I want to start this off by saying that it has really been encouraging to see LaMarcus Aldridge start to get his shot back. There are few things so beautiful as an Aldridge post move when his shots are falling, and his jumper is about as solid as any big man not named Rasheed Wallace. Over his last 5 games, Aldridge has averaged 18.6 points on over 50% shooting- much closer to the LaMarcus Aldridge we all know and love here in P-Town.
His rebounding, however, is still a little perplexing. On the season Aldridge is averaging 6.4 boards per game. Over the last 5 games he is averaging 5. Last season Aldridge averaged 7.6 rebounds a game, and led the team in double doubles over the second half of the season. He talked during the summer about wanting to improve on those numbers and put himself in to All Star consideration. While his scoring has picked up and shows signs of putting him closer to the elite class of Western Conference power forwards, his rebounding has slipped considerably.
In Aldridge's defense, I do have to concede that the big men he has played beside this season- Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla- have been phenomenal rebounders. I read last week that Oden and Pryzbilla are both near the top rebound-per-minute guys in the NBA this season, so Aldridge does have some increased competition on the boards. The Blazers are currently 18th in the league in rebounds per game, and Aldridge could really help them leapfrog a lot of the teams who rank above them (8th ranked Cleveland averages just 2.8 boards more than Portland).
I'm not saying that Aldridge should be expected to rip down 10 rebounds per game this season, and I have a lot of faith that as he continues to regain his mojo on the scoring end, he will do the same on the boards as well. I think everyone here in Portland knows that L.A. has the ability to average 20 and 10 and make the All-Star team. We also really respect that Aldridge is a team guy and is making some sacrifices to learn how to play with rookie Greg Oden. My sincere hope is that, as the season moves on, Aldridge will continue his development into one of the NBA's top power forwards and that his progress will help the Trail Blazers take a giant leap towards a Championship.
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