Aldridge's disappearing act

[Shooter]

Where's Aldridge? Has anyone seen him? In the first two games at Houston he was Superman. Tonight he was the Invisible Man.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Where's Aldridge? Has anyone seen him? In the first two games at Houston he was Superman. Tonight he was the Invisible Man.

It's a fair question

 

[EGame]

He was a reason we lost, but if he can show up for one more game and help us earn the final win in this series than this won't even be looked at. In the end, Aldridge could do well and we still end up losing the final two, and the main reason for that would be the bench. The bench fucking sucks and until we get some help there we cannot compete for a title.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

he got in early foul trouble and it kind of kept him cold all night.

 

[B-Roy]

He wasn't involved in the plays. They barely posted him up. It's on Stotts.

 

[Natebishop3]

he got in early foul trouble and it kind of kept him cold all night.

Yeah, but he only finished with three fouls.

 

[BlazerBeav]

Had a bad night - hardly the only superstar you can say that about. Dirk shot the Mavs right out of a win in Game 4.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Yeah, but he only finished with three fouls.

yeah, but when you're not getting the ball early and often, you cool down. you just can't flip a switch. its like when dwight dominates and no one else touches the ball, it lingers the entire game.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

I sometimes wonder if being considered the man at times by fans and insiders and the stress that that comes with makes him pull back at times.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

no. like i said, he did not get the chance to get into a groove. its not that hard to see. stop overanalyzing.

 

[KingSpeed]

He was fine. Had 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. I don't think it was LA's goal to drop 46 on Houston in Game 1. The ball just found him. Tonight, the ball found Wes. We were fine until the last three minutes. It just didn't go our way.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

He's the best player in the series. If he shows they win. So why not present himself this evening? More than likely he's saving himself for a remarkable game 6 effort. He has the ability to turn it off and on. And I hope he decides to turn it on for the game in Portland.

You don't want go back to Houston.

 

[Blazer4ever]

Aldridge should get back to his rhythm by playing better defense, if he's able to challenge shots and protect the rim he would have a much more positive impact and get his confidence back.

 

[riverman]

Tonight was decoy LA...notice Rolo and Wes had 17 and 27 though? hmmm?

 

[blue32]

If he doesn't show Friday were cooked. He is our main shot at advancing

 

[riverman]

LA was 2 pts and 2 boards from a double double with 4 blocked shots, he wasn't the worst part of the game, that would be the bench scoring 5 pts while theirs scored I'm guessing here,...40?

 

[KingSpeed]

Tonight was decoy LA...notice Rolo and Wes had 17 and 27 though? hmmm?

Exactly.

 

[PDXFonz]

Watching him in games 3 4 5 he isn't catching the ball with confidence. I'd rather him shoot 100 shots and miss 99 than take 10 shots a game...

 

[BigGameDamian]

Tonight was decoy LA...notice Rolo and Wes had 17 and 27 though? hmmm?

It's all a set up for game 6. I'm not worried one bit that Aldridge fell flat nor do I blame him at all. It's all a chess match.

 

[Natebishop3]

He's the best player in the series. If he shows they win. So why not present himself this evening? More than likely he's saving himself for a remarkable game 6 effort. He has the ability to turn it off and on. And I hope he decides to turn it on for the game in Portland.

You don't want go back to Houston.

I think Dame has actually been consistently better in the series. If LA didn't have insane games in the first two, his averages would be very pedestrian. Outside of a poor shooting night in game two, Dame has been exceptional in all five games, and he nearly had a triple double in that game.

 

[Kaydow]

The reason we won 3 times in this series is LA was demanding so much attention. Our offense fizzles when he's a "decoy". He's the straw that stirs the drink, & we simply need more from him to win this series. The Rockets didn't figure out how to cover him all the sudden. He had a bad night. His jumpers were WAY off. He was slow to react when they doubled. Those two FTs he missed - 2nd one was so short it hit the bottom of the rim. And the fast break where he was running back, got turned around twice, then tried to swipe the ball as Parsons jammed it . . . that's not the guy we've watched terrorize the Rockets all series.

I'm a big LA supporter who gets tired of the LaSofty crap. I hate it & I hope this is just a wake up call for him. His critics will have a field day if the Blazers lose this series and he plays like he did tonight after the way this series started. He wants to be "the man", he wants this to be his team, and MOST of us want that for him too. I'm looking for a bounce back performance in Game 6. Not asking for 46/18, but a helluva lot more than 8 pts and 3/12.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

When Aldridge doesn't score 40+ points, we are 2-5 against Houston this year. #StatsCanSayAnything

 

[ripcityboy]

Seemed like whenever he got the ball he passed it off. I remember several times he was passed the ball again and gave it up.
Maybe he talked to his bookie lately. Who knows.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

I think Dame has actually been consistently better in the series. If LA didn't have insane games in the first two, his averages would be very pedestrian. Outside of a poor shooting night in game two, Dame has been exceptional in all five games, and he nearly had a triple double in that game.

Dame has been special. But he hasn't literally dominated a game in the way LA has. LA is responsbile for two wins this series.

 

[Natebishop3]

Dame has been special. But he hasn't literally dominated a game in the way LA has. LA is responsbile for two wins this series.

Dominating two games isn't better, imo, than being consistently great over five.

 

[jlprk]

I'm the one who invented his nickname, "The Big Decoy."

(pats self on back)

Glad to see others starting to use it.

 

[Natebishop3]

Just to compare:

Over the five playoff games:

LA - 29.8 ppg on 50% shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 blocks
Dame - 25.6 ppg on 45% shooting, 7.4 assists, 6.4 rebound, and 1 steal

Here's the thing, over the last three games:

LA - 20 ppg on 40% shooting, 9.3 rebounds, 3.6 blocks

Dame - 26.3 ppg on 51% shooting, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals

So without those first two games, Lillard is clearly the star on this team. He has consistently brought his "A" game every night.

 

[jlprk]

Seemed like whenever he got the ball he passed it off. I remember several times he was passed the ball again and gave it up.
Maybe he talked to his bookie lately. Who knows.

He can't improvise. He functions well only if conditions are perfect.

He's too civilized. The tablecloth has to be arranged just so. A true star can eat whatever he finds, off the ground.

 

[Blazer4ever]

Lillard is amazingly consistent!
I really liked Batum dribbling the ball to an open spot then either taking an open shot or drawing another defender and making the pass inside. He should do it every chance he's got.

 

[Blazer4ever]

The problem with Aldridge is his defense. He doesn't keep his arms up, he swipes too much at the ball and when the offensive player gets it above his shoulders he has an open shot. Freeland plays great defense by just keeping his feet set and his arms up and boxing out. He also is better than Aldridge at recognizing when to help on a drive and also isn't afraid of contact, with Aldridge he is most of time more worried about not being on a poster than blocking a shot. His man-to-man defense was actually very good and he was able to be effective guarding Parsons when they went small and we stayed big but having him as our only big puts us in huge disadvantage on defense and on the boards. Howard made it to the finals playing as the only big in Orlando, Aldridge is not the same player.
IMO when Houston plays with 4 small players we should either stay big with Aldridge on Parsons or try a different approach with Aldridge sitting and one of our other bigs playing.