Nate has been very effective with implimenting hybrid 4 lineups (outlaw). I give him thumbs up for trying it now. LA - Wallace - Batum - Matthews - Miller is a lineup ready to run, gun, and hustle. It's good for both defense and offense. Most teams don't have a center who can punish LA for being undersized. Conversely, LA is too fast in the post for most who'll be guarding him. I think it'll work. Wallace, arguably, became our best player on the day we traded for him, he should be playing as many minutes as he can get.
If this lasts more than a couple games I'll be pissed. Starting an undersized frontcourt when you have a player like Camby would be beyond foolish.
I like the move. Aldridge plays better at center than PF anyway. It gets him closer to the rim, rebounding more and scoring in the post more. Teams were just sagging off Camby because he isn't making his 18 footers, so you only had to play him for the pass. When Gerald Wallace has the ball 18 feet from the rim, you have to pay attention because there's all kinds of crazy he can do. Besides, the playoffs are all about adjusting to the other team. We've seen how the team works with Camby starting. Now let's see how Wallace looks as a starter playing off Aldridge so we'll know if that's a good option against a particular playoff matchup.
We already have a good idea what it looks like with them playing together as they play at least 30min together on the floor at the same time. Starting them together isn't going to drastically change anything. Like I said before, just another classic example of McMillan overthinking the situation.
I don't know about that. Who does Amare guard when the Knicks play us? Who does Randolph guard? Who does Dirk guard? Love? Griffin? The thing I really love about this lineup is that there's nowhere you can stash your crappy-defending-star-power-forward against our team. Those guys have to guard either LaMarcus or Wallace, and neither is an easy out. Camby brings rebounding and shot blocking. But Aldridge is a much better rebounder at center, and Gerald Wallace is an excellent rebounder for his size and a good shot blocker. You mostly give up passing in exchange for quickness.
Like I said above, we've already seen this combination of a Wallace/Aldridge 4/5 since Wallace has been here and it's not like the offense has exploded. If anything it's been laughable the past two games. Starting them together doesn't drastically change anything. The starting lineup needs to be Miller/Matthews/Wallace/Aldridge/Camby. This is the one lineup we haven't see yet and it needs to be given a chance as it puts everyone at their natural position. It's pissing me off that it hasn't even been tried yet.
Like the move. Camby has been nothing short of terrible since he's been back. Sure we lose some rebounding, but Gerald has been a beast on the boards since the trade with a trb% of 16.5 which is above average for a PF. According to basketballvalue.com, the units that feature Crash and LA at the 4 and 5 (only counting the units that have played 20+ minutes together), over the course of 157 minutes, the Blazers have outscored their opponents by 39pts, 334-295. Or around 12pts per 48min.
+1 Notice LMA's numbers since Camby returned? LMA does get much more involved while playing the 5. Miller + Matthews + Batum + Crash + LMA is how we have to run from here on out. Let's see (over the next couple games) if LMA's points and rebounds go back up!
Thanks for posting that. That's pretty much what my memory tells me--Aldridge and Wallace at the 4/5 does work when it's used. The best way to ensure it is used a lot is to start both of them and plan on allocating 36 mpg. Since he arrived, Gerald is only playing 31 mpg, which just isn't enough.
Camby's "nothing short of terrible" is pretty darn good. So was Pryzbilla's considering his situation, we could sure use him right now, this one center thing is really tough. Maybe next year. .
