Honest question. I watch him play, he seems to play great, but then I check the boxscore and he only had 6 rebounds tonight. And we got outrebounded by 12. So what is he doing wrong? Will he ever get better or is this it? In the long run, I'm assuming Greg will get the lionshare of the rebounds but still... What's the deal? Anyone? *****NOTE*****- This is not a hate post. I love the guy. I'm glad he's on our team. I wouldn't trade him for anyone besides LeBron James. I always love how he plays and then I see that he didn't grab a lot of rebounds but I don't see him being lazy or anything. I was just CURIOUS about people's thoughts. Not hating.
He misses rebounds because stays on the perimeter a bit too much. Reasons: 1.) He ends up guarding guards a lot of the times since we switch everything. 2.) He just likes roaming the perimeter.
He does it just to annoy you and give you something negative to post about after a much needed win over a team that had won seven in a row. And, while we're checking the box score, I see Aldridge had twice as many rebounds and nearly twice as many points as your hero Outlaw. So, Outlaw puts up 14/3 and you've got rainbows shooting out your ass. Aldridge puts up 26/6 and he's an underachieving bum. BNM
Good answer. We do switch everything, it's true. He's always guarding a guard up top at a very crucial part of every game, it seems. And he's not bad at it.
I never said LMA was underachieving or a bum. I love the guy. You didn't hear the tone of my voice. I love LMA. He's the #1 reason we've won 2 of the last 4 games. With Roy, he HAD to step up. And he has. In all 4 games. My question was curiosity, not derision.
He boxes out his guy and lets another teammate grab the rebound. Its not a glorified rebound stat, but its just as good. A possession is a possession.
Aldridge is a victim of the defense we run. He gets caught a lot of times guarding playing at the 3 point line. I also don't think he is the scrappiest of players either. The one thing about Aldridge that goes unnoticed a lot is the fact that his player rarely beats him for an offensive rebound. He blocks out well, and is usually in the right possition.
Plus, Oden being in foul trouble contributed to our rebounding woes, as you can really see the effects of Joel's broken wrist, he doesn't go after things as hard with both hands...
My advice would be to stop looking at the box score if it's going to cause you so much consternation. Look, LMA is probably never going to average double digit rebounds at any point in his career ... but neither has Sheed, whom I think LMA compares favorably against; he's a high post/perimeter oriented player on both ends of the court and he gives up strength against a lot of fours and fives in the league. He's still young, so expect incremental improvement over the next couple of years.
He gets 7-8 rpg, which isn't bad. He is on the perimeter a lot on offense and defense. Also, he blocks out a lot and lets others grab boards, and he also is almost always out there with Joel or Greg who grab lots of boards. Especially Joel, who rips it from his own teammates. Our team always switching is also a big factor... which is what I meant when I said he is on the perimeter a lot on offense and defense. PFs usually are able to spread the floor, but on top of that, he usually ends up on a guard on the perimeter, which will affect his rebounding.
The funny part is Aldridge is one of the leagues best offensive rebounders averaging 2.9 rebounds. It's been said in here many times but Aldridge is just put in a bad position to get defensive rebounds. Most of the time he's caught on switches outside or trapping. I use to get frustrated with his rebounding numbers but I'm not sure the average fan appreciates the amount he does on the defensive end.
Some of it is also that he is sometimes told to streak out because he's one of the fastest big men in the league. This is why we need to get consistent rebounding from the small forward position.
Defensive rebounding is scruffy... Fadeaway midrange jumpers and little runners-in-the-lane are tidy; even uncontested dunks are pretty tidy...
