Is it just because we are losing this year? IDK, i feel like the guy always misses big shots even in the roy days. Anyone else notice this? He will hit every jumper he takes early but then cant hit the side of a barn in the 4th during crunch time.
Aldridge can be a beast, and is an all star caliber player. He is not a number one option if you want to go deep into the playoffs though. IMO, he doesn't appear to have the mental makeup for that role
I can't remember him taking any final shots. Seems like the Blazers don't even GET the final shot 75% of the time because we end up turning the ball over. Sometimes LA looks unguardable, but yes, he seems to disappear in crunch time. Probably because defenses smother him, forcing our bozo guards to find another way to embarass us.
Big men are easier to guard and generally can't create their own shots off the dribble. As a result, spots 1-3 generally are the late game shot makers. I think LA is fine at the end of games for a PF.
It still makes me wonder about his heart, and not in the metaphorical sense. Did we ever find out exactly what happened in regards to that last year? Could he just be running into a cardio exhaustion wall?
This is why the Spurs really only enjoyed sustained success when Ginobli has been healthy. Duncan was clearly they guy they played through and was option numero uno most of the game, right up until they needed a closer who could create his own shot. Some of you I'm sure are going to use this as a defense for Crawford and the way he plays. My rebuttal is that not all shots or shot creators are created equal. That's the tragedy or Roy's knees not holding up; he was our Ginobli ... and maybe eventually he would have become more comfortable picking and choosing his spots, playing off of LMA instead of dominating the ball the way he tended to, but it's all academic at this point.
This. Too bad our 'go to' guy in those situations is Crawful, or worse yet, Failton trying to get the ball to a teammate.
Dirk is Dirk. Garnett wasn't too bad at it either, at one time. Zach is pretty good if you can get him the ball. Now name 28 other power forwards who are clutch scorers at the end of the game when everyone in the building knows they are going to get the ball, and I might agree with the point. It's a failure of our guards, IMO. LaMarcus can't pass the ball to himself, or dribble drive through traffic to get a shot off. Just because he isn't a 6'11" shooting guard does not make him an underachiver or a mental weakling. He can't carry the team by himself. OK. He is what he is. He's still a damn good cornerstone for a good team, and he's the best player we've got.
In all my time of watching LMA; he's never been a clutch-leader-crunchtime-esque player. He's a great #2 option and I don't think he'll propell us to the finals (if we could ever get there.)
He was taking the shots at the end of the game last year. Dunno what his problem is this year but it needs to change. He needs to be the crunch time guy.
His focus on the defensive end of the court almost entirely disappears in big moments. I remember when Utah was going on their run, Jeremy Evans had a put back dunk and an alley oop dunk consecutively. Both were because Aldridge was literally standing straight up and watching Evans leap towards the hoop. Nothing frustrates me more than lack of effort on defense.
