Society Top 50: No. 39 LaMarcus Aldridge

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LaMarcus Aldridge

Name: LaMarcus Aldridge

Position: 39

Team: San Antonio Spurs

2016-17 Regular Season General Stats: 17.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 bpg, 47.7 FG%, 41.1 3PT%

2016-17 Regular Season Advanced Stats: 18.6 PER, 53.2 TS%, 7.2 WS, -0.3 OBPM, 1.3 DBPM, 1.8 VORP

 

The Breakdown:

LaMarcus Aldridge, once one of the most feared power forwards in the league, is now starting to show a little bit of decline as creeps more and more into this thirties. This past season broke his streak of five straight All-Star appearances, and at the same time, he failed to reach the 18 points per game mark for the first time since his fourth season in 2009-10. Then, in the playoffs, we all watched as his go-to move was shut down quickly. Without Kawhi Leonard on the floor, he was not able to successfully put the team on his back like he once was in Portland.

On the flip side, however, Aldridge had his best three-point shooting season in terms of percentage. His defensive rating was the one of the best he’s had in any given season, and his win shares and box plus-minus were both on par with some of his best seasons in Portland. Aldridge proved to be a great second option for the Spurs alongside Kawhi Leonard. While he may not be the key, lead cog in the machine like Tim Duncan still was in the twilight of his career, he does allow the Spurs to run a variety of systems and stretch the floor. To this day, when the term “Mid-range scorer” is brought up, the two names that automatically come to mind are DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge.

To this day, when the term “Mid-range scorer” is brought up, the two names that automatically come to mind are DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. Very few have been as good in the midrange game as Aldridge. Hopefully, he can have a bounce-back season to assist an always improving Kawhi Leonard.

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