A sign of how well Aldridge has played

[maxiep]

I looked at his line against Denver of 24 points, 14 boards and three blocks and my initial reaction was: "Well, he's tired. He was due for an off night."

I love the new LaMonster.

 

[MadeFromDust]

Agreed. He seemed a little quiet out there compared to what we've been used to, but he still ends up pretty dynamite on the stat sheet. 51 minutes though, yikes.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

100 minutes in 3 nights. Good job, man... sleep in tomorrow.

 

[EGame]

Agreed. He seemed a little quiet out there compared to what we've been used to, but he still ends up pretty dynamite on the stat sheet. 51 minutes though, yikes.

I think that is because we had balanced scoring for once instead of just the Aldridge and Matthews show. Tonight was Aldridge, Matthews, Miller (though stop shooting forever), Rudy, and of course the Natural himself, Roy. Great effort by these guys.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Pretty funny to think that a "mere" 20-24 point game is now considered "quiet" for LMA ... never thought I'd see the day that happened.

 

[McNicholicious]

Gotta love it when a double double is a quiet night. He has been playing great. Hopefully Camby is back by Sunday so he can get a little bit of a rest.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Those smaller guys like Harrington still give him fits slapping the ball (and his ass) on every play.
But yeah he looked tired in the 4th the last two games. But came up with 2 crutial free throws when the game was on the line. Well done LMA

 

[Rhal]

Pretty funny to think that a "mere" 20-24 point game is now considered "quiet" for LMA ... never thought I'd see the day that happened.

I had the same sorta discussion with my brother the other night, although it was more the line of "Before the chicago game were Deng killed us and Aldridge dropped 30+ I wouldn't ever bet he would score 30 vs anyone, now when he scores 30 its kinda ordinary."

 

[Pinwheel1]

On another note, Andre was 1 rebound and 1 assist away from a triple double. He battled even if it was not his best game either.

 

[B-Roy]

Pretty funny to think that a "mere" 20-24 point game is now considered "quiet" for LMA ... never thought I'd see the day that happened.

Well he did play 51 minutes....in fact, I think the minutes are more impressive than his numbers. That's just crazy. 49 minutes and then 51 minutes the game after.

Just....amazing.

 

[GrandpaBlaze]

I looked at his line against Denver of 24 points, 14 boards and three blocks and my initial reaction was: "Well, he's tired. He was due for an off night."

I love the new LaMonster.

My thought, while watching the game was that with no other big to be found in a Blazer uniform and knowing that LA has been playing like he has been lately, Denver could afford to really focus on stopping LaMarcus and let the rest of the team beat us.

If Roy can come back and play like he did tonight (or even close to what he did tonight), Wallace plays like we know he can, we can have a pretty tough team.

I'm Pretty darn excited.

Gramps...

 

[Nikolokolus]

I think Roy's best (only?) hope is to try and convert himself into a Ginobli/Crawford type scorer/playmaker -- a guy with enough talent to be a starter, but better off as a bench scorer (for whatever reason) -- Hopefully they can find a way to keep his minutes manageable and stretch out his career as long as possible. It's going to be a difficult balance.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I think Roy's best (only?) hope is to try and convert himself into a Ginobli/Crawford type scorer/playmaker -- a guy with enough talent to be a starter, but better off as a bench scorer (for whatever reason) -- Hopefully they can find a way to keep his minutes manageable and stretch out his career as long as possible. It's going to be a difficult balance.

I think he can and will do this; the physical limits of his playing time will necessitate this, and LaMarcus transforming into Beast Mode will allow it to be OK to do.

 

[EGame]

One thing is for sure, if Roy can play and the game is close, he needs to end the game just for his clutchness factor. No way he should sit.

 

[Drttimmy]

I looked at his line against Denver of 24 points, 14 boards and three blocks and my initial reaction was: "Well, he's tired. He was due for an off night."

I love the new LaMonster.

Yeah, I kept thinking he's gotta hit 30 if we're going to win. What a paradigm shift. I agree, fatigue was a huge factor. He also didn't shoot any "pops" tonight. They really weren't leaving him and we really weren't opening for him. That's like a usual 10 points right there.

 

[handiman]

I looked at his line against Denver of 24 points, 14 boards and three blocks and my initial reaction was: "Well, he's tired. He was due for an off night."

And people scoffed at me the other day for casually mentioning 30 and 10 as a benchmark for LMA in years to come... 25/10 would have been a safe number to throw out there, but as I started typing it, I couldn't help but feel those sounded like off night figures.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Yeah, I'm amazed by LMA's averages in February this year... 29 and 9 (not counting tonight)

 

[Kaydow]

Just mind boggling numbers for February. Could he be player of the month? How does a guy who didn't make the All Star team even end up in a discussion for player of the month? What a tragedy.

Feb Stats

28.6 Pts
9.1 Rbs
.572 FG% (!!!)
.846 FT%
2.5 Ast
1.6 Blk
1.6 Steals
1.6 turnover (for how much he touches the ball? that's a low number)
42.2 Minutes/Game

Just as important, the team is 8-3 this month. Could end up 9-3 if they take care of business vs. Atlanta on Sunday. Who's had a better month than LA? Put his numbers against Lebron, Wade, D-Rose . . . he beats them all in the majority of categories.

