Im talking about inside game, as in shots at the rim. Yes Howard is definitely more of a post presence than Aldridge. Have you seen Aldridge in the post? he barely ever attacks the rim, its almost always a fadeaway jumpshot. And this isnt even about LMA, that guy is a beast. Only reason I mentioned his name is because he is the closest thing to a post player that they have. My point is they, as a team, need inside/post presence, which creates better outside shots for guys like Mathews/Batum etc.. They dont even attack the rim as much. If you dont have a guy who can post up, atleast you can attack the paint to get some high percentage shots. This is what I mean by jump shooting team. Come playoff time, with bright lights and defensive pressure/intesity, those jump shots will not be easy to make. And to name a few teams that have inside game: SA (Duncan, Parker, Ginobli), OKC (Ibaka, Westbrook, Durant), Rockets (Howard, Harden, Parsons) in the west. Heck even Clippers have more of an inside game than Blazers. East: Indi, Miami.
Makes sense. I've always said a post game is the best offense despite all the new rules*that help perimeter players. It was beautiful last night when Dwight got the ball inside then simply passed cross court for an open 3.
They are a better version of us last year, scoring at a high rate but with the better defense. They are definitely legit if they keep playing defense.
Man if the blazers come out of the west either indi or Miami would crush them IMO Playoff basketball is so much different and slower
I agree that Aldridge's game is not strong inside. Him shooting only 5 free throws a game is indicative of that and, to me, is a playoff weakness of the team. On paper, his output resembles Garnett's in his prime. That's what separated him from Duncan and Nowitzki.
Their half court offense isn't a problem. Where they're weak is with their defense and with their depth. Depth might improve once McCollum comes back. Their defense is what will kill them in playoffs, though.
regular season, yes it's time to take them seriously. playoff, they have a shot to make it to the western final.
Joe Freeman @BlazerFreeman Follow Aldridge averaged 25.5 points, an NBA-best 14.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 blocks in four games last week. All were #Blazers wins. 1:52 PM - 16 Dec 2013
You guys are hysterical, the Blazers have the the 3rd easiest schedule of western conference teams so far. They have had no injuries yet while many other western conference teams have. Plus, they have mostly beaten up on the eastern conference which isn't hard to do. Does anyone think that Matthews will shoot 50% from 3pt for the rest of the year? How about Aldridge playing like prime Larry Bird? Do you think that will hold up? Some of you guys need to stop smoking crack.
