BBall Breakdown: How Aldridge Fits Into The Spurs Offense

[popdagreat]

whos a better defender lma or golden god?

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Lol. Your schtick is getting old, apalisoc_9.

Dude has nothing more to offer to this forum other than Kawhi is great or Parker sucks threads. I don't think anyone takes him as a serious poster anyway.

[Mr. Body]

Career shooting percentage within 3-feet of the basket:

Tim Duncan - 69.5%
LaMarcus Aldridge - 69.5%
Tiago Splitter - 67.7%

Not much of a difference between the three.

What are the percentages when contested?

[cutewizard]

Here's an interesting article:

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/...arcus-aldridge

[YGWHI]

Spurs offense is going to be wild. Especically if SA can land a decent guard/shooter. So many options with so much spacing. I really hope TP didn't decline and that is was just injuries because with this spacing he should have a mega-resurgence.

Most of the time Danny and Manu can be good guards/shooters.

[mudyez]

It's great to have you back timvp...speaking the truth!

[benefactor]

Although Aldridge >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Splitter, that video was too harsh on Splitter. When healthy, Splitter was a good finisher around the rim. And while Aldridge has never really been on a team that values ball-movement, from what I've seen Splitter is probably the better passer.

Splitter is an above average center in the NBA. Aldridge is a top 10-15 player in the league. Huge upgrade but let's not go too overboard.

Going all homer Spurs fan for a moment, a few things that I liked seeing...

- Aldridge bullying Ibaka in the post, finally
- Watching those bull fadeaways from 18ft that the Spurs have never really had from there bigs
- Those passes from the horns. I've never really seen that from him and Tiago was an excellent passer, nice to know the Spurs aren't losing much there

I will say as a few others have that Tiago was treated harshly in that video. I thought he was a solid post player and this guy really underrated Splitters passing.

I agree that he went in a little to far on Splitter. Splitter's has one of those "ugly but effective" games around the rim. Spur fan just gives him more than they should because he doesn't dunk everything. I didn't know Aldridge could pass as well as he does either, but there's probably only a handful of bigs in the league that are on Splitter's level passing.

However, "when healthy" is the key. If the Spurs weren't having to deal with that, we might not even be having these conversations right now.

I'm just excited that it's not just gaining good spacing, but all around offensive integration that should require almost no adjustment from what they've been doing the past several seasons. People have made some references to RJ as the Spurs last big name they acquired and the associated failure, but many could see that RJ's game just didn't fit. Aldridge will not only fit, but he will make what is already a lethal offense even scarier.

[BlackSilver]

I agree that Splitter is a very good finisher around the rim and that the video was a bit harsh. However, let me state the obvious that I think the video missed: Spurs haven't replaced Splitter with LMA, rather, it's Duncan taking his spot. Aldridge takes Duncan's role and is a much better player offensively at this point. That's quite an upgrade to both positions. The one thing I'm not yet sure about is how good Aldridge's passing is compared to Splitter/TD, particularly given the much faster pace the Spurs play compared to Portland. It's one thing to be standing still and thread the needle to the cutter. Something else entirely, and IMO this is what Splitter is especially good at, is passing when you and everyone else is on the move. I think it will take Aldridge some getting used to, but I would imagine he'll enjoy working on that.

[therealtruth]

Career shooting percentage within 3-feet of the basket:

Tim Duncan - 69.5%
LaMarcus Aldridge - 69.5%
Tiago Splitter - 67.7%

Not much of a difference between the three.

Kind of surprised by that. I remember Splitter having a really nice touch around the basket. I just checked the stats and in 2012 he was around .764%. That must be what I am thinking of.