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BlazerCaravan said:
He scores the most points and gets the most rebounds, but you could make a case that, because he hasn't improved in his shooting percentage or shot selection that he isn't the what the fuck am I saying? He was the team MVP last and he is this year too. Just because he hasn't improved his shooting doesn't change that.

Brian, he is the team MVP regardless of perceived improvement, because he's been the team MVP for like five years. He's been the best PF in the game for two or three, certainly in the conversation. That some think he's in the conversation for league MVP isn't totally nuts.
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Ok, but why? I've pointed out multiple times (I'll do it again) why I question it:
1) LMA is the best PF in the league not named LeBron.
2) When he is in the paint, LMA is elite.
3) When he is shooting J's, he is as efficient as Andrea Bargnani.
4) He does #3 3x as much as he does #2
5) The Blazers have gone from 33-49 to 31-9 due in large part to their jump from #16 to #1 in offensive efficiency (points per possession).
6) LMA's shooting and ORebounding have not been any better than they were in last year's #16-ranked, 33-49 offense (he takes 3 more shots per game)
7) Because you think it's important, I'll add that his assists are up 0.3apg and his AST% has gone from 13.2 to 13.9, and TO% has gone down from 8 to 7. I think that's great as well.

If you want to say he's the best player on the team and has been, sure. If you call that MVP, then ok...I'm not sold on that yet, but that's not a 12-page discussion. If you say he's the main reason we're 31-9 vs. 33-49, I disagree, and b/c of that I think it's an open question on who Team MVP is.
 
I mean, if you don't want stats, look at the last two games. SAS and DAL had no one...NO ONE...who could handle LMA in the paint. He had a variety of moves. He had moves still left in the bag after his 6 makes. He shot the majority of his shots in the paint. Not coincidentally (because he's elite in the paint) he shot 67%. He scored efficiently. He started drawing double-teams. The team got open dunks, open 3's, fouls on pick-and-rolls. They were up almost 40 against a playoff team on the road. How is it hating, or not being a Blazer fan, to ask the question why he's shooting so many low-percentage jumpers when he can score at will against almost anyone in the league in the paint (even if it's just 50-60% of his shots, like tonight), and in doing so open massive passing lanes/open 3pt shooters?
 
Okay, I can calm down enough to treat with you. I think about the 89-90 team a lot, cause they were my first team. This discussion, to me, feels like someone on one dude arguing that Clyde is our MVP, and someone on the other side arguing that Buck us our MVP, because if Clyde was so great, why did the team kind of suck before Buck arrived?

I'm not a Clyde partisan, necessarily, but he was our best player and in my opinion our MVP in 89-90. You could make a case for Terry, but I think without Clyde, with a different SG like Ainge, the blazers don't play against Detroit that year.

This is where I'm coming from. It's an emotional place (no kidding!) but a fun one to be in. What's your opinion, Brian?
 
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It's a decent parallel, but I think the difference breaks down a bit. I have to think about it, though---I haven't been thinking hypothetically tonight.

I'll buy LMA as Clyde--best player for the team for a while and a legit all-star hitting (in?) his prime, but LMA's at a slight level below Clyde throughout the league. Lillard isn't Buck, though (who I love, but who suborned himself to Clyde and TP), or Porter. I mean, on the same list that has LMA as #3 for MVP they have Lillard as #7. It would be as if, instead of Buck, we brought in someone of Dominique's ability (all-star, top 10 MVP complement to the star guard) who did the same things for the team Buck did while scoring 20+. If Clyde had negligible performance increases, but the new stud in 'Nique massively improved, improved the team 15 places in offense, got an all-star bid and maybe a top 10 MVP, then people wouldn't be off-base for thinking that the new big man opening things up for Clyde to do his thing, TP and Kersey having a career year and Duck having a usual solid season, that maybe Clyde wasn't the MVP? Even if he was the better player over his career?

I don't know....
 
BlazerCaravan said:
Yeah, forgot to hit shift before hitting the period/question mark key on my ipad. Sorry.
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Jayps said:
Frankly I'd say you're the one doing your normal trolling of the mods tonight, starting an argument based on misconstrued or made up slights, and accusing an eminently reasonable poster of adopting some of the ridiculous BS you've had a hand in over the years.
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It means, that it is not really unrealistic to assume that an account with 700 post over a 5 year period, who I have never seen post in the past 3 months, and who's first response is an amorphous comment about trolling and ridiculous BS, 13 pages into a thread about LA... is a duplicate account. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Still doesn't diminish the perception.

