Aldridge biggest disappointment in the NBA

[bluefrog]

according to Eddie Johnson.

I don't buy it.
Shaq should be #1. Hedo Turkoglu, John Salmons, Ben Gordon, and T-mac didn't even make the list.

10. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio

9. Mehmet Okur, Utah

8. Vince Carter, Orlando

7. Dwight Howard, Orlando

6. Derrick Rose, Chicago

5. Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee

4. Elton Brand, Philadelphia

3. Ben Gordon, Detroit

2. Caron Butler, Washington

1. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland

He is No. 1 because I think he should be an All-Star every year if he wanted to. He plays the game too soft and seems to back further and further away from the basket the more physical it gets. He has a decent post game and excellent mid-range shot, but does not know how to mix it up. This will be a major problem as we enter the second half of the season. Juwan Howard will not be able to continue to log big-time minutes as the season winds towards the playoffs. Aldridge should be a better field-goal percentage shooter – similar to Amare Stoudemire. But the most surprising stat is he is a terrible shot blocker. The Blazers have lost two centers and now it’s time for Aldridge to get tougher and play like he is capable of or they will struggle to make the playoffs.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I don't know about the biggest disappointment in the entire NBA but he definitely has been a big letdown.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Ben Gordon's #3 on that list.

And while I don't agree that LMA's #1 on that list, I can't find a thing wrong with what Eddie wrote, other than maybe Juwan's got more in the tank than he's giving him credit for.

 

[HailBlazers]

The reason why he's seen as the biggest disappointment is because he has the highest expectations for improvement and overall ability.

While I have been let down here and there, every-time LMA shines I forget about it. He can be damn fun to watch. The most disappointed I've been is when he's hot and they stop feeding him the rock!

Furthermore, I would have to say I've been more let down by some of the other Blazers, and once again it generally happens when they're not moving the ball

 

[BlazerBenner]

Obviously not the biggest disappointment. Not even close. But his paragraph about him is accurate.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

The reason why he's seen as the biggest disappointment is because he has the highest expectations for improvement and overall ability.

While I have been let down here and there, every-time LMA shines I forget about it. He can be damn fun to watch. The most disappointed I've been is when he's hot and they stop feeding him the rock!

Furthermore, I would have to say I've been more let down by some of the other Blazers, and once again it generally happens when they're not moving the ball

What a load pf BS.

All the people around here that don't know basketball expect us to have 9-12 all-stars. And when we don't, then they're total losers. So LA should be a 40/25 player, hold any other big man to less than 4 pts per game....

Yeah, I get it.

 

[KingSpeed]

What a load pf BS.

All the people around here that don't know basketball expect us to have 9-12 all-stars. And when we don't, then they're total losers. So LA should be a 40/25 player, hold any other big man to less than 4 pts per game....

Yeah, I get it.

There's a middle ground. Maybe 17 ppg, 9 rpg (esp with Joel & Greg out), & 1.5 bpg? Don't have to have 9-12 All Stars but 2 would be nice.

 

[DUB]

I don't agree that LA is the biggest dissappointment in the NBA, but I do agree with rest.

I think he should be an All-Star every year if he wanted to. He plays the game too soft and seems to back further and further away from the basket the more physical it gets. He has a decent post game and excellent mid-range shot, but does not know how to mix it up.

LA settles for outside shots far too much. Hardly ever establishes good post position, always lets himself get pushed further out.

It's not that he's bad, it's just that he could be so much better if he applied himself.

 

[Webster's Dictionary]

Biggest dissappointment? Hell no. A slight disappointment? For me, yes.

I don't expect him to be an all star even, but he simply is not playing as well as he did last year. He had games where he dominated inside for stretches with his jump hooks and spins into the basket. I haven't seen him get the ball with deep post position more than maybe once per game (granted, due to comcast being a bitch, I can't see nearly as many games). I've watched about half - 2/3 of our games this year though, and he just looks exactly what EJ said. Soft.

 

[tlongII]

The kid is a hard worker. I'd like him to develop his inside game more, but he is far from a disappointment to me. He's going to get better with his work ethic and I look forward to seeing that happen.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

I'd like to see how he would perform under a different coach and system.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

16/8, every year it's going to be his 'breakout' year.

He's gone less to the block than he did last year and the year before.

 

[Sex Panther]

- Rose shouldn't be on that list at all: he's been injured all year up until 2-3 weeks ago. Now he's coming back to the Rose we all expected.

