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ATLANTA – The Portland Trail Blazers held shootaround Friday morning at Phillips Arena in preparation for tonight’s game versus the Hawks in Atlanta (tipoff scheduled for 4:30 on CSNNW and 620 AM). Some note from practice.
• LaMarcus Aldridge, who made the rounds on NBA TV and TNT Thursday night, spoke about being named to his fourth-consecutive Western Conference All-Star roster. In years past, Aldridge fretted about whether or not he would be included in the midseason exhibition, but that’s no longer the case.
“I wasn’t worried,” said Aldridge. “I think, as you get older and you make it a couple of times, I think you feel like either you’re in or you’re not. I think that my body of work should have spoke for itself, so I wasn’t overly worried.”
After being considered the third wheel of a “Big Three” that never materialized, Aldridge said his selection was just more validation of the time and effort he’s put in to refining his game in the last 10 years.
“I think it means a lot for my legacy and the type of player I want to be and where I want to go,” said Aldridge. “I think a lot of people probably doubted that I would even be a one-time All-Star, so to be a four-time All-Star, it just shows that the hard work and the evolution I’ve tried to do every year.”
Aldridge got his spot on the roster thanks to being voted in by the Western Conference coaches rather than through fan voting, which determines the starters for both teams. He got more votes this year than in prior season, but it still wasn’t enough to make the starting unit, which Aldridge understands and isn’t particularly bothered by.
“Some people get in by fan votes that way but I get in by the coaches,” said Aldridge. “I’m not overly popular player, I don’t play an exciting game to watch, so a lot of fans probably don’t really see me play that often because I’m not a ticket seller. I get it but I know that I produce wins and I’m a valuable asset on the floor. That’s all that matters.”
• On the flip side, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard spoke on being left out of his year’s All-Star festivities despite having elite statistics while playing on a team with one of the best records in the NBA.
“I was surprised,” said Lillard of his reaction the news that he’d be spending the second weekend in February at home rather than in New York. “I said it before: I thought I did all I could do individually. I thought my team has been successful. It wasn’t something I could control. Everything that I could control to give myself my best shot, I did. It played out how it played out.”
At the time, there was a chance that Lillard would still make the team as the replacement for Kobe Bryant, who was voted a starter by the fans but will have to miss the game due to season-ending shoulder surgery. But after post-shootaround interviews, NBA commissioner Adam Silver elected to give the spot to Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, all but ensuring that Lillard will not make the team after doing so in his second season.
“I’m definitely going to take it personal,” said Lillard even before Silver selected Cousins as the injury alternate. “I said I’d be pissed off about it, and I am. I just felt disrespected. Because I play the game the right way, I play unselfishly, I play for my team to win games and I produce at a high level. I think what I bring to the game as a person, my makeup mentally, how I am toward my teammates, how I am toward the media, how I am toward fans; I think what an All-Star represents in this league, and what you would want people to look at as an All-Star, I think I make up all those things. For me to be having the type of season that I’m having, which is better than any one that I’ve had before, and my team to be third in the Western Conference, I just see it as disrespect.”
Lillard’s teammates agreed that his omission was surprising, though most at the time thought for sure he would get the spot left open by Bryant. Not the case.
“It was just disappointed because I felt like he should definitely be in there, and he will,” said Aldridge. “He’ll end up taking Kobe’s spot. It’s not going to feel the same for him. It definitely was a disappointment because our season has went so well and he’s played at such a high level for this team. It was disappointing, but knowing him, he’s already used it for motivation and I’m sure we’ll see the benefits of it happen.”
Lillard knows that he’s well-respected around the league and has received texts from various players around the league decrying his All-Star snub. But he also noted that it’s little comfort considering how hard he has worked to overcome his doubters dating all the way back to his days at Oakland High School.
