Four Trail Blazers crack Sports Illustrated’s Top 100
By Doug Patrick
#81: Al-Farouq Aminu
Swingman Al-Farouq Aminu tops the list at number 81. He ranks between Boston Celtic Terry Rozier and Oklahoma City guard Dennis Schroder.
Golliver and Mahoney praise Aminu’s impact on Portland’s 8th ranked defense:
"Aminu (9.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG) is the elastic band that holds a top-10 defense together. If you prefer a conservative defensive style—as the Blazers do—then Aminu can muck up passing lanes and slow down top-scoring forwards. If you’d rather rely on switching, he’ll float from opponent to opponent without missing a beat. At the same time, Aminu would look right at home blitzing and recovering against the pick-and-roll, where his length makes a chore of even the most basic outlet pass. One can be a specialist and still have a highly transferable skill set."
But for all Aminu does to propel this Trail Blazers defense, he does just as much to keep the team’s 16th ranked offense “meh.”
He hit a career-year from three-point range last season at 36.9 percent. But Aminu’s overall streaky shooting likely means this is just a spike in accuracy, not an upslope. He also fails to have much in the way of playmaking, as he cannot get to spots on the floor. Many of his looks come from kick-outs to the corner.
Aminu earns his ranking through his highly transferrable defensive talent, while his offensive limitations are masked by one of the best backcourts in basketball.