The Season in Review: LaMarcus Aldridge

Outside of a Chris-Paul-level deal LaMarcus isn’t going anywhere. Over-the-hill stars won’t pry him away from the Blazers. Promising youngsters won’t either. It would take an Olympian in their prime to make Portland even blink at this point. LMA is at the heart of the promising young core of this team and is likely to be there for a long time.

Your telling me you wouldn’t blink if you could get a Deron Williams, Devin Harris, Derrick Rose or Rajon Rondo for LMA? Realistically, LMA isn’t going anywhere (unless a Chris Bosh type becomes available again), but let’s not go crazy with hyperbole. There are about 10 players who are below Chris Paul level who I would trade LaMarcus for in a heartbeat.

Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire would be worth trading him for. He’s one of the 4 guys on this team that you don’t even consider moving unless another team gets stupid (as jk suggests above). Love his offensive game, his improvement both on defense and on the boards later in the season, and there is plenty that suggests he’s not done heading in that direction. You’d love to see him add that corner three to his repertoire or possibly block a couple more shots, but he’s pretty much what you look for out of power forward playing next to Oden in the near future.

$5,844,826…show me anyone in the league that touches LMA for that kind of money. ’Cause you want. Hell we are paying some unmentionable jackass $9 million to sit on a bench with a grin in Memphis.

LMA, ODEN, ROY…they are the core, they are the future, they are this team.

Roy/Oden/LMA and Kevin Pritchard. The Blazers brass have hung their collective hats on these four cats, and this core will play out until at least the ends of their next contracts.
LMA is a key part of this core. He will make everyone realize what ‘Sheed would have been like if he had enjoyed his life in Portland and in the post. (And if he had the heart of a warrior and not a victim…)
You really get the sense that LaMarcus takes losing personally, and if you beat him, he won’t forget. That is the type of guy you want banging for you every night.
I honestly think that there is not a single realistic trade scenario that would make sense if LMA is included in it.

I’d love to see a stat showing Blazer win percentage when LMA score 22+. Around my house we have a saying, “As LaMarcus goes, so go the Blazers.”

Decoding this rule of thumb, it’s not putting all the credit or blame on LMA. What it does mean is LMA certainly needs more consistency for and from the team, and then everything else will fall into place — because that’s his role.

Book It!!!!!!!

Roy is a Max Deal player.

LMA will obviously want that level of money, but hasn’t quite earned it. There’s always someone in this league willing to overpay for a talented player with plenty of potential.

Yes there are areas that he can improve on and I think that he will as evidenced by the last couple of months of the season and the last couple playoff games. He is one obvious mismatch we have over 90% of the other teams. This shows in the PER difference as stated by Dave. We are fortunate to have him and should be thanking our lucky stars. A young stud who has exceeded initial expectations, is improving and wants to improve and is already one of the top 5 power forwards in the game. Outstanding!

One thing that I think we will have to be patient with Aldridge in the coming years is how he integrates with Oden. We saw a little bit of that at the start of the year when Oden was starting. If Oden progresses how we all hope he does, he is going to be taking up a huge chunk of the low post action that we are all screaming for Aldridge to take and own. We can’t have both, although we can have it in pieces. We may see more high low action and more Aldridge jump shots. If so we should be happy about this as it means Greg is developing into a low post presence. It may not be a pretty transition at times, but I think in the long run it will mean great things. So I would advise some caution on how we perceive Aldridge going forward. His game is going to have to change in some respects and it may be that he is farther away from the basket than we may like.

I shout at my TV (or tiny computer screen) for LMA to rebound better.

Then I shoult at my TV (or tiny computer screen) to run the floor and get dunks.

And now I think to myself, “Self, if LMA could hear you shout contradictory things like that at him, he’s slap you in the face!” Maybe that’s why I don’t coach.

Is it the case, perhaps, that LMA is someone we want to play tall but as a SF? We ask him to shoot and run, then we get mad when he doesn’t rebound. Maybe we need a fierce rebounding SF to allow LMA to face-up and run. But I sense a conflict in the player and the position.

