http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/01/a_changed_aldridge.html Great article about what McMillan did to drive the point home to Aldridge and other stuff Thoughts?
I like the article, and I really like LaMarcus. He gets so little respect for his game amongst Blazers fans and fans in general. He's probably my favorite player on the team ... I really do see Sheed like potential minus the crazy.
All I know is that this is the first year Ive been able/wanted to watch many POR games and maybe its just by chance that I only see his good games but the dude is impressive as hell. He has an awesome J and really seems calm as shit in the clutch
What's great is that he's always smiling. We'll be in some really tight game or something will go wrong and look at him, he is totally calm and having a good time.
Too bad he doesn't get many shots IN the clutch, (Damn you Travis) even though he always seems to make it. I remember that wicked bank shot against PHX.
That was a great shot vs Phoenix. I saw him hit a game winner on the road last season. I think it was in Milwaukee. Baseline jumper. If it wasn't Milwaukee, it was Minnesota.
My only concern with Aldridge is that he fades away from the hoop so much, which makes whether he has a good game or bad game very dependent on whether his shot is falling. He has the skills and athleticism to get to the hoop, either with post moves or face-up game. I'd like to see him do that more when his fade-aways aren't falling.
No one seems to have mentioned this, but that article was about his defense. That’s the thing I’ve really noticed this season. With all the switching they’ve been doing, his defense on smaller players has been fantastic. I never knew he had such quick hands. He has knocked a number of balls loose from PG’s all the way up to Centers.
I'd like to see him try mix in some pump fakes and drive to hoop ala Amare or Gasol. That would really bring his game to the next level and likely get him to the All-Star game at some point. As a side note, Jason Quick might as well just write for Parade Magazine with all these fluff feature pieces. He sounds more like the Blazers' marketing department than a journalist on the sports beat these days.
Aldridge is my favorite Blazers but I also do really like Oden and Roy. I thinkjhe has the chance to eventually be the best player on the Blazers. I agree he doesn't get any credit when he plays good but does when he plays bad. After getting out of his early season slump LMA has been very consistent. I do like how LMA and Oden played together last game.
Absolutely. Because only a few players have the ability to score 30 ppg on a regular basis. But good defense is very much a matter of effort and awareness. That's what Nate meant when he said LMA was not really watching LeBron.
Bizarre article. Why would such an emphasis be placed on recognizing defense as recently as 12 days ago when LMA's defense has been as good or better than his offense all year?
That's a pretty common complaint, and I think it's valid. To be fair though, that's the same knock Nowitzki and Rasheed have had for most of their careers. How often have those two been sidelined with serious injury? Compare that to more bruising power forwards like Randolph or Brand. On a less talented team, finesse power forwards can get annoying. But if you have the complementary talent around them (as we do) there's something to be said for a guy whose style of play exposes him to fewer serious injuries.
I've always thought that LA was the second coming of Rasheed with a GREAT attitude. The PF we always wanted in Sheed. LA needs to work on his 3 point shot a bit, and when he does the run and hook in the lane if he got the ball just a hair bit deeper in the paint that hook could turn into a mighty dunk!!! It would explode the crowd. LA is still very young and his upside is fierce!!!!! I now look at him the same way I do Roy for pulling this team out when in a drought. His help defense has also gotten a ton better from last year. He will only get better and better. My ultimate vision has always been ODEN, LA and ROY all on the same page. There is not a team in the league that could contend with that.
