Should you be jealous of Arron Afflalo?

[B-Roy]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/s...zers-guard-tries-to-fill-wes-matthewss-shoes/
Good read from Grantland.

Quality shots are hard to come by when nobody’s on the same page. One year after averaging 18.2 points per game and making 42.7 percent of his 3s, Afflalo’s accuracy from beyond the arc dropped to 33.7 percent with Denver. The situation was bad; he wasn’t maximizing his potential in a possible contract year at the age of 29.
“[Shots] are different,” Afflalo said, comparing his experiences in Denver and Portland. “Most of basketball is played the same way, with high pick-and-rolls and post-ups. But obviously [Portland has] a flow to the game that they’ve been functioning very well with all season long. Catching and shooting is a big part of the game, especially if you got other good players out there who can create those shots for you.”
According to SportVU, 22.6 percent of Afflalo’s shot attempts with the Nuggets were open 3s. That number is 26.9 percent since the trade, and he’s made 10 of 24 attempts (41.7 percent) with Portland.

In a vacuum and on Portland’s roster, Afflalo isn’t as good as Matthews. But he should be able to replace a decent amount of the lost offensive production. According to Synergy, Afflalo is averaging 0.99 points per possession on post-up plays this season (placing him in the 83rd percentile). Portland doesn’t isolate very often, but it loved using Matthews on the block, and Afflalo is a Xerox copy down there. “I take pride in being pretty versatile as a player,” he said.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Nice find, BRoy.

 

[BBert]

We were lucky to get him. I hope we can keep him -- and Wes.

 

[magnifier661]

Awesome! Just imagine when Afflalo finds where the best places to be on the floor to get the best % shot?!?! I expect him to be a completely different player by the end of the season, where he learns the offensive sets, practices his shooting from those spots and works more on his post up game.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

He's going to end up getting the contract that Wes would of.

 

[santeesioux]

Awesome! Just imagine when Afflalo finds where the best places to be on the floor to get the best % shot?!?! I expect him to be a completely different player by the end of the season, where he learns the offensive sets, practices his shooting from those spots and works more on his post up game.

Yep, he has twenty games to work on it and build chemistry with the starters.

 

[kjironman1]

He's going to end up getting the contract that Wes would of.

Got any idea what that would be?

 

[santeesioux]

Got any idea what that would be?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Got any idea what that would be?

None but what he's really worth and what GMs will overpay are two different numbers.

 

[kjironman1]

Guess we wait and see then.

 

[magnifier661]

Yep, he has twenty games to work on it and build chemistry with the starters.

I think its important for Stotts to force the issue a little more with Afflalo. I know Stotts usually goes with what he believes is the best option, but quickly moving Afflalo into a more dominant role on this team will be better in the long run. It will establish more confidence in Afflalo, Stotts and the team. The sooner this happens, the quicker we become a contender.

 

[BBert]

He's going to end up getting the contract that Wes would of.

If he shows a rebirth in Portland: Maybe.

There was much talk nationwide that Wes was going to get offers and was "going to get paid". And Portland would have matched. I don't remember the same talk re Afflalo. If AAA blows up over the next 20 games and the playoffs, maybe he gets similar offers to what Wes was going to get?

I think he'll end up being a little cheaper.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

If he shows a rebirth in Portland: Maybe.

There was much talk nationwide that Wes was going to get offers and was "going to get paid". And Portland would have matched. I don't remember the same talk re Afflalo. If AAA blows up over the next 20 games and the playoffs, maybe he gets similar offers to what Wes was going to get?

I think he'll end up being a little cheaper.

Supply and demand.

The supply of top free agent shooting guards available this offseason went down by 1. AA gets paid more because he's at the top of the list of what's available when he wasn't before.

 

[BBert]

Supply and demand.

The supply of top free agent shooting guards available this offseason went down by 1. AA gets paid more because he's at the top of the list of what's available when he wasn't before.

Point taken.

 

[KingSpeed]

It's interesting, Roy fell apart right after we signed Wes and now Wes has fallen apart after we traded for Afflalo. Our management has done incredibly well.

 

[B-Roy]

It's interesting, Roy fell apart right after we signed Wes and now Wes has fallen apart after we traded for Afflalo. Our management has done incredibly well.

That or they keep Jinxing it.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

He's going to end up getting the contract that Wes would have.

Um, no. He's going to end up showing why Wes was so valuable.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

I think Afflalo dated an ex Pussycat Doll member. We really SHOULD be jealous.

 

[kjironman1]

Um, no. He's going to end up showing why Wes was so valuable.

I guess you are a glass is half empty kind of guy. Some like to be a little more positive.

 

[SheedSoNasty]

He's a guy getting paid millions to play a game most of us do for fun. He gets to travel around the country, seeing and doing most anything he wants. That alone makes me a little jelly.