If you're not on the L-Train, what are you waiting for?

I guess what I don't understand is getting upset over someone posting actual facts to back up an opinion.

If this was a case of Brian simply saying, "LA sucks. I don't care what anyone says," I guess I could understand. Why does it upset people so much when someone points out factual evidence that there is a hole in his game? If Aldridge was the one saying, "I have a hole in my game and I want to work on it," would anyone stop him and tell him our record? People improve by singling out flaws and improving on them. Damian Lillard won rookie of the year in a way that few have ever done in the league, IE unanimous, but people still saw that he needed to work on his defense. I've also seen people criticize him over his inability to make layups this season, but I don't see this kind of knee-jerk reaction to any kind of constructive criticism for Lillard.

The team is doing exceptionally well. LA and Dame are playing very good basketball and I suspect they'll both make the All-Star game.

I would like to point out that this wasn't a complimentary thread for Aldridge, but a thread asking people why they haven't "jumped on the bandwagon" and Brian explained why. He was asked a question and he answered it. Stop trying to vilify the man.

 

I used to post all sorts of negative stats against Miller, too. Yet I wasn't biased against him!

 

Here's a wrinkle: would you rather have a .476 shooter who also gets 1 free throw every 4 shots vs a .333 3pt shooter who gets 1 free throw every 10 shots?

 

Should have kept Harvey Grant.

 

I'd like to know what Stotts could do, knowing LMA's apparent limitations, to improve on the #1 offense in the NBA in terms of EFF and PPG. How many times does someone have to post "LMA shoots jump shots," and then get agitated when people point out the success of the team.

 

So, since we've known for years that LMA likes to shoot from outside, and aren't exactly breaking new ground with pointing out this obvious fact, the questions become these.

Why is Stotts allowing him to shoot these terrible shots, and what should Stotts do to change LMA's game in a way that also improves the offense? I know all of the stats, and have seen them repeatedly for years. That LMA takes these shots is a given.

 

How?

 

There's must be a reason that Stotts is allowing these shots. My guess is that with Ropez underneath, the attention to LMA from the outside gives more opportunities for offensive rebounds, which in turn leads to open shots as the defense scrambles. That's just an opinion, though. I'd like to know why Stotts doesn't realize that LMA taking these shots hurts the team. Is he a stupid coach? Is LMA ignoring Stotts? Is Stotts looking to get fired eventually for letting LMA take bad shots?

Pointing out an obvious stat is one thing. Tell me how to improve on it, and how the offense can improve from #1 in the league?

 

That might already be happening; in December, we averages 89.2 shots per game. In January, we're averaging 92.0, while our FG% stays effectively the same overall. Our 3-point shot selection is improving: makes are down 0.4, but attempts are down 3.0 (December % = 38.07%, January = 41.03%... suck it honkicracker). Our assists are up 1.6 a game, and rebounds up 3.1 a game. We're fouling more, which may be because we're trying to play defense.

But on the defensive end, opponent 3-pointers made is the same as December (6.1), but the attempts are up 1.5 a game, so percentage is going down. Overall FG% is .4448 in Jan, but was .4654 in December. The number of shots opponents are taking dove down 5.0 per game, too.

Frankly, the splits say we're just getting better this month over last month; we might be learning our lesson from December's heartbreakers.

 

Repped. Solid use of statistics that actually answer a part of my question.

 

And I get shit on for pointing out Batum's weaknesses.....

Aldridge is a freaking MVP candidate. Just stop.

 

I thought your Hickson comment was funny, if that makes you feel any better.

 

With the way Aldridge has played this year it amazes me that anyone, let alone a Blazer fan, would spend this much time and energy picking holes in his game. He's currently ranked 3rd on the Kia MVP ladder, but lets spend hour after hour critiquing his jump shot.