Consider Buck Williams: he did rebound and run (and boy did he run) and maybe that’s where LMA can end up. But then again… Buck didn’t score but off the fast break.

Consider Brian Grant: huge rebounder… no running.

Consider Rasheed: offense (and even decent D) and running… but I remember begging the guy to rebound.

Zach Rando… well, let’s not mention him.

Point being, perhaps because we see potential in LMA in EVERYthing he could possibly do we sort of expect him to grow into some kind of everything player. Not exactly fair.

At some point, LMA is going to have to choose a path and then we are too. If LMA is going to be “Running LMA” than we need “Rebounding Batum,” which may not be his best strength.

But we will need some other rebounder in there. Unless we play twin towers plus LMA at the three (which might be a pretty dang cool lineup).

Also considering he’s supposedly our second big gun, it would be nice to see a little more leadership / fire / emotion from him.

E.g. this one by Aran Smith, who I consider a very good scout and who described Roy and Aldridge very accurately at that time. Notice almost the same question marks/weaknesses he had in high school and college that his critics still like to point out.
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/lamarcus-aldridge

His rebounding and shot blocking doesn’t seem quite as good as expected after college but he is getting closer (3.6 offensive and 5.5 defensive plus 2 blocks in his sophomore year vs. 2.9 and 4.6 plus 1 now). And for example his free throw shooting has gotten continually better (65% in college, 72, 76, 78 in the NBA). He has continued to add muscle mass. I would say leaping ability is no longer a real question mark, thinking back to some of his impressive dunks. His passing has improved (under 1 in college, now gone up to 2 assists per game) even though as noted above I could still see him make small further steps there to find open players on the wing or cutting. His turnovers and committed fouls are down both from last year and from college despite playing a lot more minutes. All in all some nice progress from young LaMarcus.

You are all leaving out the fact that LaMarcus has the sexiest voice out of anyone on the team.

stuff is just crazy talk..

Bosh is a year older then Aldridge, If aldridge played for the Eastern Confrence.. he would be an All-Star this past year.

Bosh is good don’t get me wrong, but i would much rather have Aldridge anyday.

He improves as the season goes, and puts up All-star typer stats in the 2nd half of the season.

*More post moves towards the basket, with pretty good results.
*Finishing on the fastbreak (Blake has proved that he can push the ball too, not the best at it but I was pleased by both of their abilities on the break along with the leaker Batum).
*Mental toughness—-He has gained quite a bit, and that’s great. I’d still like to see more, but not taking it from Garnett, keeping his cool 99% of the season, Roy said something like “LA is all confidence, if he is confident, he can’t miss…” or something to that effect, the only problem is the inverse of that is true.
*FT shooting, yes he could draw more fouls, but he’s shooting pretty consistently for big, and he has developed that cheap paul peirce move which will get him to the line more.

What LA needs to improve upon:
Less jumpers, more dunking.

his mentality. I think he has 90% of the physical tools and ability to make that leap to all-star level. Similar to his old scouting reports, I feel he doesn’t seem to have the heart or "it" factor. There seems to be an inconsistent level of confidence. I almost always know when he is going to miss as it usually occurs after a split second of hesitation. When LMA gets the ball, is confident, and just makes a move or shoots, I know that ball is going in the hoop.

 LMA on paper, should be a nightmare matchup. Against most PFs, he should be able to post you up, take you off the dribble, or draw you out with his jumper. It’s frustrating to see PF’s that I believe are less talented and gifted out play LMA at times. No knock on Scola, but I think LMA should have owned that matchup on a more constant basis. There were times when I was thinking to the TV after a Scola play, “wow, LMA could’ve done that”. The difference, Scola seemed play with more confidence.

I hope that the playoff experience translates into a more driven and hopefully more confident LMA ala Roy’s new found championship belief and drive. I think that if LMA’s development is at a fork right now and most of the physical and skill improvements will follow whichever way the mental development goes.