- I don't understand how Dwight and Bogut are on it either.

and no, Shaq shouldn't be number 1. Did you expect him to average 18/10? lol

 

[bluefrog]

- Rose shouldn't be on that list at all: he's been injured all year up until 2-3 weeks ago. Now he's coming back to the Rose we all expected.

- I don't understand how Dwight and Bogut are on it either.

and no, Shaq shouldn't be number 1. Did you expect him to average 18/10? lol

Well if not #1, Shaq should be in the top 5. He's fallen off more than anyone else on that list. Hedo needs to be near the top too.

 

[oldguy]

The kid is a hard worker. I'd like him to develop his inside game more, but he is far from a disappointment to me. He's going to get better with his work ethic and I look forward to seeing that happen.

+1

Help me out with how he has a decent post up game, but doesn't know how to mix it up.

Go Blazers

 

[LameR]

Agree to disagree.

 

[Sex Panther]

Well if not #1, Shaq should be in the top 5. He's fallen off more than anyone else on that list. Hedo needs to be near the top too.

Shaq fell off 3 years ago.

 

[JDC]

There's a middle ground. Maybe 17 ppg, 9 rpg (esp with Joel & Greg out), & 1.5 bpg? Don't have to have 9-12 All Stars but 2 would be nice.

He's averaging 16 and 8 on the season.....

To answer the question though, LMA has been a slight dissapointment so far this year.

But it's not all on him though. I expected 19-20 points and 8-9 boards from him this year, but he just isn't as big of a focus of the offense as he was last year along with being hobbled a good portion of the year.

I thought his scoring would go up simply with the addition of Dre, but with the team still playing a plodding offense (pace is only up 1 poss. form last year), SO LaMarcus isn't getting the amount of fastbreak buckets I thought he would coming into the year. Instead we're seeing a halfcourt offense based around high and side picks for Miller, Bayless and Roy which leaves Aldridge on the outside on alot of sets, and while it's been an effective strategy so far this year, it's decreased Aldridge's post touches from last year.

I would love to see our pace pick up to around 91-92 possesions with more sets involving Aldridge getting a cross screen to help him establish low post position, because percentage wise he's a great finisher around the basket at nearly 70%, he just just simply doesn't have nearly enough opportunities to score in that area the way the Blazers offense is currently constructed.

With some simple changes, Aldridge could easily be that 20 and 9 guy I thought we would see this year.

Here's to hoping

 

[VanillaGorilla]

He is No. 1 because I think he should be an All-Star every year if he wanted to. He plays the game too soft and seems to back further and further away from the basket the more physical it gets. He has a decent post game and excellent mid-range shot, but does not know how to mix it up. This will be a major problem as we enter the second half of the season. Juwan Howard will not be able to continue to log big-time minutes as the season winds towards the playoffs. Aldridge should be a better field-goal percentage shooter – similar to Amare Stoudemire. But the most surprising stat is he is a terrible shot blocker. The Blazers have lost two centers and now it’s time for Aldridge to get tougher and play like he is capable of or they will struggle to make the playoffs.

I don't see how anyone could reasonably disagree with that.

 

[jlprk]

His PER is way down when it should be up. Must be the fat new contract.

06-07 17.1
07-08 18.5
08-09 19.1
09-10 17.5

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/aldrila01.html

 

[KingSpeed]

He's averaging 16 and 8 on the season.....

I know. And I was saying 17 & 9 would be better. Throw in a block more a game and he'd be pretty decent and a borderline All Star.

 

[bluefrog]

His PER is way down when it should be up. Must be the fat new contract.

This. Plus he's been injured lately.

 

[hasoos]

I disagree. Vince Carter is #1. I don't know what he is watching, but he is shooting under 40% and looks like ass out there. When you are replacing Hedo Turkoglu, you should at least come in and not stink.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I tend to give LMA a little bit of a pass, part of this is because he's my favorite Blazer, so I'm biased, another part is that I think he's been somewhat hobbled by injuries, but the biggest thing that jumps out at me is that I can look at his splits before and after Greg went down with injury and it becomes apparent that he's been a much more productive player, particularly in the rebounding category, which tells me that it's not all about Aldridge being soft and squidgy, but that circumstances and his role on the team have not been particularly kind to him.

I still contend that he's not getting nearly enough shot attempts (he's down to 13 per game vs. a 15 FGA average the previous two seasons) and part of this is on the guards for not feeding him and LMA not demanding the ball enough.

Maybe it's jut me projecting my hopes a little, but I kind of expect LMA to have a really strong second half like he has the past two years -- definitely not enough to make the all-star game, but hopefully enough to give this team a legitimate shot at the playoffs.

