So, Rice Thinks LMA Will Be The Blazers' MVP?

[ABM]

Call me crazy, but I still think it will be Oden.

 

[Eastoff]

Roy is clearly the best, but I do get tired of "The Natural" circle jerk/lovefest. So yeah I hope it turns out to be Oden or LMA!

 

[andalusian]

Call me crazy, but I still think it will be Oden.

Not this year, I don't think. In 2 - 3 years, entirely possible.

 

[PapaG]

Roy is clearly the best, but I do get tired of "The Natural" circle jerk/lovefest. So yeah I hope it turns out to be Oden or LMA!

Why? You get sick of the respect the best Portland player since Clyde Drexler receives from the fans and media?

 

[tlongII]

Roy is the man. No question about it.

 

[Eastoff]

Why? You get sick of the respect the best Portland player since Clyde Drexler receives from the fans and media?

I guess I want to cheer for a fellow underdog.

edit: don't get me wrong, I would trade anyone else on this team before him.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Let me preface this with a confession: I was a huge LMA fan going into the draft. If you had told me he would be going into his 4th season, and still not been a serious contender for the all-star team, I wouldn't have believed you.

I want LMA to succeed. I want Rice to be right. I want the Blazers to freaking re-sign him! I do not, however, honestly believe he will be better than Roy. As for Oden - right now, he doesn't even belong in the conversation. I will be happy if he is our 4th best player.

 

[Eastoff]

... As for Oden - right now, he doesn't even belong in the conversation. I will be happy if he is our 4th best player.

who is 3? Miller?

 

[Nikolokolus]

who is 3? Miller?

Probably

 

[oldmangrouch]

who is 3? Miller?

Yes. Miller has the experience and he has a style that makes the people around him better. Having Miller on the floor could, for example, add 4-5 points onto Oden's scoring average. We could see an improvement in LMA's shooting %, as he gets more easy looks, instead of having to go 1-on-1.

Miller may not have CP3 type individual stats - but if he makes the team better, he will be one of the 3 most valuable.

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

Call me crazy, but I still think it will be Oden.

I would love for it to be Oden. But let's keep it real. Brandon Roy is and will always be the MVP on this team.

 

[ABM]

I would love for it to be Oden. But let's keep it real. Brandon Roy is and will always be the MVP on this team.

Brandon said he's "sacrificing for the team" this season....you know, to make way for Oden's emergence.

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

Brandon said he's "sacrificing for the team" this season....you know, to make way for Oden's emergence.

That's MVP material though. Sacrificing for the good of the team and others on the squad. He's done that since day one as a blazer.

 

[ABM]

That's MVP material though. Sacrificing for the good of the team and others on the squad. He's done that since day one as a blazer.

I hear ya.

Hey, I'm just salivating at the thought of a potential Kobe/Shaq type of tandem here.

 

[Eastoff]

I hear ya.

Hey, I'm just salivating at the thought of a potential Kobe/Shaq type of tandem here.

you're not happy with roy/aldridge which is a better version of kobe/pau

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

I hear ya.

Hey, I'm just salivating at the thought of a potential Kobe/Shaq type of tandem here.

Yeah, that would be great wouldn't it AB?

 

[Rodolfo]

Think it would be great if someone else emerges as a better player than Brandon. Do I think it'll happen? No.

 

[Natebishop3]

It's possible, however unlikely.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Let me preface this with a confession: I was a huge LMA fan going into the draft. If you had told me he would be going into his 4th season, and still not been a serious contender for the all-star team, I wouldn't have believed you.

I want LMA to succeed. I want Rice to be right. I want the Blazers to freaking re-sign him! I do not, however, honestly believe he will be better than Roy. As for Oden - right now, he doesn't even belong in the conversation. I will be happy if he is our 4th best player.

Didn't I see in a thread that LaMarcus said he was informed that he missed the All-Star team by one person? IIRC it was David West who barely beat him out.

