Player of the Week – LaMarcus Aldridge

Before the season began, we at The Lottery Mafia picked out the teams from each conference that we anticipated were sure-fire picks for this years postseason.  Unsurprisingly, our consensus picks out West included the Thunder, Spurs, Rockets, Warriors and Clippers, and we came to a collective decision that rather than focusing on these, we would continue to focus our efforts elsewhere and instead cover those franchises that don’t attract the same level of media attention.  We decided that we would re-evaluate our position at Christmas time in case certain teams were under-/over-performing.  That being said, this is probably the last chance we’ll get to cover the Trailblazers, and so it seems only fair that the final Player of the Week article before Christmas is dedicated to the guy who is undoubtedly one of the key reasons behind why Portland currently sits atop most NBA power rankings: LaMarcus Aldridge.

Recently announced as the Western Conference Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and the third time for the season, Aldridge has had another stellar past seven days.  Wins against the Jazz, Rockets, 76ers and an overtime win vs the Pistons propelled Portland to a 4-0 week and improved them to 21-4 on the season, 10-2 at home and 11-2 on the road.

In this week’s four wins, Aldridge led the Blazers in scoring in all four games, registering 3 point/rebound double-doubles, and in the matchup with the Rockets totaled 31 points and a career-high 25 boards.  He led the league in rebounding at 14.8 a game and averaged 25.5 points which was good for 8^th in the league.

Here is a breakdown of his game-by-game performances:

@Utah – 24 points on 10/18 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, +/- +16

Houston – 31 points on 12/22 shooting, 25 rebounds, 2 blocks, +/- +16

@Philadelphia – 20 points on 10/15 shooting, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, +/- +27

@Detroit – 27 points on 11/25 shooting, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, +/- +10

Stat lines like those have become all too common for Aldridge this season, and it’s now more surprising to check a Portland box score and not see him with double figures in the points and rebounds columns.  One stat that further shows his quality is his PER (Player Efficiency Rating).  With advanced stats, rightly or wrongly, playing an increasing role in the NBA, experts often turn to PER in order to detail a player’s true effectiveness on the hardwood.  For those of you that don’t know, PER measures a player’s per-minute performance, while adjusting for pace.  PER takes into account positive accomplishments, such as field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals, and negative ones, such as missed shots, turnovers and personal fouls.  The formula adds positive stats and subtracts negative ones through a statistical point value system.  The rating for each player is then adjusted to a per-minute basis so that, for example, bench players can be compared with starters in playing time debates.  In the end, one number sums up the players’ statistical accomplishments for that season.  Aldridge currently sits fourth in power forward PER at 24.10, finding himself behind only Anthony Davis, Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony.

After the first All-Star ballot, Aldridge finds himself sitting 8^th in front-court voting after having totaled 132,818 votes thus far – a staggering 470,000 behind runaway leader Kevin Durant.  Regardless of voting figures, barring injury, there’s no way he won’t be making the trip to New Orleans, but could his play lead to an even greater award?  Whilst it’s going to take something extremely special to pry the Maurice Poldoff trophy away from one LeBron James, Aldridge is deservedly finding his name mentioned in that mix.  His teammates have spoken at length about his ability with both Wesley Matthews and reigning Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard believing he is the best power forward in the game right now.  Obviously there’s an element of teammate bias in those comments but on current form, they’re probably not far wrong.

I never thought I’d find myself saying this, but I’m disappointed to not have a Trailblazers game featured in the Christmas Day program.  I’d certainly take watching them over a Knicks-Brooklyn game right now for sure!  Rip City over Brick City if you catch my drift..

This week sees the Blazers face up against the Cavs in Cleveland and the Timberwolves in Minnesota before heading home to Oregon to face the Pelicans.

By Marc Harries
Follow @Marc_Harries