RealGM

We all want to see Aldridge develop into our dominant PF of the future. So far he has given us a lot of reasons to believe that he is that person. I like how his skill set and how he plays the game. I think he is setting himself up the become a very efficient player in the League. But still, there are many things in his young career that he needs to work on to accomplish that. So what are they?

I for one want to see him finish more nastier when he dunks. I love his smoothness and finesse when posts up and takes a semi hook shot. But when he dunks, I wanna see my big men finish it hard. I know that we'll have that with Greg Oden next year but Aldridge should do too. So one of his priorities for the off season should be to keep hitting the weight room. You can tell he did that this off season and it's also understandable that he has probably laid off it a bit now during the season. But he could benefit a lot from putting in more time on this during this next off season.

The other thing I would like to see him practice a bit more, or maybe gain more confidence in, is his ball handling. I've seen him put the ball in the floor and I really think he's really ahead of the curve for a big of his age. But you can tell he is a bit of a perfectionist and so maybe he doesn't have the confidence yet to use it that much during games. Yet, if he did it would really take advantage of his nice jump shot (even though he is in a shooting slump right now). Defenders would have to give him space or he could do a quick pump fake as soon as he catches the pass and get free of his defender to dribble it inside.

I basically agree with everything you said, sabi. I want his dunks to be nastier, I want him to hit the weight room big time, and I want him to work on his ball handling.
But also, I really want him to devlop a hook shot (I think he would be a natural at it because of how high he releases his shot), and some better back-down/low-post moves.

rebounding/boxing his man out

I want him to form a imaginary barrier 10 feet from the hoop and not be able to cross it.

Work on your post game, THEN you can shoot outside.

mcorrie1121 wrote:I want him to form a imaginary barrier 10 feet from the hoop and not be able to cross it.

Work on your post game, THEN you can shoot outside.

Dont forget Oden would be manning the post, most of the time.
I want LMA to work on his passing skills, so he can feed Oden from outside.

sabi wrote: I wanna see my big men finish it hard.

That's what she said.

Now in seriousness, I'd like to see him work on establishing position in the low post. He already has a great mid-range game and shot from the elbow, but if he can become a decent low post option it will allow his overall offensive game to flourish. Passing out of the post is another skill he should work on.

There has been a lot of talk about his rebounding, but I'm not as concerned about that. Right now he is averaging about 7.5 boards per game, which puts him on par to the person he is compared with most; 'Sheed. I think he is doing OK in that department. There is some room for improvement, but I don't his rebound deficiencies will be as noticeable next year with Oden on the court.

Growing a set

Rebounding and nothing else

iamstupid wrote:rebounding/boxing his man out

+1

breaker91 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



That's what she said.

farzi wrote:Growing a set

+1

TOUGHNESS!!!

Rebounding - Inside Scoring

Telfaire wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
Dont forget Oden would be manning the post, most of the time.
I want LMA to work on his passing skills, so he can feed Oden from outside.

Oden or not he still needs his post game. We aren't gonna just let him sit on the perimeter. Plus when either works his magic the other is there to crash the boards.

So i'll have to add rebounding to my list

If LA were to work on his ball handling it would just make his offensive abilities explode. There are so man chances he gets to take 1 good dribble and be able to finish at the hoop. If he is able to just get that down he would add a good 4-6 more ppg.

I think he needs a rigorous strength training program. I have a feeling that as he gets stronger, being more of a force in the post with just come with the territory. Same with rebounding. Once he gets stronger he'll be able to bully into position a little better, not to mention that as he plays in the low post more, he'll be closer to the basket to grab offensive rebounds. So definitely strength.

I think Aldridge needs to work on just about everything really. He needs to get bigger, needs to work on his free throws, needs to work on his passing, needs to work on boxing out and rebounding, and needs to really work on getting tougher inside.

I re-watched some Oden highlights from Summer league, and having Aldridge in that high post was lethal with Oden flashing in the middle. Teams will have a very difficult time deciding what to do in that situation. I think next year Aldridge will be able to get away more with taking his man outside. But having the ability to turn around and back him down when on the baseline, or drive around him get into traffic and create a post up opportunity downlow would be great.

1. Get stronger in general, but put some emphasis on leg/core strength so he can back down better on the post.

2. Learn how to rebound.

3. Last but not least..."Growing a set."

Billy wrote:I think Aldridge needs to work on just about everything really. e'sHe needs to get bigger, needs to work on his free throws, needs to work on his passing, needs to work on boxing out and rebounding, and needs to really work on getting tougher inside.

I'm actually pretty happy with Aldridges free throws, he seems to be able to hit them in pressure situations. As for passing, I think he's getting better and recognises the need to pass, but sometimes execution lets him down. He just doesn't seem to have enough strength and intuition for rebounding so far.

I wanna see LMA and Oden perfect their post passing. I loved it in pre season when they where obviously developing some chemistry and a SICK htwo man game.

Oh and it would be nice if he grows a pair. If not for the team than do it for Rebecca Harlow.