited his post up game, and called rooting for him and Cunningham "sad". In umpteen others you've thrown various slights towards him dating back to before he was drafted. Was it you (or Oil Can) who called him "LaSoftridge" in the days following drafting him. "Sucks" is my one word summation of the opinions you've expressed... I don't think it's a misrepresentation but if you do, I offer my apologies. remember when you lost a sig bet to me? One of the quotes I dug up from myself months before drafting LA was that I thought he had AS potential. If I'm projecting a guy as an AS player I'm talking about a dominant player. There are several other posters still active here that had him pegged as the #1 overall pick back in 2006... #1 picks are generally thought to be be dominant. Since then there have been dozens of threads where many different posters expressed hopes and thoughts on why LA could/should make AS games. I've participated in those threads generally expressing that I thought he was a borderline AS talent... it certainly helps showcase his talents now that they're running the offense through him but this level of play is basically what I've thought of as his ceiling all along. own how wrong you've been proven and don't lash out at those who've been proven right I was establishing a trend regarding your prognostications... going back to that 2006 draft you also had a low opinion of Brandon's game. With that sort of track record, maybe turning down the heat on the next player debate would be a good idea? STOMP
Oh yeah, I was very much against Thomas. I thought he had great athleticism but no skills. I'm not a huge fan of prospects like that (which made me leery of Outlaw too when Whitsitt drafted him on his way out). I think I was mostly right on Thomas (not worth a top-five pick) but not entirely so...he has developed into a worthwhile NBA player.
Ah, the halycon days of youth. Looking back at that thread really makes me kind of sad. Now that LMA has become the player I thought he could be, I no longer believe it is real. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Blazers have done a real good job of breaking my spirit.
You misunderstood my post and then I won a "bet". You look just as crazy then as ever Fun, indeed. Aldridge - Zach 2007-08: PPG: 17.8 - 17.6 RPG: 7.6 - 10.3 APG: 1.6 - 2.0 SPG: 0.7 - -0.9 BPG: 1.2 - 0.2 Yay, me! Where's Tortimer to pay me something or other three point five years later? Ed O.
Stud is such a loosely used word in this instance. Did you think he was good and have been stood up for him when people slighted him? Yes. Did you think he would transform into the most versatile PF in the game half way through his 5th season? No. All those criticism's were completely valid at the time. As for the nickname LaSoftridge, it must have been Oil Can, because admittedly as much as I've bashed Aldridge in the past, I've never been big on thinking of corny nicknames. That was about 6 years ago. I remember it pretty evident that it was a given that Bargnani was going #1. I do remember a sig bet with you, but I don't really remember the details. Anyways, I do remember you being big on Aldridge as an NBA player. But, 4 years into his NBA career I didn't see you ever claiming that he was still on the cusp of breaking out and becoming an All-Star type player. If you did, link it up. I've already said that I'm happy that I'm wrong. In fact, when I bashed him I often times put a little disclaimer at the beginning of my posts that I hope I'm wrong. I thought Brandon was a solid player, that didn't really have any outstanding qualities that would translate to being a really good NBA player. Obviously I wasn't the only one, he fell to #7 in a weak draft and was traded by the team that drafted him on draft day. There was obvious concerns and I think a lot of posters on the board at that time weren't too fond of him. For every prospect I've been wrong on, I've been right on just as many and more. I'm a big Gonzaga fan and at the time I was 19 and easily persuaded by an POY candidate on my favorite team. I overreacted a bit for sure, but he was taken 3rd in that draft, I'd hardly say I was the only one who bought the hype. I've watched a lot of ball since and have a lot clearer idea of what it takes to translate to the NBA. Certainly its not an exact science, none of us should claim to be experts were all armchair quarterbacks. Alas, I didn't like Aldridge at Texas. He was long, but soft. It took me a while to warm up to him once he arrived in Portland. Then after his rookie year I made a post clearly saying that I was wrong and we made the right picks in that draft. It wasn't until recently, I think maybe the Suns series that Aldridge really got to me. He was bullied by Amare and settled for jumpshots when there was a clear advantage in the paint that we could've had. He obviously realized that he needed to bulk up, got better in the summer, maybe a little help from Buck and the rest is history. Its been a pleasant surprise and made the Roy pill so much easier to swallow. As much as posters like to villify each other on this board I'm a diehard Blazer fan and want whats best for the team. At times in the past I thought that Aldridge wasn't that guy. I'm happy now to say that I'm wrong and he is.
This is a funny post, coming from you PapaG, considering your continuous one-man witch hunts aimed at Matthews and Miller.
Miller and I are cool now, and I like Matthews, I just don't think his stats are all that great. I think neither of them are witches, although Miller sank, yet Matthews floated, which puzzled me.
