His defense, at least on Stoudemire, has been solid. As for the rest, I disagree, because he played well in the playoffs last year with a healthy Roy being the #1 option.
How many playoff teams have a $60 mil or less player as the #1 option? Bobcats, Bucks and Bulls (and Rose is on a rookie deal so he really doesn't count.) So I'd say no, he's not really paid like a #1 option. He's paid like a high quality second option. He's actually a mediocre second option.
Camby's defense on Stoudemire has been solid. Aldridge has been guarding Collins, has he not? Duly noted.
I'd like to see a similar change in LMA, that we saw from Carmello Anthony this season. Carmello, after a few years being fairly good, just came out looking like he finally got the NBA game. He looked stronger and had a mindset that no-one could stop him. That change, and the added strength he seems to have, has made Mello nigh unstoppable. If LaMarcus could knuckle down, improve on his talents, sort out his head and add some strength; I still believe he could become a much more dominant player, much the way Anthony stepped up his game. The question for LMA remains, with his wallet now fat, does he want or even care to?
Agreed and repped. I want LA to remember this series whenever he starts his All-Star talk. IMO, an All-Star is someone that either throws the first punch or takes the punch, then doubles up to pound the other guy into the floor. Not only is LA not stepping up to fill the void, he is missing wide open looks and appeared to almost be in tears after Amare threw that elbow. I really hope Bosh believes in this team and Toronto cannot get a better offer.
If we include an offer to pay his remaining salary Pritchard might unload him for Steve Francis, Channing Frye, and of course, Pritchard rarely forgets to give $3 million. Or Aldridge could sit with a mystery injury for the remaining years and insurance could pay for it.
I call B.S. on this one. A big part of my frustration with him has been his inability to find "the right pass", b/c he's too busy doing the turnaround baseline fade or the 18-foot jumper. Then again, maybe a cutter or two going down the lane (perish the thought) might help, or it might not. But he's bricked too many fadeaway jumpers over double teams for me to believe he's just "trying to find the right pass". He's been doubled a bunch this series, which speaks to his talent and PHX's recognition of it. He's still taking 15 shots a game, which is skewed a bit b/c he's been sitting with blowout trouble and foul trouble the last two games. But if he's getting double-teamed a bunch, and he's taking 15 shots a game, it's hard to say "I'm not a guy who takes shots over double-teams".
No way. "Above Average"? He's a 2nd tier guy - below guys like Dirk, Bosh, Gasol, & Amare. Speaking of Amare, can we please remember that LA is matched up with perhaps the best PF in the game in this series? That's a tough match-up if Phoenix WASN'T doubling him. Mike & Mike nailed it, Phoenix has thoroughly confused LA offensively. He can't get too deep in the post or they front him. When he pops out to the wing, they let him receive the pass and they don't send the double until he starts dribbling. He picks up his dribble and there is nowhere to go. That's not all his fault though. There are no cutters and we don't have anybody else on the floor who can break down the defense so the Suns can overplay the passing lanes, and when they run out at our shooters (Rudy, Martel, Batum) They have no fear of one of those guys putting the ball on the floor. Lamarcus simply has nowhere to go. The Suns could never get away with doing this if Roy was out there, or anybody who could break down the defense. Andre Miller can do it for a game here and there, but as we've seen he can't do it for a series. and Bayless is so hit or miss - not only game to game, but possession to possession. We just don't have any playmakers out there. Too much is being made of LA's struggles. Don't make him the scapegoat. And as for the comment that a #2 option should be able to be a #1 option when the #2 isn't available . . . how many teams have that luxary? Take away any team's #1 offensive weapon and how many of them have a #2 guy that can fill in and give similar production consistently? (for a whole series) LA IS a #2 option. Not a #3. Not a #4. And he's a good #2 when everybody is healthy. He's not dominant at anything, but he's solid in the post and his mid-range game is solid as well. He's not able to put the team on his back, but if we can get production from 'Dre, Bayless, & Batum (or Webster) like we did in Game 1, we can make this a series. For that matter, if somebody tells Rudy Fernandez that we made the playoffs and we're playing Game 4 tonight than that will help as well. Clearly, Lamarcus as our playmaking Point Forward isn't going to work. But that doesn't mean he can't be effective. It just has to be in the framework of an offense where our other guys are giving the Suns defense something to think about.
So he'll be making less than $12M the next two years. That seems good to me. He'll start hitting his prime by 2012, right when his contract increases. I'll take Aldridge at less than $11M next year than Zach Randolph at $17M. Yes, Randolph will be making more money than Roy next year. Ha, ha, ha.
being realistic isn't the norm for this chat community's collective psyche, manic is. Thats the truth. Back in the 2006 draft I rated LA and Roy 1 & 2 in what I thought was a very weak draft. I guessed both had the ability to be above average starters and was very excited to add them to a piss poor roster. Obviously Roy has far exceeded this projection but Aldridge's play has pretty much been as I thought. I don't see why I should be upset with a player who hasn't morphed into an elite talent but is merely a quality player on both ends. It would be great if he had better quickness/was more explosive and could handle the ball like a guard, but oh well... LA has been compared to a younger Sheed many times. A recent parallel is that he's being eviscerated for playing on a lessor team while his other talented teammates are sitting behind the bench. What a jerk he is STOMP
If you're expecting 31/11 from Aldridge the next game, you're going to be disappointed. He won this game for us, though.
I guess you guys would prefer David Lee now, lol. But in regards to Aldridge, I've always felt since he was drafted that he would not be in the upper echelon of power forwards. He reminded me a lot of Channing Frye during his rookie season - some potential to be solid, but definitely not a "superstar". From what I've watched, I always felt Aldridge was simply incapable of being that go-to player. He's a nice complimentary player, though.
They actually have several similarities: soft, like to shoot from midrange, similar physical build. They had very similar rookie campaigns as well and, at the time, were thought to have similar ceilings.