To me LMA is one of the top PFs in the league ability, skill set, and potential wise. Once you get to a certain level in skills and ability, the only thing that separates is mentality.

… and I am so happy to have him on the Blazers.

Buck Williams is still my favorite Blazer all time (although Roy and LaMarcus both are going to challenge that) and in my opinion the best PF I ever saw in a Blazer uniform. But unlike a lot of Blazer fans, I remember the early Buck Williams, before he came to Portland. That Williams was a nearly 20 point per game scorer.

Let us not forget that LaMarcus is still a young man. He still has room to develop and mature both physically and psychologically. The physical, inside game we all want to see more of is likely to come as he gets older. LaMarcus has a lot of basketball ahead of him. Let’s not get impatient and expect to see everything at once. Doing so pervents us from appreciating how good he is playing at the moment.

The next big step for Aldridge and the Blazers is the ability to go to his left off the dribble. Going into this year Aldridge wouldn’t drive the ball anywhere and throughout the year he showed he could get into the lane for a little running hook frequently. Once he learns to go left he will be able to have a full complement of moves from both sides of the lane. If he can do that then I expect the Blazers will start to run a lot more of the offense through him in the high post.

based on his invite to the USA Basketball camp in July in Vegas. A max of 25 players are being invited…..LMA being one (along with Roy and Oden).

So….the minds at USA Basketball believe LMA is good enough to potentially represent the country in the upcoming World Championships, as well as the next Olympics.

That matches my opinion that he’s good enough to represent Portland for the next 15 years,

Has improved dramatically this year. I remember watching the Blazers switch on pick and rolls vs. the Suns (the 52 point game) and Aldridge was holding it down again Steve Nash! Now if only he could develop more of a handle he could play on the wing on offense sometimes.

KG, Stoudamire, Bosh, Boozer, Dirk, Pau Gasol ?

That’s a pretty short list!

LMA is an extremely gifted athlete, and for his size/age is an above average offensive threat from mid range. LMA is also seemingly easy to rattle, and has a really sensitive spot to being called soft. I remember reading an article earlier in the year where team scouts stated they are more concerned for the LMA match up than any other match up when playing Portland, or some reasonably close facsimile of that idea. The same article stated that the Portland coaching staff adjusts LMA’s game depending on the opponent. I think that’s a mistake. I believe LMA should have a few signature moves, and should impose his will upon the people defending him. He is a beast, and he has the physical tools to do what ever he wants on the court. I don’t see that happening, hence I believe LMA’s problems reside above the neck. He will mature and grow into a weapon unlike any Portland has ever seen at the 4. Unless it’s a trade for CP3 or a very short list of other superstars, LMA should be here to stay.

NEXT PLAYER

So now I’m predicting that for next year, and I’ll keep on predicting it until it is true. That’s just an example of what I’m willing to do.

Ideally he’s at his maximum value given his age and the season he just had, and Pritchard might want to lock him up now before he has another huge season.

There really aren’t many teams with cap space to out-bid Portland, but I could see Aldridge getting 65-70 million this summer.

I think he will have a very long career, and I look forward to to watching him grow as a player and a person.

I’m even wearing my Aldridge shirt today.

   An easy general knock that some fans place on Aldridge is that he is “soft”. When I watch Aldridge I’d have to say I don’t see that. What I think get’s mistaken for “softness” is Aldridges skill, he makes what he is doing look easy, and probably more what I see is passiveness. I’d like to see Aldridge become less passive. There’s a fine line between letting the game come to you and enforcing your skill and will upon the game, and Aldridge hasn’t consistently found that line yet.

  I think when Aldridge becomes more confident, continues to improve, and learns when to take over games then the label of soft will evaporate pretty quickly because watching him play? He’s not soft. Just often seems that he can be taken out of what he wants to do too easily. A few failed attempts in the paint and he moves to the outside too quickly. A few missed jumpers? He stops looking for his shot. Just continue to improve Aldridge. It might be as simple for Aldridge as realizing for himself he can be a force in the league, if he just let’s himself be a force in the game.

