NBA Top 50: LaMarcus Aldridge (No. 39)

OtB is counting down the days 'til the NBA 2009-10 season tips off by ranking the top 50 players in the league. On Friday there are 39 days left.

I was going to write you a nice, semi-lengthy post about LaMarcus Aldridge, but I spent an hour and a half on an IV after work today, so I'm a bit worn out. Don't worry, just a minor infection, and certainly not contractable over the kind you can get from your wireless connection. I guess it's not that short, it just doesn't feel as fully fleshed out as some others. Maybe there's a reason. Anyway, here's the...

Skinny: LaMarcus came in with the infamously not famous 2006 draft class, along with fellow Blazer and only real A-lister from that year Brandon Roy. He's been making up for or replacing underachievers his whole career. It started on draft night, when he was traded for Tyrus Thomas. His sophomore leap to reliable second option made the acquisition of Channing Frye a non-memory, and Frye even seems younger now than the fairly well established Aldridge at the point (though he's actually two years older and was drafted a year before). Lastly, though he doesn't play the same position as Oden, LaMarcus' play has been solid enough that this Portland team is still included in the "contenders of tomorrow" discussion despite Oden's lackluster showing.

LaMarcus Aldridge, originally uploaded by etchasketchist.

But never mind all that. What makes LaMarcus awesome? He's the silky smooth exterior design that makes Roy's deliberate clockwork ministrations on the court so deadly. He's the answer to a question: what will the future of the power forward position look like? He shoots from outside, but not necessarily the three. He puts it on the floor and takes it to the hole without trying to be a point guard. He is the silky smooth incarnation of all that we've been talking about for years (since KG and Dirk started the talk of revolution on the wind). And he does it all with a quiet perseverance that belies his years more than any wrinkled old faces of team mate Greg Oden or Cav Lebron James.

Why's he's #39: He's great for the above reasons. Okay. Why isn't he ranked higher, then? The general criticism on him is a lack of true lowpost game. Sure, the pairing with Roy makes this less important, but it'd still be nice to have in that arsenal. He could be better on defense. Blah, blah, blah. All that will come. Okay, so 39 isn't too low. Is it too high? Why does Aldridge get the go ahead dunk ahead of Bynum or Jefferson (well, not if we're playing an actual game, but in metaphoricalistic land...)? I liked Aldridge here because he has proved he has the goods, even if the goods he has aren't ultimately quite as "good" as the other two young bigs mentioned. LA is like the Dustin Hoffman of this biz. He's not as explosive or glitzy as guys like Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, or Al Pacino, but perhaps that's what makes his gold all the more valuable.

sp.blazers.079.cdb.jpg, originally uploaded by oregonianphoto.

Though he's had some injury problems, he's still been a secondary force on a team that pushed the Lakers last season and should've gone further in the post season if they hadn't gotten stuck with exactly the wrong match up. In the nexus of talent, maximization, and skill, Aldridge has proven himself in the latter two. Sure he was picked second in that draft, ahead of his all-star-already team mate, but people figured he was a size pick that wouldn't translate into the kind of success he has. He's worked hard to prove that perception wrong. In the process, he's built up a nice repetoire of moves such that many young post players wouldn't even know what to do with such a bounty.

Posted in: Lamarcus Aldridge,Portland Trail Blazers