“I appreciate that level of respect that people feel that I was worthy of being an All-Star, but I work hard,” said Lillard. “I put a lot of time into it. And I do it the right way. So that’s not good enough for me. I appreciate the fact that people feel that way, but that’s just not good enough for me.”
http://forwardcenter.net/shootaround-notes-all-star-reactions/
• LaMarcus Aldridge, who made the rounds on NBA TV and TNT Thursday night, spoke about being named to his fourth-consecutive Western Conference All-Star roster. In years past, Aldridge fretted about whether or not he would be included in the midseason exhibition, but that’s no longer the case.
“I wasn’t worried,” said Aldridge. “I think, as you get older and you make it a couple of times, I think you feel like either you’re in or you’re not. I think that my body of work should have spoke for itself, so I wasn’t overly worried.”
After being considered the third wheel of a “Big Three” that never materialized, Aldridge said his selection was just more validation of the time and effort he’s put in to refining his game in the last 10 years.
“I think it means a lot for my legacy and the type of player I want to be and where I want to go,” said Aldridge. “I think a lot of people probably doubted that I would even be a one-time All-Star, so to be a four-time All-Star, it just shows that the hard work and the evolution I’ve tried to do every year.”
Aldridge got his spot on the roster thanks to being voted in by the Western Conference coaches rather than through fan voting, which determines the starters for both teams. He got more votes this year than in prior season, but it still wasn’t enough to make the starting unit, which Aldridge understands and isn’t particularly bothered by.
“Some people get in by fan votes that way but I get in by the coaches,” said Aldridge. “I’m not overly popular player, I don’t play an exciting game to watch, so a lot of fans probably don’t really see me play that often because I’m not a ticket seller. I get it but I know that I produce wins and I’m a valuable asset on the floor. That’s all that matters.”
• On the flip side, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard spoke on being left out of his year’s All-Star festivities despite having elite statistics while playing on a team with one of the best records in the NBA.
“I was surprised,” said Lillard of his reaction the news that he’d be spending the second weekend in February at home rather than in New York. “I said it before: I thought I did all I could do individually. I thought my team has been successful. It wasn’t something I could control. Everything that I could control to give myself my best shot, I did. It played out how it played out.”
At the time, there was a chance that Lillard would still make the team as the replacement for Kobe Bryant, who was voted a starter by the fans but will have to miss the game due to season-ending shoulder surgery. But after post-shootaround interviews, NBA commissioner Adam Silver elected to give the spot to Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, all but ensuring that Lillard will not make the team after doing so in his second season.
“I’m definitely going to take it personal,” said Lillard even before Silver selected Cousins as the injury alternate. “I said I’d be pissed off about it, and I am. I just felt disrespected. Because I play the game the right way, I play unselfishly, I play for my team to win games and I produce at a high level. I think what I bring to the game as a person, my makeup mentally, how I am toward my teammates, how I am toward the media, how I am toward fans; I think what an All-Star represents in this league, and what you would want people to look at as an All-Star, I think I make up all those things. For me to be having the type of season that I’m having, which is better than any one that I’ve had before, and my team to be third in the Western Conference, I just see it as disrespect.”
Lillard’s teammates agreed that his omission was surprising, though most at the time thought for sure he would get the spot left open by Bryant. Not the case.
“It was just disappointed because I felt like he should definitely be in there, and he will,” said Aldridge. “He’ll end up taking Kobe’s spot. It’s not going to feel the same for him. It definitely was a disappointment because our season has went so well and he’s played at such a high level for this team. It was disappointing, but knowing him, he’s already used it for motivation and I’m sure we’ll see the benefits of it happen.”
Lillard knows that he’s well-respected around the league and has received texts from various players around the league decrying his All-Star snub. But he also noted that it’s little comfort considering how hard he has worked to overcome his doubters dating all the way back to his days at Oakland High School.
“I appreciate that level of respect that people feel that I was worthy of being an All-Star, but I work hard,” said Lillard. “I put a lot of time into it. And I do it the right way. So that’s not good enough for me. I appreciate the fact that people feel that way, but that’s just not good enough for me.”
http://forwardcenter.net/shootaround-notes-all-star-reactions/