Mystery solved. We can move on now.
 
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Strenuus said:
Quality over quantity. I have a shit ton of posts, but I've probably said next to nothing worth of anything. I'm sure there's posters with much less than me and more time than me that have said far more relevant stuff than my candy ass.
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I agree with you.
 
BrianFromWA said:
It's a decent parallel, but I think the difference breaks down a bit. I have to think about it, though---I haven't been thinking hypothetically tonight.

I'll buy LMA as Clyde--best player for the team for a while and a legit all-star hitting (in?) his prime, but LMA's at a slight level below Clyde throughout the league. Lillard isn't Buck, though (who I love, but who suborned himself to Clyde and TP), or Porter. I mean, on the same list that has LMA as #3 for MVP they have Lillard as #7. It would be as if, instead of Buck, we brought in someone of Dominique's ability (all-star, top 10 MVP complement to the star guard) who did the same things for the team Buck did while scoring 20+. If Clyde had negligible performance increases, but the new stud in 'Nique massively improved, improved the team 15 places in offense, got an all-star bid and maybe a top 10 MVP, then people wouldn't be off-base for thinking that the new big man opening things up for Clyde to do his thing, TP and Kersey having a career year and Duck having a usual solid season, that maybe Clyde wasn't the MVP? Even if he was the better player over his career?

I don't know....
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I'll be honest, I've felt that Robin has been our Buck, and our invisible MVP, because he has made the pick and roll a real threat, hits his free throws, and let's LA feast on power forwards instead of getting pounded by centers. Everything falls apart without Rolo IMHO.
 
BlazerCaravan said:
I'll be honest, I've felt that Robin has been our Buck, and our invisible MVP, because he has made the pick and roll a real threat, hits his free throws, and let's LA feast on power forwards instead of getting pounded by centers. Everything falls apart without Rolo IMHO.
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Ropez is the biggest man I've seen on the court for the Blazers since Sabas. He just fills up space. I love it.
 
PapaG said:
Ropez is the biggest man I've seen on the court for the Blazers since Sabas. He just fills up space. I love it.
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I've always thought when we played against him, in PHX and NO, that he always seemed a lot bigger than he was listed. And not simply because of his hair.
 
BlazerCaravan said:
Yeah, he's a true monster. Love his game.
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Freeland and his "arms up" defense, combined with his size, makes a difference, too. At least once a game it appears he alters a shot that could be called a foul, but isn't, and the Blazers get the ball on the missed shot or turnover.
 
RR7 said:
I've always thought when we played against him, in PHX and NO, that he always seemed a lot bigger than he was listed. And not simply because of his hair.
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Bropez is huge, too. I hated those guys at Stanford, but love Ropez as a Blazer in the middle. The Blazers, with LMA/Ropez/Batum on the front line, just look huge and lengthy to me. That's what wins in the NBA.
 
PapaG said:
I'm of your opinion on this, but LMA's usage rate isn't impacted by the ball rotation to Lillard, then Nic, then Wesley, on that possession. That entire basket was based on a double-team to LMA, but it isn't reflected in the stats, as well as LMA's PER, advanced or otherwise. It's why questioning BrianfromWA has become a new pastime here at S2.
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Yes, I wasn't saying his usage stat was affected by that possession. I trying to say that a high usage player gets double teamed more, like that possession, and the stats will lie on possessions like that because LA risks a turnover (negative stat) while creating points that don't show up in his stats.
 
BrianFromWA said:
And unless I'm totally misreading bobf's post, it's another in the line of stuff that proves that there's nothing significantly different about LMA (at least on the offensive end) from last year's 33-49 LMA to this year's 31-9 LMA. I mean, I get that you hate listening to be drone on, but when eblazer's posts show it, and bobf's posts show it... :dunno:
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I'm not in love with the long range or turnaround 2's either. I much prefer him taking it to the hoop. But there are some possessions that take a bad turn and having that shot as a reliable fall-back is a good thing.

