Aldridge Says He’ll ‘Definitely’ Take More Threes

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by SlyPokerDog, Oct 14, 2014.

  1. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  2. BlazerCaravan

    BlazerCaravan Hug a Bigot... to Death

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    He's a really honest guy and a great interview now that he's opened up a bit. I love reading his interviews because he pulls no punches.
     
  3. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    I like how he said "nah I'm not gonna wait until 2016". That's pretty solid
     
  4. KingSpeed

    KingSpeed Veteran

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    You gotta love how Aldridge improves every year. I love hearing that he's been working on passing out of double teams. He's really a great guy from what I read about him. He'll be the greatest Blazer of all time one day in the near future.
     
  5. BlazerWookee

    BlazerWookee UNTILT THE DAMN PINWHEEL!

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    If he isn't already...
     
  6. BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94

    BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 AWOL

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    Can you imagine Aldridge with sabonis passing skills?
     
  7. kjironman1

    kjironman1 Well-Known Member

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    Interesting because Aldridge could work out a deal to make more money but instead he is going to leave the extra cap for the rest of his teammates.
     
  8. julius

    julius Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    He isn't.
     
  9. BlazerWookee

    BlazerWookee UNTILT THE DAMN PINWHEEL!

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    Says you.

    And probably a lot of other people, too, lol.

    He's definitely working himself into the discussion, though...
     
  10. MarAzul

    MarAzul LongShip

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    He is.

    Consider skill set, game, character, and longevity, Lamarcus is the number one Blazer of all time.
     
  11. BigGameDamian

    BigGameDamian Well-Known Member

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    Aldridge will become a 3 point shooting machine if he starts taking more like Rasheed did. Then we will be complaining.
     
  12. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

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    I won't be complaining. I've been begging for it for years. If he even drops 10% from his 18-23ft FG%, that's still a huge jump in eFG% (and, by definition, points).

    Bombs away, LMA!
     
  13. BigGameDamian

    BigGameDamian Well-Known Member

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    A lot of people didn't like Rasheed's three point shooting after a period of time because he took more and more each year until he fell in love with it.
     
  14. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

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    But we already know what LMA is, and how Stotts is going to coach him. I think it very, very likely that he continues to take ~1000 jumpers a year, rather than be the LaMonster inside of 2010-11. If that's the case, I'd personally rather a healthy number of those 1000 j's be worth 3 if they go in than 2. This isn't a "why is LMA so lazy?" concern, it's a "if Stotts is letting him take long j's within the offense, why not take a step back and get an extra point for it?" concern.
     
  15. Rhal

    Rhal Well-Known Member

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    It really depends on what % he shoots and how often we use it. It can be a great weapon if he can shoot it at a 33% or above clip but not anything to go over the top about. 2 or 3 a game with how often he shoots is more then enough unless he turns out to be a damn good 3 shooter then i'd increase that range. Just having LA in the arc for those long 2's opens up a lot of room as well as long as opponents have to respect that shot.
     
  16. Blazer4ever

    Blazer4ever Finding a Way BANNED

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    The problem with this logic is that most of his mid-range efficiency is based on his defender not knowing if he goes inside or steps back for the jumper, therefore allowing him to create separation.
    I'm not totally against him shooting 3s but if he said he would definitely take the ball inside more I'd be more pleased. I do however already see improvement in his passing and defense which is very encouraging.
     
  17. Pinwheel1

    Pinwheel1 Well-Known Member

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    It will be interesting to see. I think if it is used strategically against certain match ups then it will be great. I can see the advantage of pulling certain defenders away from the basket for both he and Dame to get easier shots.

    But obviously we do not want the offense designed full time with LA standing 24 feet from the basket. But I doubt that is the intent.
     
  18. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

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    I think we're in agreement here, but if the argument for him shooting a lot of long-range twos is that "he pulls his defender from the basket", it should be even better if he's pulling him out to 24 feet instead of 18. Additionally, while he's not Rafer Alston with the ball, he's shown that his handles are more than decent enough to get by most PFs/Cs to the paint/rim. I don't see any downside.

    As for the numbers, if he shoots 28% from 3 he gets as many points per shot as his 42% career mark from outside 10'. I have very little doubt that he can hit well above that. He shot 684 shots outside 16' last year (at an eFG% of 42%), or right at 10 shots per game played and 4.2 points per 10 jumpers. Love had 695 shots outside 16', but had an eFG% of 49.6% on them because he shot 505 3's last year at a 37% clip, or ~7 per game.

    There are plenty of second- and third-order arguments to be made (farther from o-rebounding, closer to getting back on D on a miss, etc) that we could get into, but I don't really see a downside to him taking a step back 5 times a game or so...or even running some high-P&Rs or ruboffs after the switch where he's taking a 3 over Dame's man, or Dame's blowing by a big with less help able to rotate down. On a team with 3-4 really decent 3pt shooters on the floor at one time, that's pretty decent.

    For you coaching guys out there, is there enough spacing to run a side P&R where the screening big stays outside? You probably can't have a shooter posted in the same-side corner (so you'd need to swing 2-3 times to get a corner 3), but I seem to remember Love doing this all the time and even guys like Ryan Anderson and Steve Novak pulling it off.
     
  19. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

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    Watch film on Aldridge +16 feet misses. They are usually always long. Maybe he could actually hit them at a 40% clip? It's not like anyone can contest his technique out there.

    I agree with Brian on "having quickness to go by PF/C or give even more spacing for Lillard to slash towards the basket". If he's inside more and passing out of doubles is what I would rather see. But if he's gonna shoot from the perimeter (16+), I would rather it be 3
     
  20. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    Shooters are going to shoot and if LA has added the trey to his arsenal, it's a plus. Preseason he's driven the lane more than he used to which is good to see. The 3pt shot is a weapon Stotts believes in and with this offense, the more guys who can knock it down, the better we'll be. Stotts often has 4 guys on the floor who can shoot the 3 and that's hard to guard. It'll open up Rolo or Kaman in the post if LA draws bigs out to the 3pt line
     

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