This is via oregon live. Sorry I didn't link Trail Blazers practice: LaMarcus Aldridge praises Joel Freeland's defense, team slowly healing He had just scored 20 points, snared eight rebounds and blocked two shots in a ridiculously efficient outing that lasted just 18 minutes. But the only thing All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge wanted to talk about after the Trail Blazers defeated the Utah Jazz Friday night was the play of Joel Freeland. Wait, the same Joel Freeland who scored just two points and shot 1 for 5 from the field? What? “I’m not even worried about my game,” Aldridge said, when asked about his play. “I’m excited about what Joel Freeland did tonight. All of those blocks and all of those contested (shots) at the rim — that’s big time for me. I feel like if he can continue to do that all year, he’s going to make our team better. I keep telling him about it. It’s really, really good for us. I think he had at least four or five of those, where he went up and either blocked it or made the guy miss, and that’s big, because last year we were really bad at that.” Although Freeland’s final statistical line against the Jazz hardly wowed, it’s the little things he did during the game that drew big reviews from Aldridge. The two blocked shots. The five rebounds. The defensive rotations. The multiple shots he altered simply by executing textbook straight up-and-down leaps while defending jumpers and attempts around the rim. Since the final game of his rookie season, Freeland has dedicated himself to becoming a better defender and worked to reinvent himself into the mold of Oklahoma City forward Nick Collison. And — outside of a potentially significant injury to his right finger during Sunday’s practice — early results have been positive. After that win over the Jazz, coach Terry Stotts addressed his team in the postgame locker room, singling out a handful of players to praise. After he finished, Aldridge added to the glowing review. “He said, ‘I’ve got something else to add: What Joel did tonight was huge; protecting the rim, challenging shots at the rim, great job,’ ” Freeland said, recalling Aldridge’s message in the locker room. “I’ve been (saying) from pretty much last season, defense was my focal point of the summer. And it’s good to have someone like that who recognizes the work that you’ve been doing, trying to get better, not only for myself, but to help the team as well. And I’m happy that he made a point of that after the game, in front of everyone. It’s really nice of him to say something and call it out like that.” Freeland’s transformation started in June, when he worked out with teammates in preparation for Las Vegas Summer League. Practically everything he worked on centered on defense, and perhaps his biggest focus was conditioning his mind and body to leap straight up and down while contesting shots, rather than leaping toward a shooter. Day after day, Freeland and fellow second-year big man Meyers Leonard went through drill after drill to change their approach to rim protection.
Sounds like Aldridge is in favor of Freeland being the backup center and relegating Leonard to 3rd string. Unless Leonard toughens up, that's probably a good idea.
I can't remember who posted it; but someone mentioned Leonard playing more part of an Aldridge type high post. I just can't see two players on the floor like that. Maybe Aldridge would rather have Lopez and freeland play along side with him; rather than Leonard?
Leonar_ sucks ass on defense, or whatever it is he is trying to do. If Aldridge wants defense, he does not want Leonar_
It's no secret Aldridge wants players on the floor with him who will do the dirty work (so he won't have to).
To be honest... Only one poster is an Aldridge hater. That's blue9. The rest are just tired of his 20 ft jumpers. Brian, fez, and other would rather him step back for the tre or play inside. I can relate with this thinking now.
I said a couple months ago that based on their skill sets, if Leonard and Robinson were the two backup bigs, Leonard should come in for Aldridge and Robinson for Lopez, rather than the reverse. However, if Freeland supplants Leonard, then I would come off that suggestion.
I think that's best for the team. Allow Aldridge to use most his energy to give us easy baskets. Doesn't mean he shouldn't play defense, but he shouldn't be the best defender on the floor either.
It's nice to hear a player say he is going to focus on something, or model his game after someone, in this case, Collison, and then come out and look like he's actually trying to do just that. Props to Joel for following through. Too often we hear guys say they are going to focus on....whatever. Dribbling, defense, post work, 3 pointers, etc. and they come back and look about the same.
I was impressed that Freeland didn't play for England in the Euro Championship and instead stayed in Portland to work on his game.
I normally agree with this but seeing what went down I think it was important that Nic learned to play with Tony Parker's boot up his ass and see what it takes to win a championship. We've all seen that Nic has talent but we've questioned his desire. The lessons Nic learned from winning the Euro Championship couldn't have been learned in Portland during the off season.
Actually, I'm actually very happy that Freeland has raised his level of play from 17ish man to 13ish man.
This is awesome news on many fronts. Great that Freeland is receiving praise for getting better on D. Great that the other bigs see value placed on D and not O. Great that Aldridge is taking it on him to be a team leader in a positive way ie praising growth instead of tearing down players. I really hope this can add to a competitive culture of tough nosed defense for Lopez, Freeland and Leonard. If Leonard sees stuff like this and decides to dedicate himself to D, I have no doubt he could excel as a defender, he has all the natural gifts. Oh, Also great that the 3mil is going to be earned by Freeland.
The article said that Leonard worked on D with Freeland this summer. You have to remember that Freeland has several years of European BB experience and that Leonard has only played center one year of pro ball and, what, a year as a starter and one on the bench in college? He is a PROJECT and it's going to be a couple more years before the decision is in on him...well other than on message boards where instant judgement rules the day.
