Player by Player assessments: LaMarcus Aldridge, by Dwight Jaynes

[Mediocre Man]

http://www.csnnw.com/pages/landingd...ent-LaMarcus-Ald=1&blockID=533217&feedID=8351


I know a lot of you don't like Dwight, but at least it's Blazer basketball related. I think it's actually a very good assessment. I want whoever the gave him the last comment from people around the league to be our next GM, by the way.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Up or down, Dwight knows as much about basketball as he does fornication. And looking at his rumpled, homely ass body/face, it's easy to see that he knows nothing about that either.

So if he gets something right in this area, it's blindly.

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OK, I read the article and he has a grasp of the obvious. Certainly there was no insight. Those things have been echoed here so much that it's a possibility he read our posts and constructed his article around them.

 

[maxiep]

http://www.csnnw.com/pages/landingd...ent-LaMarcus-Ald=1&blockID=533217&feedID=8351


I know a lot of you don't like Dwight, but at least it's Blazer basketball related. I think it's actually a very good assessment. I want whoever the gave him the last comment from people around the league to be our next GM, by the way.

With Wallace, Aldridge and a healthy Oden/Camby, our three frontcourt positions should be able to outrun our opponents most nights. A half court offense would seem to negate that advantage.

 

[Draco]

With Wallace, Aldridge and a healthy Oden/Camby, our three frontcourt positions should be able to outrun our opponents most nights. A half court offense would seem to negate that advantage.

I agree Wallace and LA would benefit from running. But Oden and Camby are very effective in the half court, I don't think running would benefit them. The playoffs also become more of a half court game, with teams being rested, exerting more effort on defense, and having longer periods of rest between games. We have been able to make the playoffs, that's not my goal with this team. I want us to work on a style for a deep playoff run. While I do think jumping up from the bottom of the league in pace could help out our team, I don't think its the be all end all and certainly not as important as us adding effective outside shooting.

 

[THE HCP]

The worst thing about Jaynes is he wore a dead squirrel on his head for years! About 2 years ago, he had it removed and you can see the scars from where they had it stitched into his dome! It's nasty!

 

[The_Lillard_King]

LA has the highest trade value of any of the Blazers . . . let's trade him.

 

[crandc]

Add physics.

A pet peeve is when people use terms like "quantum leap" because it sounds, I don't know, smart?

Quantum mechanics is observed at the subatomic level so a true quantum leap is really really tiny.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Add physics.

A pet peeve is when people use terms like "quantum leap" because it sounds, I don't know, smart?

Quantum mechanics is observed at the subatomic level so a true quantum leap is really really tiny.

sho 'nuff?

 

[BrianFromWA]

I think they're talking about a step-jump from one energy (or talent) level to another, vice the ramp-up that most players have.

 

[PapaG]

Add physics.

A pet peeve is when people use terms like "quantum leap" because it sounds, I don't know, smart?

Quantum mechanics is observed at the subatomic level so a true quantum leap is really really tiny.

A quantum leap in physics is a sudden advancement or breakthrough. It has nothing to do with the size of the "leap"; it has to do with the result of the "leap".

 

[Mediocre Man]

A quantum leap in physics is a sudden advancement or breakthrough. It has nothing to do with the size of the "leap"; it has to do with the result of the "leap".

Much better than how I was going to put it, but I literally was about to respond to that the same way....Only not as well.

 

[mook]

My hope is that his midseason spurt opened his eyes to what he can become for the next 5-7 years, and the end-of-season fall-off opened his eyes to the need for added conditioning to survive the long grind while playing at an elite level.

Also, I hope the team has come to realize we need a backup PF to allow him more rest. Nowitzki, the undeniable best PF in the game right now, averaged a full 5 minutes less per game during the regular season (and took off 9 games to injury, compared to LA's 1 game). And let's face it, Dirk also takes a ton of possession off on the defensive end. Another comparison is Tim Duncan--after he turned 27, he never averaged more than 36 mpg, and has averaged right around 34 mpg over the past 7 seasons.

I don't think Aldridge needs to play 34 mpg like Dirk, but I'd like to see it drop a little to 35-37 mpg.

 

[BBert]

Good post mook. LaMarcus was asked to post up and battle down low and lead the team in scoring. At the same time, he was asked to battle and wrestle the others team's post players and play stellar defense. Then he was asked to run the court on every break, and to rebound at the same time. All while playing heavy minutes and not taking any plays off, on offense or defense. And still, some people found ways to not be satisfied. IDK. LaMarcus was easily the best player in that draft.

 

[PapaG]

My hope is that his midseason spurt opened his eyes to what he can become for the next 5-7 years, and the end-of-season fall-off opened his eyes to the need for added conditioning to survive the long grind while playing at an elite level.

Also, I hope the team has come to realize we need a backup PF to allow him more rest. Nowitzki, the undeniable best PF in the game right now, averaged a full 5 minutes less per game during the regular season (and took off 9 games to injury, compared to LA's 1 game). And let's face it, Dirk also takes a ton of possession off on the defensive end. Another comparison is Tim Duncan--after he turned 27, he never averaged more than 36 mpg, and has averaged right around 34 mpg over the past 7 seasons.

I don't think Aldridge needs to play 34 mpg like Dirk, but I'd like to see it drop a little to 35-37 mpg.

It is imperative that the Blazers get a quality back-up big who can give LMA 12 minutes/game of rest. The problem this year (or any year, I guess) has been that the drop-off from LMA to whoever is his back-up has been so large that the on-court team performance is dramatically impacted. So, if Kenneth Faried is the guy, the other key is for Portland to get a primary scorer to make up for LMA's absence. I haven't completely given up on Roy like others have, primarily because he is the only other primary scoring option on the roster right now. If Brandon can give a productive 25 mpg off of the bench (or even as a starter), he can be the player that gives LMA more rest. If Brandon can't do it, then whoever the GM is needs to find another primary scorer who can create offense, which makes it much more difficult to fill that hole. If that guy isn't Brandon, or if the Blazers can't find that guy via draft or trade, then I fully expect LMA to play ~40 mpg again out of necessity.