Props to Aldridge

[BlazersBlood]

I was very concerned for the mental state of Aldridge after the Sac game last Monday. His shot wasn't falling, he was second guessing himself, and was very gun-shy. His shots were not just off, but he wasn't even close on a lot of his attempts. He was banging shots off the side of the backboard, missing the rim, and just bricking almost every jumper. It was embarrassing and you could tell by the way Lamarcus carried himself on the court that his head wasn't in the game. During an 8 game stretch he shot:

39-105 37%

For a guy that looked so silky smooth in the preseason, you'd figure he'd eventually turn it around. And the last two games he has.

15-23 65%

I'm glad to see Aldridge is back. We need his ability to pull the defense out and make those signature 17-20 footers. If he's hitting those, we're going to be very tough to beat.

 

[MrJayremmie]

Yeah, he has been playing well the last 2 games. When Roy and Aldridge both play well, we are really tough to beat...

I really like LA's game. He was dunking and gettin' some off. rebounds and putbacks... thats what I like to see.

 

[MAS RipCity]

All it was, was a slump, shit happens. Thats why I was laughing at everyone who thought the sky was falling.

 

[MrJayremmie]

^Defintely, man. That was more frustrating then his slump to me.

 

[BlazersBlood]

Yeah, he has been playing well the last 2 games. When Roy and Aldridge both play well, we are really tough to beat...

I really like LA's game. He was dunking and gettin' some off. rebounds and putbacks... thats what I like to see.

I didnt' get to see either of the last two games, so he was gettin most of his points off workin in the paint? Or was his jumper falling too?

 

[BrianFromWA]

I guess I'm a "sky is falling" guy.

The trouble with LMA's "$hit happens" slump is that he didn't do anything to get out of it other than keep shooting bricks until they turned into swishes. 8 games' worth. Watch Bosh every once in a while, or Garnett, or Boozer, or any other top-level PF. If the shot's not falling, they go to the hole, or become fierce rebounders, or tighten the D up or something. LMA showed (in a small sample size, so I'm not trying to extrapolate a career here) that he's still very much a one-trick pony.

And you probably also saw that my criticisms largely focused on LaMarcus Aldridge, whose shot chart was starting to resemble a 6-foot-4 guard more than a 6-11 power forward. I even got on Aldridge's case after a practice last week, quizzing him about his shot selection, what he thought was the appropriate balance of inside-to-outside shots that he should be taking, and what was keeping him from looking for his shot more in the paint, which understandably caused him to get testy.

So to be fair after grilling and criticizing the guy, I approached Aldridge after last week's loss to Seattle and told him that I thought he'd done a great job looking for his shots in the paint. He'd handled the double teams well, made some strong moves to the basket and showed a much better balance with his shot selection. And it was obvious by Aldridge's pleased reaction that it had become a focus among he and the coaches in recent days, and the affects are still being seen.

"I've been trying to do a better job of getting deep post position where we can get something going down low, something going early," Aldridge said. "If guys aren't making their shots, I can be down low, getting to the foul line, getting us easy shots, where when they (teammates) do stuff — when their shots are coming — hopefully the game will still be close."

That's something Blazers coaches have told me for weeks they have been trying to get Aldridge to understand. But the coaches couldn't get Aldridge to commit to his post game the way they needed him to. I saw last week's loss to Sacramento was the pinnacle of that problem when I charted his shots and discovered this line:

LU/Dunks 1-8 Ft. 9-17 Ft. 18-22 Ft. Total
L. Aldridge 0-0 0-1 3-4 2-6 5-11

LaMarcus was surprised when I told him how few shots he had attempted inside 9 feet during that game, and defended his shot selection.

BTW, that was from last February. http://www.columbian.com/article/20080227/BLOGS05/311616164/-1/blazerbanterarchive Has much changed?

If you don't think that players on our team should be criticized, you're not gonna like this post. He played a good game last night, getting half his FGs from inside the paint. That was fun. I find it difficult to believe you were happy that he just kept shooting jumpers in the midst of a big slump.

If you're going to tout him as part of the "Big Three", as an All-Star candidate, and as an untouchable, 8-game slumps where you don't change your game isn't going to shut up the people who don't like to accept bad play from the team I'm paying to watch.

 

[MrJayremmie]

I didnt' get to see either of the last two games, so he was gettin most of his points off workin in the paint? Or was his jumper falling too?

His jumper has been goin' for him. But his overall game for the last 2 has been vastly improved on offense. When Nate went in the film room and showed him some tape of what he was doing, I think that really helped him.

I guess I'm a "sky is falling" guy.

The trouble with LMA's "$hit happens" slump is that he didn't do anything to get out of it other than keep shooting bricks until they turned into swishes. 8 games' worth. Watch Bosh every once in a while, or Garnett, or Boozer, or any other top-level PF. If the shot's not falling, they go to the hole, or become fierce rebounders, or tighten the D up or something. LMA showed (in a small sample size, so I'm not trying to extrapolate a career here) that he's still very much a one-trick pony.

Huh? during his slump we was really active on the defensive end. he really picked up his energy on that end.

He took open shots during his slump. He forced some, but alot of the time he had an open jumper and he took it and missed. You are right that he still shoots a lot of jump shots... but that is part of his game. His shots down in the post and his post moves weren't working for him during the slump either.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

What kind of player does Aldridge want to be? I would actually be okay with him being Sheed: somebody who has the skills to take over the odd game (when he's pissed off) but who is content to be role player on offense most games, while always bringing it on defense.

Does he always bring it on defense, though? I'm not sure.

He did have a very good game against West, though, and I bet it's because there's no love lost there. He was taking him inside successfully - and West is a tough guy, but just couldn't stop him.

If Aldridge was NOT happy not being "the man", or didn't play a team game, or didn't play great defense, then he would be the one of the "big three" I'd consider shopping. Particularly as part of a package for Chris Bosh.