The point of my post was (1) his efficiency is not down, its about the same and (2) when a player's usage goes up that can be a sign that he is drawing more attention and benefiting other players while not helping and potentially hurting (risking turnovers) his own stats.

Fans are not getting on the L-Train based on season stats. It's based on what they see more recently...

Points per possession:
1.081 Last Year
0.991 November
1.148 December
1.144 January

If that was a basketball score it's 108 last year vs 114 for the past two months.

LA also seems to have shedded his FT line end-of-game choke factor.
 
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I'm not taking sides in Hatefest 2005, but I will say that it is not unreasonable to question(as many have in past years) why LA does not take his game inside more often. Does that mean "OMG ALDRIDGE IS SOFT IZ IT TOO LATE TO GIT A REAL PF?!?!?", no. LaMarcus has been, and IS phenomenal. This is the same behavior that took place in a thread about Batum not long ago. No one wants this player gone, nor would I like to see them crucified, but that doesn't mean they cannot improve. LA has a beautiful stroke, he can hit from almost anywhere on the court and it is a fantastic asset to have. However, would it not benefit the team if he took it into the paint more often where A) He shoots extremely efficiently B) He has a much better chance to draw fouls, which means more subs for the opposition, getting his team into penalty shots, frustrating defenses , etc C) He puts himself in better position for offensive rebounds

If those claims are outlandish, well then i'm fine with being crazy.
 
Jayps is not Brian, they have different IP addresses. And when Brian was off serving our country, his IP address showed that he was, actually, over seas serving our country.

Or maybe Brian has super talents.
 
bobf said:
Fans are not getting on the L-Train based on season stats. It's based on what they see more recently...

Points per possession:
1.081 Last Year
0.991 November
1.148 December
1.144 January

If that was a basketball score it's 108 last year vs 114 for the past two months.

LA also seems to have shedded his FT line end-of-game choke factor.
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That was the intent of the OP. It doesn't surprise me that some who advocated trading LA in the past are still struggling to let go of that notion, and lashing out with anything they can point out that might diminish his significant bump in over-all performance.
 
Blazer Fanatic said:
That was the intent of the OP. It doesn't surprise me that some who advocated trading LA in the past are still struggling to let go of that notion, and lashing out with anything they can point out that might diminish his significant bump in over-all performance.
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I'll have to change my name to Copernicus, I guess--anyone who points out facts that harm the narrative passed down from the altar of Blazerdom is insulted and trolled. The OP was flawed by incorrect stats and incorrect analysis ("best stretch of his career").

When you actually post a non-invented fact in this thread (I'll even let you steal one of mine, or eblazer's, or bobf's), then you might be on the road to credibility. So far, you're putting up an oh-fer. Including the bolded. Carry on.
 
I would trade LMA for Harden but not for Dwight.

Just thought you guys would want to know.
 
BTW, I'm just kidding. Getting Harden would mean replacing Wes and I'm a huge Wes fan!
 
BrianFromWA said:
I'll have to change my name to Copernicus, I guess--anyone who points out facts that harm the narrative passed down from the altar of Blazerdom is insulted and trolled. The OP was flawed by incorrect stats and incorrect analysis ("best stretch of his career").

When you actually post a non-invented fact in this thread (I'll even let you steal one of mine, or eblazer's, or bobf's), then you might be on the road to credibility. So far, you're putting up an oh-fer. Including the bolded. Carry on.
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Revisionist history even within the same thread? This is new. Right... you're the victim, or "Priestess", who was insulted, and who's opinion is fact, and didn't go out of their way to say LA probably wasn't even the MVP of the Blazers. smh

List the incorrect stats from the stretch between Dec 1st to Jan 15. I fixed the STAT (singular). His FG% is 1% lower because of a typo I made when converting his game stats to excel, and it doesn't diminish or invalidate what most people know to be true: that LA is having the best stretch of his NBA career.

Please list the invented facts: and go.

Please list the statS and incorrect analysis: and go.

You were going to get back to me a month ago in regards to LA in another thread about LA and never did because he destroyed OKC in Portland. If I made any assumption that was incorrect, it was you had turned the corner on the anti-LA rhetoric.
 
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