Aldridge's D vs Thomas' D

[Денг Гордон]

I think you are misinterpreting the context he is using "Garbage Man" in.. he isnt saying he is a garbage player, or a garbage time player.. more of a "lunch pale, do the dirty work type player" and teams need those, hell he would be a perfect backup (aside from the IQ of a fence post) to Aldridge here. Teams need do the dirty work players, Joel is one of those for us here in Portland.

He's not a garbage man though. Joakim Noah is a garbage man, but Thomas is not. Thomas scores a lot of his points on jumpshots and quite a bit off the dribble.

 

[Nikolokolus]

He's not a garbage man though. Joakim Noah is a garbage man, but Thomas is not. Thomas scores a lot of his points on jumpshots and quite a bit off the dribble.

You can parse 'garbage man' however you like, but the fact remains that Thomas still has a pretty raw offensive game and no back to the basket game and generates a lot of his offense on plays that are not out of a set. You initially took the term to mean something derogatory when it wasn't intended that way.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

There is no way around it - Tyrus is easily a few tiers below Aldridge.

I'd like Tyrus as a backup.

 

[Minstrel]

That's silly. If we do that, then we could easily say that LaMarcus Aldridge right now isn't as good as Thomas as a rookie.

How would we come to that conclusion?

 

[Nikolokolus]

How would we come to that conclusion?

You could make an argument that Thomas had a better rookie season Per 40 minutes at 15.5/11 whereas LMA went for 16/9 per 40 ... pretty damn close to a tossup if you ask me

 

[Minstrel]

You could make an argument that Thomas had a better rookie season Per 40 minutes at 15.5/11 whereas LMA went for 16/9 per 40 ... pretty damn close to a tossup if you ask me

But he said LMA "right now" compared to Thomas as a rookie.

 

[Natebishop3]

But he said LMA "right now" compared to Thomas as a rookie.

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that one out too...

 

[Masbee]

That's silly. If we do that, then we could easily say that LaMarcus Aldridge right now isn't as good as Thomas as a rookie.

Really?

How could you accomplish that feat?

 

[Boob-No-More]

That's silly. If we do that, then we could easily say that LaMarcus Aldridge right now isn't as good as Thomas as a rookie.

How so????? That data shows that Aldridge, as a rookie (PER = 17.1), was more productive than Thomas in his 3rd season (PER = 15.7). How can you possibly interpret that data to show that the rookie Thomas, (PER = 14.8), is better than Aldridge now (PER = 19.5)? Please explain. I'm baffled by your statement.

BNM

 

[Денг Гордон]

How so????? That data shows that Aldridge, as a rookie (PER = 17.1), was more productive than Thomas in his 3rd season (PER = 15.7). How can you possibly interpret that data to show that the rookie Thomas, (PER = 14.8), is better than Aldridge now (PER = 19.5)? Please explain. I'm baffled by your statement.

BNM

If you do per 36, Thomas averages 13.9 PPG 10.0 RPG 2.8 BPG 1.7 SPG.

That player is better than 17.9 PPG 7.2 RPG 0.9 BPG 0.9 SPG

I'm not saying that Thomas as a rookie was better than Aldridge now, but that it was stupid to say Aldridge as a rookie was better than Thomas using per 36 minute stats, which are very misleading with rookies.

 

[Natebishop3]

If you do per 36, Thomas averages 13.9 PPG 10.0 RPG 2.8 BPG 1.7 SPG.

That player is better than 17.9 PPG 7.2 RPG 0.9 BPG 0.9 SPG

I'm not saying that Thomas as a rookie was better than Aldridge now, but that it was stupid to say Aldridge as a rookie was better than Thomas using per 36 minute stats, which are very misleading with rookies.

Aldridge's rookie season was a wash. He didn't at the start of the season, and then he had to sit out at the end with his heart condition.

 

[Boob-No-More]

If you do per 36, Thomas averages 13.9 PPG 10.0 RPG 2.8 BPG 1.7 SPG.

That player is better than 17.9 PPG 7.2 RPG 0.9 BPG 0.9 SPG

I'm not saying that Thomas as a rookie was better than Aldridge now, but that it was stupid to say Aldridge as a rookie was better than Thomas using per 36 minute stats, which are very misleading with rookies.

It has nothing to do with rookies, per 36 minutes stats are misleading when comparing two significantly different sample sizes. Comparing the per 36 numbers for two players who average 27 and 22 MPG is a valid comparison as their minutes and the role they play is very similar. Comparing the per 36 numbers of a player who averages 13 MPG to one who averages 37 MPG is NOT a valid comparison. The sample size is very different and they are playing different roles.

For one thing the player who averages 13 MPG is probably getting most of his minutes as a back-up and a considerable portion of them during "garbage time" when the other team is playing their end-of-the-bench guys. A player who averages 37 MPG is putting up his numbers as a starter against the opponent's best players. Also, you have no way to predict if a player's productivity per minute will remain constant if you triple his minutes. It most likely will not - there's a reason he's only getting 13 MPG in the first place.

BNM