 

[STOMP]

Yeah, I'm amazed by LMA's averages in February this year... 29 and 9 (not counting tonight)

his averages the last 30 days are...

28 points on 56%
6.5 FTM
10 Rbs
2.3 Assts
1.6 Blks
1.7 Stls

STOMP

 

[Nikolokolus]

And people scoffed at me the other day for casually mentioning 30 and 10 as a benchmark for LMA in years to come... 25/10 would have been a safe number to throw out there, but as I started typing it, I couldn't help but feel those sounded like off night figures.

People scoff because even though he's playing out of his mind right now, you can hardly expect him to average that over a season (let alone his career) because of two things: 1) playing 42+ minutes per night is completely unsustainable, and 2) eventually there will be some more talent around him to take some of the load off. It's not knocking him to say that's unrealistic.

 

[hasoos]

I think the biggest adjustment in Aldridge game from this year is his mental game. He has got so he recognizes the position he is in so well that he knows exactly what to do for whatever they throw at him. Since he is a willing and able passer, that means him making the right play isn't always him scoring. One of my favorite plays now is the one where Aldridge post up on the left block and then waits for a double team to come off the point guard, and Dre slips underneath the hoop from the back side for the gimme. That shows the relationship he has formed with Dre. They have a nice chemistry.

 

[STOMP]

People scoff because even though he's playing out of his mind right now, you can hardly expect him to average that over a season (let alone his career) because of two things: 1) playing 42+ minutes per night is completely unsustainable, and 2) eventually there will be some more talent around him to take some of the load off. It's not knocking him to say that's unrealistic.

I scoff at part of your scoffing. It's just laughable to say 42 minutes a night is completely unsustainable. Players average over 40 minutes a night every single year... Gerald Wallace did this just two seasons ago. Monta Ellis is doing it for a 2nd straight year. KG averaged 39.7 MPG over a 5 year stretch in his 20's where he only missed 3 games. In my 20's I played pickup hoops pretty much every single day for hours on pavement. While of course its a different level of hoops, there also wasn't constant interruption of play for FTs, TOs, quarter/halftime & commercial breaks... and again, on pavement. Hell, I've a buddy who competes and wins 100 mile running races... dude's average training runs are 3-5 hours at least 4 times a week.

I do expect LA's minutes to come down with the addition of Camby & Wallace, both because they play the same position and because Portland will probably be blowing some teams out. But to say that averaging 42 MPG is somehow a physical impossibility is wrong. Some people are definitely capable of doing this

STOMP

 

[BBert]

I'm amazed at the way seemingly every time LaMarcus attempts a drive to the basket he is held, hacked, pushed and mugged, but no foul is ever called. Now imagine Wade, Kome, LeBitch, Durant....well, you get the idea....

I think with LaMarcus it isn't so much how many minutes he plays, it's how hard he is having to play during those minutes. He is often the only true front court player on the floor for us. For 40+ minutes a night he is being doubled, bodied, pushed and held by the strongest players on the other team. He's being asked to fight for position, post up, set screens, score 30 points a night, rebound, muscle, defend, AND run the floor like a SF, for those 40+ minutes a night. That's a lot of energy. As a skinny guard who loves to fast break, I can tell you the best and hardest workout I've ever had in my life was when I've played an entire game down low, pushing and wrestling with a strong post player. IMO, the Blazers need to not only get LaMarcus more bench time, they need to get another PF/C on the court with him at the same time, pronto.

 

[handiman]

People scoff because even though he's playing out of his mind right now, you can hardly expect him to average that over a season (let alone his career) because of two things: 1) playing 42+ minutes per night is completely unsustainable, and 2) eventually there will be some more talent around him to take some of the load off. It's not knocking him to say that's unrealistic.

But that assumes no further improvement from LMA. Given how much he's added to his game in recent months, are you willing to bet on that?

 

[Ghost Pepper]

To be honest I was concerned with LA's performance last night.... It's seems he's ready to be the #2 again if Roy is out there! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! The offense runs through LA and he needs to command that! Roy is a Steve Kerr type of player now.

Ball movement through LA and everyone getting involved is why this team is winning!

LA's number need to stay in the 30's .... if we start seeing a trend of high teens and twenties over the next few weeks as Roy comes back that should be concerning for every Blazer fan!

 

[Minstrel]

If only Miller were 10 years younger, Wallace was 5 years younger, Roy had fully healthy knees and Oden was durable. Dynasty!

At least Aldridge is the "right" age and durable. The guy is indestructible. There's nothing bad that can happen to him. Even the gods themselves seem powerless to strike Aldridge down as they've struck down other Portland centers.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

GODDAMMIT QUIT JINXING LAMARCUS'S KNEES

 

[Minstrel]

GODDAMMIT QUIT JINXING LAMARCUS'S KNEES

Impossible to jinx. As I said, even the gods are powerless here. I will never receive my come-uppance.

*shakes fist at the sky* You hear me?? NO...COME-UPPANCE!

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Impossible to jinx. As I said, even the gods are powerless here. I will never receive my come-uppance.

*shakes fist at the sky* You hear me?? NO...COME-UPPANCE!

AUGH! *superstitious head explodes*

 

[Harry's Raincoat]

Next season the team needs to list both Oden and Camby as Forwards!!