He's gonna get so many open looks in the playoffs. Teams will load up on Dame/CJ. And they'll send rotation to Nurk leaving Aminu wide open on the wing, and Harkless/ET wide open in the corners on the weak seide. I hate that we will have to rely on these dudes to make open shots. It's gonna be exactly like that series against the Clips where we got throttled the first two games in LA when they were just daring Aminu to shoot. If these dudes aren't hitting, I hope Terry quickly reverts to the bench and gets Napier/Patty/Collins in there to loosen up defenses. At least we have some of these pieces who can knock down an open shot now and then.
Defense is half of the game. Chief is an excellent defender. According to ESPN real plus minus, Aminu was the 82nd, 80th, 66th, and 54th best player in the NBA in the past 4 years, primarily due to his defense. He's a starter and the most underrated player on the Blazers.
As to the thread title, I think the starting lineups for our games proves you wrong. Looks like he is a starter to me... been starting all games when healthy. Just sayin...
The problem is that last year the advanced metrics showed the team played better when he was our starting PF over SF. But what Stotts seems to have forgotten is that during that stretch our only other PF options at the time were Vonleh or Butters. It's really obvious at this point that Aminu should play SF and Collins at PF. But how do you make that change in the middle of a 10 game win streak, with only the last quarter of the season left? I think we'll probably roll the dice on making this change whenever we get desperate in the playoffs. That's how Zach Randolph got his starting job many, many years ago under surprisingly similar circumstances....
We had to be down 0-3 against the Mavs before dumbass Cheeks finally made the change that we were all clamoring for, and we ALMOST came back and won the series. Pushed it to 7 games. I went to I think 2 of the games in that series, and it was the same series where the Natalie Gilbert thing happened. I was in the stands when it happened. It was crazy. One of the most inspirational things I have ever seen in person. Pip Bonzi Sheed Zach Sabonis I loved that lineup.
On defense Yes, but on Offense you need a Good ballhandler at the 3, and Aminu is absolutely terrible on ballhandling, that would be a disaster to let him play at the 3 offensivly
I was there man.... when the whole crowd started singing, that shit was crazy. It was easily one of the most moving things I have ever seen.
The guy he was guarding went 35/6/14 , 15-25. LeBron was just insanely good tonight, and we clearly had no better option than Aminu. But this was not a great game for him.
Aminu had 11/9/3 and a block. He was 3/6 from three. He had several hustle plays saving possessions for Portland. I don't know what else you want out of a role player like Aminu. He's not a star, he's a role player who does just fine starting. I'm not even a huge fan of Aminu and was very vocal saying it was the wrong signing. But anyone who doesn't give credit for the quality role player he's proven to be, is clearly blind. Also, LBJ wasn't only get guarded by Aminu. It was a combination of ET, Harkless & Aminu. But if you expect any player on the planet to slow down the best player in the world by themselves. Then you're expectations are off.
This was an excellent game for Chief! I imagine several more like it on the way to the Championship. Defending LeBron, or Anthony Davis, or other power scoring threats is indeed a team effort. It is great to see the effectiveness of Blazer defense when the focus is on, and the minimized turnovers, and rebounding. With determined effort and team play, this Blazer team is the real deal.
Another good game by Aminu as per usual for him.(good week or two, followed by bad week or two) His defensive work against Griffin who usually dominates Portland is something which shows why Aminu is a starter in this league.