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

Didn't I see in a thread that LaMarcus said he was informed that he missed the All-Star team by one person? IIRC it was David West who barely beat him out.

That should never happen again. LaMarcus is far more talented than David.

 

[HailBlazers]

Definitely not gonna happen this year.

Hornets are on the decline

 

[VanillaGorilla]

David West used to be underrated.. now it seems to me like he is overrated.

 

[MARIS61]

LaMarcus is already the most talented player on the team, and the most valuable.

It is not apparent however due to the fact that Nate pretty much ignores him in deference to Brandon.

 

[Natebishop3]

LaMarcus is already the most talented player on the team, and the most valuable.

It is not apparent however due to the fact that Nate pretty much ignores him in deference to Brandon.

LMA is inconsistent. When he learns how to bring the same intensity every night, and dominates like we know he can, then I will maybe concede that he is the most talented player on the team. I'm not willing to do that at this time.

 

[anonymous gambler]

LaMarcus is already the most talented player on the team, and the most valuable.

It is not apparent however due to the fact that Nate pretty much ignores him in deference to Brandon.

I think he may be better than Roy in the long run- but there's no way he's had a single season better than Roy's thus far. He still needs to be able to rebound decently, scores less than Roy and isn't better defensively thus far.

 

[blue32]

LaMarcus is already the most talented player on the team, and the most valuable.

It is not apparent however due to the fact that Nate pretty much ignores him in deference to Brandon.

Dude you smokin' crack. Roy is our franchise player, and the best player on this team. I implore you to prove otherwise, and stay away from the opinions of how the coach did/didn't do this or that.


I'd love to see LMA crossover the perimeter D, and go right to left for a lay-up, over three defenders, or launch a buzzer beater from half-court, or shred the defense 1 on 3, consistently.

But he doesn't, Roy does, and does things like that consistently every game.

 

[Iwatas]

If Miller delivers the ball to the big men, both Oden and Aldridge stand to have breakout years. Yes, even LMA.

Brandon has *always* deferred, which is why he rarely "takes over" a game until the 4th quarter. He gives everyone else a chance, almost all game long, to excel. This is a character trait which, IMMHO, makes him uber-great. Then, if it is time to win the game, Roy shows up.

If Roy keeps this up (highly likely), and Miller delivers the ball, Roy will have a statistically less impressive year because the team will put other teams away earlier in the game, and Roy won't have to hog the ball to win the game. Aldridge and Oden will look better. But come crunch time (at least this season), nobody will have any doubt who gets the ball.

iWatas

 

[Nikolokolus]

LaMarcus is already the most talented player on the team, and the most valuable.

Yeah ... I think there's a hint of truth in here; LMA is certainly the team's best two way player and has a a wide array of skills offensively, and without him you could argue that the team would have been just as bad off had they lost Brandon for any long stretches last year.

It is not apparent however due to the fact that Nate pretty much ignores him in deference to Brandon.

And then you lost me.

LMA probably has the highest upside of anybody on the team (even over Greg), but he still hasn't shown enough consistency throughout a whole season to warrant making him the number one option, but he does always end seasons incredibly well and if he can bring that from the jump, maybe he reaches the same level of prominence on offense that Brandon has. Either way Nate leaned on him plenty heavily at the defensive end of the court and he still ended up with a usage rate of 22% which is awfully high considering he's not a ball handler.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I wouldnt be surprised at all to see LaMarcus be our MVP this season. With Miller, Webster, and Rudy... I think Roy wont have to carry the scoring load as much and can be more of a Scottie Pippen type player who does more of the little things to help us win. He'll still be a stud and probably average around 20 pts, but I think LaMarcus may average more and of course grab more rebounds and block shots.

 

[LittleAlex]

LaMarcus is already the most talented player on the team, and the most valuable.

It is not apparent however due to the fact that Nate pretty much ignores him in deference to Brandon.

Welcome to ignore.

I have no idea why it took me so long.