Aldridge has transformed himself from a soft, 18-foot jump shot machine into a full-on mega shark who smells blood in the water...or plane. I'll be honest: I never thought the day would come. For those of you who watched Blazer games with me last year in person or online, you know that I was ruthless with Aldridge. I couldn't stand one more jumper, one more weak rebound, another season of 1.1 points per shot, poor post defense, etc. Aldridge, as far as I was concerned, could have been traded for a bag of new balls, and I would've been ecstatic.
Flash forward to this year and Aldridge is making me look like a bigger fool than when I picked the Rockets to make the seven seed in the West. Since BRoy went down indefinitely, Aldridge has stepped up and carried the Blazers. It may have taken him 4 1/2 seasons to finally reach the level that Blazer fans claim he is capable of, but he finally made it.
For Aldridge, I always thought it was a lack of desire. There is no doubt that he has the tools to succeed. A silky smooth shot, strong, length, runs the floor as well as any power forward in the league. His lack of desire held him back. Aldridge seemed disinterested when the ball was not run through him, hoisting up long jumpers as if to punish the team for not passing him the ball. He never asserted his strength or length in the low post. A three rebound game became common place for a player just a hair under seven feet.
But it has all clicked together for Aldridge. He's tearing the league up right now, posting a career high 40 points last night against the best team in the league, the Spurs. Clearly his mentality changed somewhere along the line. He underwent a miraculous transformation and has been scoring in the paint in droves. The once apathetic, weak-minded Aldridge is now playing at an all-star level (whether or not he makes the game is another topic for debate).
Now, all of this got me thinking about Greg Oden, although I don't know why. I realize that he has played in exactly one full season of the four seasons he has been in the league, suffering season-ending injuries three times. Whether or not he comes back healthy is one nagging question for the Blazers as he becomes a restricted free agent this season. But aside from the injury issues, the biggest problem for Oden was his mentality on the court. He has no killer instinct, no mean streak. Sure, he made us laugh, and he talked about wanting to win 15 championships, but even through all the injuries and the time on the court, at no point did people fear Greg.
When Shaq was young and starting fresh in the league, he made it his mission to seek and destroy all the centers in the league. He wanted to make a name for himself immediately. As for Greg, he was lucky if he didn't draw two fouls in the first quarter, mope through quarters two and three and then not play the fourth. His body language indicated basketball was a chore, not an enjoyment.
Although it seems highly unlikely that at this point Greg will ever effectively establish himself in this league due to his health, stranger things have happened. And if Aldridge somehow found a way to transform himself into a legitimate all-star, Greg may have hope yet.
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