Aldridge is underrated defender

[barbacoataco]

Game last night showed just how important Aldridge is to our D. Spurs had no rim protection without him. He just is a big guy who is fairly mobile and has a nack for being in the right spot. He's not a flashy shot blocker, but you could see the difference big time last night with him out.

[TheGreatYacht]

Easily a better defender than Splitter. Defensive stats proved it last year when he took Splitter's spot in the same exact starting lineup

[BillMc]

Very underrated.

[SpursIndonesia]

At the very least, a motivated LMA will not let us be bullied down low for rebound, it's so frustating watching Monroe acting like Moses last night in the block.

[Chinook]

I could definitely see why Pop started Lee, but Anderson or Bertans would have been better. Spurs got off on the wrong foot with Lee on Parker.

[cd98]

Yes, but Spurs needed his scoring last night.

[cd98]

I could definitely see why Pop started Lee, but Anderson or Bertans would have been better. Spurs got off on the wrong foot with Lee on Parker. Agreed. Parker had a nice game, even with Kawhi on him, he stayed pretty aggressive. But I felt like once the Spurs had their lead and the Bucks were making a run, it would have been better to have Anderson (yikes can't believe I'm saying this) on Beasley or Parker and let Kawhi shut down the other one. I mean, they were playing Beasley as a stretch 4. That's the one position Anderson can play and it was obvious that Green, Simmons, and Betrans could not guard Beasley.

[GSH]

Game last night showed just how important Aldridge is to our D. Spurs had no rim protection without him. He just is a big guy who is fairly mobile and has a nack for being in the right spot. He's not a flashy shot blocker, but you could see the difference big time last night with him out.

The results sure say your right. The defensive numbers last year were much improved but most people wanted to go looking for any other reason other than crediting LMA. He's still under-rated

I think some people got to see what I was warning about David Lee. He's tough, he hustles, he's a good finisher in the paint. I like Lee. But he's not big enough to anchor the middle. Against benches...Certain benches... He's good. But he has some real limits. But at least he never fails to put in 100 percent effort.

[Kawhitstorm]

I could definitely see why Pop started Lee, but Anderson or Bertans would have been better. Spurs got off on the wrong foot with Lee on Parker.

I called it: http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265684&page=2&p=8857389&viewfull=1#post8857389

[SAGirl]

Thanks for sharing... OP observations like this bring better discussion... hardly anyone talked about how the Spurs lost the battle in the paint took too many 3s from guys who had a poor night shooting... (Manu, Mills, etc...) yes any player can have an off night shooting but if on the other end you can't stop anyone at the rim...

[SAGirl]

I don't know why Lamarcus didn't play... busy schedule lately and missed twitter and other feeds like I normally check... It might have been a test for Lee and Davis both... a guess?

[Fireball]

I don't know why Lamarcus didn't play... busy schedule lately and missed twitter and other feeds like I normally check... It might have been a test for Lee and Davis both... a guess? he had a stomach bug like Kawhi ... so not a sure return for tonight's game against the Lakers ... the Greek Freak is a good example not to come back too early after such an illness (although I do not know if he had stomach problems as well or just a flu).

[daledondale]

I miss TD and Splitter defense, boards, blocks..really different today with Pau, LMA and Lee.