Smile: Nets LaMarcus Aldridge Is Playing Basketball Again (And Playing It Very Well)
Early in the second quarter of Wednesday’s contest in Orlando, Brooklyn center LaMarcus Aldridge took a pick-and-pop pass from guard Jevon Carter and knocked down one of his patented mid-range jump shots from the right side. As he jogged back on defense flashing a grin, you couldn’t help but smile along at Aldridge’s pure joy.
You see, that smile after such a bucket wasn’t because the game was turning into a 123-90 laugher. No, such expressions of glee have been quite a common occurrence this season for the former seven-time All-Star player who has been put through much adversity in the last couple of years. For him to not only be playing but also contributing to an 8-4 Nets team that has the loftiest of aspirations at this stage of his career is reason enough for Aldridge and all of Nets Nation to feel giddy.
Aldridge originally had signed with Brooklyn as a bought-out free agent from rebuilding San Antonio after last season’s trade deadline. The Nets, who lacked beef in the middle, represented a golden opportunity for the 36-year old to capture an elusive NBA Championship ring.
Except in his fifth game as a Net on April 10, Aldridge was manhandled by the Lakers’ Andre Drummond, who poured in 14 of his 20 points with Aldridge as the nearest defender in about 20 minutes, according to NBA.com. Afterwards, Nets fans were mildly concerned when it was disclosed that Aldridge was suffering from “an illness” that required he sit out the next two games.
Of course, the specific ailment was an irregular heartbeat which forced Aldridge to shockingly announce on his social media on April 15 that he was retiring from the NBA. It was a gut-punching blow. The injuries to Big 3 members Kyrie Irving and James Harden were the proximate cause of the Nets’ subsequent seven-game Eastern Conference semifinals loss to eventual champion Milwaukee, but it was also clear that the team dearly missed all that Aldridge brought to the table, from his size to his scoring.
So, when Aldridge received a clean bill of health and looked to return to action as a free agent in the beginning of September, Brooklyn won out again among the interested teams with its shared mission to take care of unfinished business. Aldridge and Blake Griffin each signed veteran minimum contracts to split the center role as per the plan at the end of last season. The only difference this season is that Griffin has been starting with Aldridge, who came off the bench in just 44 of his 1,029 games played entering the season, in the reserve role.
No matter, because LMA has been absolutely flourishing. His 21 points on Wednesday, the third time in his 11 games he has exceeded 20 points, boosted his average to 13.1 ppg. His shooting touch has been ridiculous, especially from the mid-range areas where he’s knocked down 31-of-43 (72.1%) jumpers. When those shots look like free throw attempts, analytics experts can go fly a kite.
Not that Aldridge doesn’t have the ability to extend out to the three-point line--he converted 3-of-5 from deep versus the woefully inexperienced Magic to boost his season efficiency to 46.2% (albeit in a small sample size of 13 attempts).
Aldridge’s shot may appear robotic, but the limited movement allows him to get it off quicker than you’d think (about 2/3 of his field goal attempts are released in less than two seconds after the touch, per NBA.com) and his high release point makes it nearly impossible to block.
As for Aldridge’s performance on the other end, though his declining foot speed creates challenges for Brooklyn’s defense, he has found a comfortable home in the team’s new drop pick-and-roll coverage base. His rim protection has been eye-opening, with his 2.1 blocks per 36 minutes placing him 12th in the league (10 games minimum)—in his 15 previous seasons, he bettered 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes just twice, with a high of 1.9 in his rookie season of 2006-07 with Portland.
The biggest issues, obviously, occur when the Nets face the better teams who possess pick-and-roll ballhandlers that can score at all three levels alongside a big who is also a perimeter threat. Chicago used their DeMar DeRozan/Nikola Vucevic combo against Aldridge to help them get rolling in the fourth quarter of their 118-95 victory on Monday.
In addition, the Nets, with Harden and Kevin Durant both resting (and Irving effectively banished from the team until he receives a COVID-19 vaccine), tried to run too much of their offense in that stretch through Aldridge, who is more suited to spotting up for catch-and-shoot opportunities. Again, because the Magic appeared befuddled when it comes to defense by choosing not to clamp down on the one guy who could hurt them, those early second-and-fourth quarter minutes without Brooklyn’s two stars didn’t precipitate doom on Wednesday. All of Aldridge’s field goals were assisted, a tell-tale sign that he wasn’t charged with creating offense all by himself.
It will be hard for Aldridge to maintain his scoring efficiency over the course of an entire season, but if it doesn’t fall off a cliff, you’d have to consider him for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award. Only Carmelo Anthony (Lakers) and Jordan Clarkson (Utah) boast higher scoring averages off the bench, but if you factor in Aldridge’s edge in a bunch of other statistical categories, he could end up making a fair case.
And if that honor did come to fruition, what a hoot that would be.