Having attended several home games this year so far, and many last year, it always stood out to me that LaMarcus Aldridge is the last Blazer introduced, while Damian Lillard is usually the first (a team’s most popular player is generally brought out last to raucous cheering). Though I cannot say that this is unexpected, it is merely emblematic of a larger point – despite Lillard’s skyrocketing popularity, for the time being, this team is still Aldridge’s.
Despite this, I would still argue that throughout basketball fandom as a whole, Lillard is the far more recognizable personality. Shoe lines, $100 million endorsement contracts, All-Star festivity appearances, and running four-bar Fridays on Instragram will do that for an athlete’s personal brand. Aldridge, on the other hand, has generally maintained a far more low-key presence.
This does not, however, have any bearing on his presence in games, which has been, and continues to be, nothing short of commanding. To circle back around to my live game impressions, this was never more apparent to me than during the first quarter of the Blazers’ last game, against the Timberwolves on Sunday. While the rest of the team came out flat, Aldridge single-handedly carried the team during start of the game.
Check the play-by-play; in the first seven minutes of the game, Aldridge had eight of the team’s first 12 points, and assisted Robin Lopez on the way to two more. This was all interspersed with a barrage of missed shots and turnovers from his teammates. This isn’t meant to disparage any of the other Blazers, but rather highlight just how much of this team’s foundation Aldridge is.
He has scored at least 20 points in 11 of his 16 games. He has also had at least nine rebounds in 11 games, as well as at least one assist in every game except one. He is one of the best power forwards currently playing, and shows up every night. Lillard is certainly the up and comer, and I have no doubt the reins will eventually be his, but for now, this team remains Aldridge’s.
While basketball is a team game, this team is probably going as far as Aldridge takes them. Just look at last year’s playoffs – everyone remembers Lillard’s three to win the series, but it was Aldridge who almost single-handedly spotted the Blazers a 2-0 lead in the series with a pair of monster games (46 and 43 points in Games One and Two, respectively).
Besides just playing generally well, to become cliché for a second, Aldridge looks like “he wants it” more than ever this year. Late in games, Aldridge has been the one pulling down crucial rebounds in traffic, sealing off the lane, or diving to the floor for a ball. He is 29 and has been in the league for nine years now, and has only made it out of the first round of the playoffs once.
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This year’s iteration of the team is primed for a run. Head Coach Terry Stotts has had time to implement his systems, and in particular, the defensive side of the ball is showing improvement. Other players are now hitting their strides (shoutout to Wesley Matthews), and the bench has looked strong for the first time in a while (shoutout to Chris Kaman). In fact, as of this writing, the Blazers are currently ranked fifth in both offense and defense.
It is still early in the season, but a top five offense and defense is the perfect recipe for playoff success. With so much up in the air in terms of player contracts next season (remember, Aldridge himself is also a free agent), the time is ripe for the Trail Blazers to make the next leap under Aldridge’s guidance.