 

[hasoos]

I tend to give LMA a little bit of a pass, part of this is because he's my favorite Blazer, so I'm biased, another part is that I think he's been somewhat hobbled by injuries, but the biggest thing that jumps out at me is that I can look at his splits before and after Greg went down with injury and it becomes apparent that he's been a much more productive player, particularly in the rebounding category, which tells me that it's not all about Aldridge being soft and squidgy, but that circumstances and his role on the team have not been particularly kind to him.

I still contend that he's not getting nearly enough shot attempts (he's down to 13 per game vs. a 15 FGA average the previous two seasons) and part of this is on the guards for not feeding him and LMA not demanding the ball enough.

Maybe it's jut me projecting my hopes a little, but I kind of expect LMA to have a really strong second half like he has the past two years -- definitely not enough to make the all-star game, but hopefully enough to give this team a legitimate shot at the playoffs.

I know what you are saying, but there are problems with his game. The problem being, during the early parts of the posessions he fails to establish a deep position in the post. He always ends up way outside, but then attempts to play a back to the basket game but starting 18 feet out. If you are going to start 18 feet out you need to have a face up game. The facts are that guards won't pass you the ball if your established post position is 15 to 18 feet out. It needs to be 12 feet and in. That way it is a single stride or pivot for a close in shot at the hoop. Once there, it is a lot easier to get the rebound off of a miss.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I'm not concerned about LA. He isn't 100% and he is asked to do different things on the court this year.

Being responsible for a big portion of the rebounds can really take it out of a player. Couple that with bum ankles and I think Aldridge is filling his new role the best that can be expected.

I'm hoping and expecting he will develop a more physical game as he matures, but for now, he is a solid PF and a great team guy.

Edit: A little slow this morning . . . Nik basically said what I did (only better) . . . but I swear I was typing the same thoughts before I read Nik's post . .

 

[hasoos]

I'm not concerned about LA. He isn't 100% and he is asked to do different things on the court this year.

Being responsible for a big portion of the rebounds can really take it out of a player. Couple that with bum ankles and I think Aldridge is filling his new role the best that can be expected.

I'm hoping and expecting he will develop a more physical game as he matures, but for now, he is a solid PF and a great team guy.

Edit: A little slow this morning . . . Nik basically said what I did (only better) . . . but I swear I was typing the same thoughts before I read Nik's post . .

I don't buy that. Other guys score and rebound both, and it doesn't effect their game, and Lamarcus has always talked about being wanting to be an all star. All stars do it all. They score, rebound, defend, and generally, kick ass. Does Chris Bosh not score when he rebounds? How about Carlos Boozer?

 

[Boob-No-More]

Shaq fell off 3 years ago.

Not totally accurate. He's been in general decline for years and isn't close to the player he once was, but he actually had a pretty good season last year (by anyone else's standards). He had a PER of 22.3 and was rightfully chosen an all-star by the coaches and made 3rd team all-NBA (his first appearance on the all-NBA teams since 2005-06).

Last year reversed a 4-year trend of steady decline. This year, he's back on his previous trajectory.

Here's his PERs over that time span:

2004-05 - 27.0
2005-06 - 24.4
2006-07 - 21.7
2007-08 - 17.1
2008-09 - 22.3
2009-10 - 16.2

If Cleveland thought they were getting the 2008-09 version of Shaq (last year's model), they must be very disappointed.

BNM

 

[fumanchu]

I think it's fair to say he's been the biggest disapointment. This was the year he should have become an all-star. Instead his game has regressed.

He's a good player, and he plays hard, but he's a finesse player and he'll always be that way. You can't teach toughness. Maybe he'll have some kind of epiphany and spend the offseason putting on 15 pounds of muscle and start becoming a banger.

 

[JDC]

I think it's fair to say he's been the biggest disapointment. This was the year he should have become an all-star. Instead his game has regressed.

He's a good player, and he plays hard, but he's a finesse player and he'll always be that way. You can't teach toughness. Maybe he'll have some kind of epiphany and spend the offseason putting on 15 pounds of muscle and start becoming a banger.

He hasn't regressed. Less focus of the team's offense and the team hasn't pushed the pace like some here thought, which we all know would help out LMA production wise.

2008-2009: 19.1 PER 23.7 USG%

2009-2010: 17.5 PER 21.2 USG%

Plus he's been hobbled which I would assume has effected his block numbers, even though it seems he's trending from the solid shotblocker we saw his rookie year, to one more apt to swipe the ball away then meet a guy at the rim. It would be nice to hear an opinion from somebody on the Blazers coaching staff about this.