Hickson definitely plays better without Aldridge

He blew up without Aldridge last season, and he had a good game tonight. What is it about playing without Aldridge that makes Hickson play better?

Is it because he becomes a focal point of the offense?

Is it because he plays better as a power forward?

The guy has talent, no doubt about that, but I'm wondering how we can make this work with both Aldridge and Hickson in the lineup.

 

He's better when he's an option on offense. He's a garbage man when LA is in the game.

Have him come off the bench as the 6th man.

 

So would you start Leonard? Is he ready to start?

I think we're lucky to have Leonard, Hickson, and Freeland, who are all capable bigs. I would hate to lose Hickson after this season. The guy is talented, no doubt about it, but it's not a polished talent like Aldridge. It's more of a raw athleticism.

 

I don't know jack sh*t about the Blazers' front-court, but commenting on the roster situation, I noticed that my team (the Grizz) got ten times better when we benched O.J. Mayo in favor of Tony Allen. Even though I'm a huge fan of what Allen brings to the court, and I'm a huge critic of Mayo's, the bottom line is that each player just worked better with different rotations. Mayo worked better as an offensive focal point, which he couldn't be as a starter, and Allen worked better as a last-ditch-effort offensive player who could concentrate only on defense when he was paired with the starters. Perhaps that could work in Portland with Hickson and Leonard.

 

Well, here's the thing.... OJ Mayo sucks. I don't think the Grizz really gave a rats ass if he was upset or if he left in the offseason. Now, I can't speak for the Blazers because obviously I'm not Neil Olshey, but I personally would love to see Hickson stick around. Either that, or traded for something of value. He's a young, talented big. I like how he plays, I like that he's aggressive, and I like that he plays inside. I don't want to see him pissed off because he's coming off the bench for a rookie that's most likely not ready to start. He needs minutes. He deserves minutes, imo.

The thing that bothers me about Aldridge is that he's so streaky. When his shot is falling, he's unstoppable, but if his shot isn't falling he's virtually worthless. I like guys like Hickson who don't rely on 20 footers to be effective. Is Aldridge the superior player? Absolutely. I am one of the few, however, who is in favor of trading him though. I think Hickson fits our window better and I think Aldridge could net us some talented pieces.

 

The difference is that O.J., despite being completely overrated and one dimensional, thought he was a superstar. He was bound to be bitter regardless of his role. Does Hickson have that same over-inflated ego? If he doesn't, then it might be worth a try. It's hard to be bitter on a good team, and if the roster move works, maybe Hickson would buy into it.

Then again, Hickson did leave Israel (?) this past summer because the upper-middle class accommodations weren't up to par with his tastes,....

Isn't Hickson pretty inconsistent as well though? Maybe his playing style gives into more consistency, but his numbers over the last few seasons have been all over the board, for whatever reason.

 

There are some question marks about Hickson. Did he tank while in Sacramento or were the Kings just misusing him?

The guy was on a tear at the end of last season. How much of that was to get a new contract? Hard to say. He has the talent though. I don't think he's an OJ Mayo type of ego, but there is some evidence that he has an ego none the less. It's still too early to tell though. Only preseason and things could change.

 

Hickson is a very capable starting PF. Who cares what happened in his half-season in Sacramento. I'm all for trading Aldridge but I want an all-star in return, so we need to patiently wait a year for some team to have a financial problem or something. Meanwhile, Hickson's happy subbing here if Paul Allen pays him like a starter. We can hold on to him as long as necessary.

 

Hickson's main issue has always been that he tends to check out at times, be it for a few possessions, or a stretch of games. Stotts even alluded to it last night in his comments about him.

Meanwhile, LMA was just voted the 4th-best PF in the game by NBA GMs behind Love, Dirk, and LeBron James. Interestingly, James was voted the top SF and the #3 PF.

http://www.nba.com/news/2012-13-gm-survey/index.html

 

I think if it was my roster I'd start Freeland at the Center and have Hickson play the PF off the bench. Freeland is obviously far more comfortable playing outside/in and would be a a pretty solid option spotting up while LaMarcus was posted up down low. Not to mention, Joel seems to be a more rugged player and capable of mixing it up with some of the bigger centers we'll face.

 

It may also depend on who the opponent is on any given night. Against the Lakers, it's a must to play Freeland and Leonard against Dwight Howard. Against Sacto, it's a must to have those two against Cousins. Against a team like San Antonio, though, LMA has always played Duncan well, and Hickson could exploit the older Spurs in a more up-tempo offense.

I hope Stotts is flexible depending on the defensive needs of the team on any given night, and although they are young (Leonard in age, Freeland in NBA experience), the two centers give Stotts that option if he chooses to exercise it.

 

That's a really good point. Inevitably Hickson will play a lot of minutes with LaMarcus so he'll need to find his niche. I have a feeling both Freeland and Leonard will spend a lot of time playing through foul trouble this season, as do all young big men!

 

I think Hickson is pretty much a pure power forward ... and an offensive oriented one at that. If he and Aldridge are going to coexist -- I'm not really confident they can -- then somebody is going to have to be the utility player. That seems like a stretch to me.

 

Sounds like Batum. It's up to Stotts to design plays that give everyone something to do so they can't take a quick snooze.

Check my post at the end of this thread.

http://sportstwo.com/threads/223349-2012-GM-survey?p=2876144#post2876144

 

Guess the coach didn't read this topic

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i..._earns_trail_blazers_starting_center_spo.html

 

I hope Stotts doesn't put LMA on Howard to start the game. Seems like a waste when he has 18 fouls to give between Hickson/Freeland/Leonard.

 

I guess Howard is going to destroy us anyway.

We actually have some semblance of hope in the other matchups. Nash/Lillard, Kobe/Matthews, MWP/Batum, Pau/Aldridge. It aint' great, but it could be worse. But that Howard matchup is going to be a fucking nightmare.

That's what's so great about the Lakers this year. No matter what team you are on, there's at least one of their Big 4 who is going to have a ridiculous advantage on you.

 

Hack a Shaq 2.0 seems like a good strategy to me as well. Maybe Stotts didn't get the memo?

 

I remember the days we would talk about Aldridge plays better without Roy.