Aldridge Says He’ll ‘Definitely’ Take More Threes

[SlyPokerDog]

Implies He Won’t Wait For New TV Money To Sign

http://forwardcenter.net/aldridge-s...mplies-he-wont-wait-for-new-tv-money-to-sign/

 

[BlazerCaravan]

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.

 

[magnifier661]

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

 

[KingSpeed]

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.

 

[BlazerWookee]

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.

If he isn't already...

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

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.

Can you imagine Aldridge with sabonis passing skills?

 

[kjironman1]

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.

 

[julius]

If he isn't already...

He isn't.

 

[BlazerWookee]

He isn't.

Says you.

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

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

 

[MarAzul]

Says you.

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

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

He is.

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

 

[BigGameDamian]

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

 

[BrianFromWA]

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!

 

[BigGameDamian]

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!

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.

 

[BrianFromWA]

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.

 

[Rhal]

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.

 

[Blazer4ever]

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.

 

[Pinwheel1]

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.

 

[BrianFromWA]

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.

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.

 

[magnifier661]

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

 

[riverman]

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

 

[riverman]

I think LA's passing is looking better than ever from the small sample size of preseason

 

[BBert]

Yeah lets have Dame, Wes, Nico, and Aldridge all camped outside the three point line with Rolo boxing out 5 guys for the long rebound. LOL

 

[riverman]

Yeah lets have Dame, Wes, Nico, and Aldridge all camped outside the three point line with Rolo boxing out 5 guys for the long rebound. LOL

Or rather having Wes, Nico, Dame roll to the basket behind a Rolo screen while LA is double teamed 20 ft out. Not saying it's where he needs to position himself but he can draw out defenses which draws defenders away from the hoop

 

[blue9]

But obviously we do not want the offense designed full time with LA standing 24 feet from the basket.

There's not much of a difference between 18' and 24'. I'm with Brian - if he's shooting long jumpers they may as well be worth 50% more points.

 

[H.C.]

Rather see Aldridge taking maybe 1-2 three a game and sticking to his mid range jumper/back to the basket game. NBA isn't a video game. W's matter not stats.
Considering we saw on TV Aldridge pick up 3 fouls in 3 straight possessions of Griffin... Rather see him there getting to the free throw line then shooting a 3 to raise his EFG because the 3 pointer is better for fantasy basketball than the 2 is.

 

[dviss1]

Yeah lets have Dame, Wes, Nico, and Aldridge all camped outside the three point line with Rolo boxing out 5 guys for the long rebound. LOL

This doesn't make logical sense. Every one of our starting 5 had career averages in RPG. LA taking a 3 or 2 a game isn't going to change this.

 

[BrianFromWA]

In reality basketball, getting more points is generally believed to be better than getting less. And there's a very strong correlation between a high points-per-possession (a.k.a. "efficiency") and getting more points for the same number of offensive possessions. And there's an even stronger correlation between getting more points than your opponent and winning games. Per NBA rules, those who win the most games get to go to the playoffs.

 

[BBert]

This doesn't make logical sense. Every one of our starting 5 had career averages in RPG. LA taking a 3 or 2 a game isn't going to change this.

Of course it doesn't. I wasn't serious. It was a funny image in my head. Less funny in print. ;-)

 

[dviss1]

Of course it doesn't. I wasn't serious. It was a funny image in my head. Less funny in print. ;-)

OIC

 

[blue9]

Rather see Aldridge taking maybe 1-2 three a game and sticking to his mid range jumper/back to the basket game. NBA isn't a video game. W's matter not stats.
Considering we saw on TV Aldridge pick up 3 fouls in 3 straight possessions of Griffin... Rather see him there getting to the free throw line then shooting a 3 to raise his EFG because the 3 pointer is better for fantasy basketball than the 2 is.

I think EVERYONE would rather have LMA play in the paint than around the 3-point line. But that's not going to happen. So it stands to reason that if he's going to play on the perimeter he may as well take shots that are worth 50% more points than the shot that he normally takes.
If the choice is between a 3-pointer or a dunk he better DUNK THAT SHIT. But if the choice is between an 18' jumper and a 23' jumper, step back and take the 3-pointer.