A thought on Marcus Camby and Aldridge...

by Get-n-better on Mar 12, 2010 9:58 AM PST

I caught a glimpse last night of something very important that should not be overlooked when debating the need to keep Camby in portland...When Lamarcus finally got it going a bit in the fourth qurater( right after he hit the And 1) I noticed the most excited player on the court and the first to chest bump him was Camby.....

Now what caught my minds attention was ... How important could his mentorship be to Aldridge ??? We think of Camby as a center and naturally we picture Oden working with Camby and learning bits of this and that could help his game...I think Aldridge could be the biggest benefactor from keeping Camby. I see Camby as a great example for Lamarcus...6'11 long and lanky, great athletic ability... but he has a nose for the hustle plays...rebounding most importantly. I want to see Lamarcus take a page from Marcus, and work his butt off on the boards and become more of threat as a big...not just a spot up jumpshooter...Last night his game was going pretty bad... 3 and a half quarters of missed jumpers and rushed post moves...but when he helped the most it was when he was hustling for boards, and getting putbacks... He could be a great forward, if he keeps working with Camby to learn how to work hard on the glass. I also want to say we should KEEP all 3 of our Old Geezers...Howard, Miller, and Camby are helping our guys more than we know, probably more than any of them know.

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I was going to make a comment about Aldridge and Camby in another post

But looked over and saw this post and thought I should check it out before saying the same thing on someone else’s thread.

In any case I thought the same thing last night after that bump. I thought that the two players are physically similar and could have similar games. Aldridge has more range to his shot, but around the rim they look to be similar (not that I have info about this beyond a fans rough estimate.) The big difference is that Camby has a more noticeable defensive game.

Honestly Aldridge could try and push himself one of two ways this summer and I will be curious to see which way it is. He could try and expand his offensive game by adding a 3 pointer, or he could expand his defensive game by studying Camby.

Finally I have also noticed that it seems Aldridge is ramping up the physicality of his game recently and I want to attribute some of it to Camby being a role model to some extent. I could be wrong of course but after the bump it feels to me there is some level of camaraderie between the two, which is good because there are some Camby skills I would like to see Aldridge hang onto…

by Sir.Ludo on Mar 12, 2010 11:47 AM PST reply actions

I love La Marcus Cambridge!

He will be a good player someday.

These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others. -Groucho Marx

by RDreamer on Mar 12, 2010 11:56 AM PST reply actions

keeping the Veterans around

may be beneficial for another year, max, at least in the case of Camby and Dre, but I don’t think we need Juwan much longer, as his production has suffered and we have picked up other Vet presence since. I’m sure that Camby will probably stay on for 2 more years if we resign him though.

by thankyouforblaze on Mar 12, 2010 3:29 PM PST reply actions

I have to disagree about Juwan

His production has suffered? He’s having his best season since 05-06. That dude has been nothing but solid all season long. Not only is he old, he’s playing out of position most of the time, and he’s still been the reason we’ve won a few games this year. Just watching his interaction with the rest of the team on the court and on the bench (and I assume in practice and the locker room), I hope he retires in Portland.

by superfly05 on Mar 12, 2010 6:21 PM PST up reply actions

Also disagree! Juwann ROCKS!!! And so do Andre and Marcus. I love what they do for the Blazers!

Probably sooooo much more than we as fans even know. Very very happy with ALL of them.
And I have to say I like the veteran moves. And drive. And leadership. And heart, hustle…coaching. Just the whole package. GO BLAZERS!!!

GREAT POST BTW!!!!

by Natsthecat on Mar 13, 2010 2:10 AM PST up reply actions

Good stuff

Generally I don’t like too many skinny guys, even if they are tall and skilled. Beasty shorter players (Boozer, Nene, etc) will push them out of the way, when the refs swallow their whistles at the end of games. But I do like the Marcus/LaMarcus tandem because they bring different things to the table, and I agree that having some experienced vets around is a necessity at this point of Portland’s developmental curve

When Oden returns next fall, the beasting quotient will tip back in the Blazer’s favor. LMA (and hopefully MC) will offer outside shooting and high-post passing to compliment #52

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Mar 12, 2010 4:56 PM PST reply actions

I love your post! I'd change the title to something more specific to get more people to read it!

Don’t have any suggestions. Just almost passed it by because I didn’t know it would be so positive! Thanks again!

by Natsthecat on Mar 13, 2010 2:12 AM PST reply actions

Is the overhead Cam teaching LMA how to play more scrappy?

how’s that?

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Mar 14, 2010 4:24 PM PDT up reply actions

veterans

Agree with the point that veterans should be great mentors for the younger players.

Take Miller for example. They guy is limited in his physical abilities but is a fine NBA point guard based on his ability to use intelligence to play at a higher level than you would expect based on his inherent physical ability.

If you can somehow transplant some of that to a guy like Bayless, whose play is the other way around, his abilities exceed his performance, he could become one heck of a guard.

Close analogy with the situation regarding Camby and Aldridge, although Camby probably is a closer match between talent and BBIQ than in the case of Miller.

by lsjogren on Mar 13, 2010 12:27 PM PST reply actions

not to nitpick or anything

but lamarcus got going in the third quarter. not halfway thru the 4th. he scored 12 or 14 in the 3rd

by 64-18 on Mar 13, 2010 1:30 PM PST reply actions

I see Lamarcus working harder

He is struggling to hit shots sometimes but his effort level sure seems elevated to me. I think he is finally going to try and prove he is worth the contract. (and that he isn;t soft).

by Ragermack on Mar 13, 2010 2:27 PM PST reply actions