It was good to see LMA put together another good year on a team that won 54 wins. His stats weren’t empty and contributed to the success of the Blazers. Going strictly by the numbers, it would seem LMA did not improve much. Looking under the hood, his game evolved from the previous year. He added a running hook and a nice baseline spin to his repertoire. LMA looked more confident dribbling the ball and passing out to the perimeter. We finally saw him take advantage of his speed and beat his defender down the court for easy buckets.

Defensively, I would describe LMA as underachieving. Considering his length and agility, his defense is inexcusably poor. He lacks awareness on help defense and his rotations are slow. Scola abused LMA in the post when he got the opportunity. I’d like to see vast improvements on the defensive end.

I don’t think LMA is a solid number 2 option on a championship caliber team. He can’t get the other team in foul trouble and shoots too many jumpshots. I’d like to see him focus more on his defense and become a better passer in the high post. He will be Blazer for a long time as long as his defense improves.

Is a perfect compliment to Oden at center, as Roy is to both our young big men. Every thing else is up in the air.

Why did he call LA, LMA? It makes no sense to me.

KP loves him. Has a man crush on him. So forget it. Blazer’s still need a point guard upgrade. We need CP3 tossing lobs to LMA. That would be sweet!

but if you went back 3 years ago and asked me who would be the better of the two between him and brandon, I would have put a lot down on LMA. He’s improved a ton, but I just thought he’d be taking the NBA by storm by now.

LaMarcus did what he was expected. Not everyone can be an AllStar, but he did well. He adapted to Greg’s presence and found himself after a slow start, bringing the best out of himself when we needed him the most.

For the next season I’d like him to improve his decision making, specially in the high post where he doesn’t usually notice open players and sometimes takes bad shots. He turned some 2v2 plays with Rudy where we had advantage into 1on1’s where he just shot in fron of his player.

……………………Def________….Rudy…………………
Roy…Def………./……………………\…………………………..
……………………./……………………LA…………………………
……………………————————Def—-………………………..
…………………..|………………………….|………………………..
…………………..|………………………….|………………………..
…………………..|…………Def………….|………………………..
…………………..|..Pryz………………….|…………..Def……..
…………………..|………………………….|…………………Travis
…………………..|………………………….|………………………..

That scheme is often used in games after a Brandon to Rudy to LA.
It always ends with LA shooting in front of his man or giving it back to Rudy after a few seconds when the defense is all set.
It’s one of my favorite Nate plays, but LA ruins it every time! Travis baseline or Rudy’s three, it’s not that difficult! Sometimes is Blake instead of Travis, but anyway, he can run the baseline while Rudy cuts the same way and Roy goes to the free throw line.

Well, I wrote too much about that, the fact is that LaMarcus has to learn to think faster. When he gets the ball theres a 40% chance that he shoots (most of the time with someone in front of him) and a 40% chance that a new play with little time has to be made. I know he isn’t 2001 Webber, but come on, with a little practice our offense can get a lot better.

I enjoy LaMarcus and want him to continue being a Blazer his whole career. Dave’s evaluation seems clear and I agree. However I would like to see addressed two more points:

1. In his pre-draft evaluation by Draft Express LA described his sky hook as his favorite weapon.

Jonathan Watters: What is one attribute of yours that you’ll be able to use right away in the NBA?

LaMarcus Aldridge: Beyond my mobility, I would say my sky hook. That’s the most unstoppable shot in the NBA, so I feel like if I went out tomorrow I could get my sky hook off on anybody.

What happened to this shot (he uses it some) and why is he now mostly a jump shot player?

2. His Offensive rebounding is much better (8th) than his defensive rebounding (45th) against the league and he is at his best running the fast break. Are these connected? If he leads the break does that mean he is not going for the rebound?

Three areas I’d like to see Aldridge improve on

(1) His overall scoring efficiency — 53% true shooting mark — bothers me.
(2) His rebounding per minute
(3) His team defense and pick and roll coverage