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By all appearances, Cole Aldrich is going to find himself in a much more prominent and important role this season.
That’s mildly to moderately terrifying to some Thunder fans, especially after a lackluster performance in Orlando at Summer League.
“He didn’t play great,” Scott Brooks said after practice Monday. “But the summer is there to get better and improve. It’s what you do all summer long. It’s not what you do for the two weeks or the five games. We’ll see how he plays the rest of camp and the exhibition season. I put a little weight into the Summer League but not now. I put it in at that time because that was the most important time was that time. But now that training camp has started, that’s so far behind us.”
Here’s Aldrich’s take on his Summer League performance: “I wasn’t at all. It was my first Summer League,” he said. “The first game I played 35 minutes. I don’t know when the last time I played 35 minutes was. It’s just a time when you can assess yourself a little, and it’s not about scoring points or doing spectacular things. It’s about doing the little things — setting good screens, guarding pick and rolls, doing stuff like that that’s really going to make a difference.”
In theory, the backup big slot behind Kendrick Perkins is up for grabs with Hasheem Thabeet and Daniel Orton battling Aldrich for time. But it’s Aldrich’s job to lose. He said at media day that in his mind the position was open still, but that’s just because he has to prove himself.
“I don’t feel no pressure myself,” Aldrich said. “I come in every day and work hard. I’ve gotten a lot better and that’s all you can do.”
I’ve said it before but you have to take into account the role Aldrich will play. A spot backup center playing between five and 15 minutes a game. His job won’t be to put up double-doubles or be a reliable post scorer. He needs to rebound, set screens, defend pick-and-rolls and just quietly do his job, three or four minutes at a time. How many times did you say, “Man, Nazr Mohammed is killing it out there!” last season? Because that’s the job of a guy in that role: Do your best to go mostly unnoticed, because it means you’re doing OK.
Now, Aldrich has the potential to be an impact bench guy. He’s a high energy player that runs the floor well and has nice instincts on the glass. Maybe he puts more of a nightly stamp on the game than Mohammed. First though, he has to win the job. Which means he’s already a little more behind than was expected.
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I remember seeing video of Aldrich trying to post up. It was terrible. I am sure he will still not get any minutes more or play any more games. OKC is terrible in terms of player development. I don't even see Hasheem Thabeet playing that much either.
@slapdoghoops yeah we developed durant, harden, westbrook and ibaka pretty poorly
really low minutes so don't want to presume much but team did far far better with Aldrich on the court in 2010-11 than last season. he needs to turn that around massively. Presti / Brooks picking the right lineup and situation for his use would greatly help.
@Crow The lineups were dramatically worse, IMO last season for Aldrich than 2010-11.
Ah ha!!!
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/10/tuesday-bolts-10-9-12/
I completely place full blame on @Royce Young for my now broken F5 key and my lack of production this morning... Late Bolts just throw my whole day off!
For what amusement it may be worth, I noticed that if you look for the "center of density" of the last 32 years of NBA title winners, I believe it will be very close to OKC. I have not calculated it precisely, just eyeballed it from the map. If one did (ou sas or DSMok1 or someone else) using GPS one could find the exact location. If one were caught by the idea, one could place a geocache there and folks could find / visit it, leave messages or a Thunder t-shirt for good luck or whatever. One could also plot its year to year change in location and see if it is getting closer or farther from OKC. Just something that came to me.
@Crow So we've got 10 Lakers, 2 Rockets, 4 Spurs, 1 Dallas, 6 Bulls, 2 Heat, 4 Celtics, 1 Sixers, and 3 Pistons. (1980-2012). Simplifying assumption, the teams haven't moved arenas since 1980, so current arena locations will work to calculate this...
Dangit, this is going to take a bit of time. Hold on, I'll get back to you.
Thanks if you do it. I thought you might find it fun. The latitudes and longitudes could be found, plotted, averaged. Googe charts might be useful.
tthanks
@senseandsenescence @ThunderChick2010 @Crow Try this: http://goo.gl/sdJCX
@senseandsenescence @ThunderChick2010 @Crow Ah, must have copy-pasted the wrong town into my goo.gl link shortener. My bad.
@ou_sas @ThunderChick2010 @Crow Yeah I put in the town and its about the same, but the link you gave is in KS.
@senseandsenescence @ThunderChick2010 @Crow It moved fractionally south, I thought. Yeah, moved south by .06 degrees latitude. You might have seen it while I was in the middle of fixing things. I had a reference on there for a moment where I forgot to update my denominator. Should be all fixed now.
@ou_sas @ThunderChick2010 @Crow How can the average move north when LA is south of OKC/Tulsa? Think you either put up the wrong link or missed a number somewhere.
@ThunderChick2010 @Crow If the Lakers win next year, it'll pull it to Mannford, OK. West of Sapulpa. http://goo.gl/pNsJK
@ThunderChick2010 @Crow Yes, it is weighted. And I have to re-copy-paste the formula. It copied the result from my original spreadsheet, not the actual formula, so let me do that and recalculate.
@ou_sas @Crow
Haven't been able to look too closely, but is it "weighted"? I mean, for example, do the 10 Lakers wins factor in more heavily than the 1 Sixers? We just gotta keep LA, Dallas, and SanAntonio winning to pull this closer to my hometown--about 45 miles SW of OKC. All of a sudden, I don't know who to cheer for this season . . .
If the Lakers win the next title, how close does the center get to OKC?
@Crow
I agree. IMO. (I think.)
:)
There are plenty of worse ones, IMO.
@ou_sas @Crow
Just want to note that you and Crow have very strange ideas about "amusement".
@Crow http://goo.gl/jKZ2X Spreadsheet showing my work.
@Crow https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=36.08266,+-95.7433097&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x87b68a89da258ed1:0x7119d97e3a690ba2,%2B36%C2%B0+4'+57.64%22,+-95%C2%B0+44'+38.07%22&gl=us&ei=p1d0UOmsB6Sd2QXKsoGIDg&sqi=2&ved=0CB4Q8gEwAA
East side of Tulsa.
Zach Lowe with blurbs on title chances. Nothing about the Thunder that hasn't been said 10,000 times since June, but here you go: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8478267/who-nba-top-title-contenders-season-trailing-pack
@Jooseppi I was more interested to read how he rated the non-Heat/Thunder/Lakers/Spurs than how he rated us. Good stuff, as usual.
Hollinger predicts that the nuggets will be 2nd in the west. And I guess he's already predicting the Spurs as 1st seed.
@OBoymuzik What does he have us penciled in for?
@ou_sas Hasn't said yet, either 3rd or 4th lol. I guess he's not picking the Trail Blazers as the sleeper in the west this year.
@OBoymuzik @ou_sas @DustinMcWilliams Ok i guess, Im just used my team losing in denver alot so i might be overrating them a lil bit..
@kennygee90 @ou_sas @DustinMcWilliams Kenneth Faried is 2 inches taller than James harden and they don't have depth at the PF anymore. Unless Lawson or Gallo break out they'll be 4-6 seed.
@ou_sas @DustinMcWilliams @OBoymuzik I would've put him there last 2 years, their way better now, they'll definitely hit 55 games..Their bench is really deep, and they score in waves, with iguodala's athleticism and defense they'll be tough to handle
@kennygee90 @DustinMcWilliams @OBoymuzik I'm more inclined to put them in the 49-53 win range, myself. At the high end.
@DustinMcWilliams @ou_sas @OBoymuzik I think his overrating the Nuggets due to their incredible deep bench..they'll be a 55-60 win though
@DustinMcWilliams @kennygee90 @OBoymuzik *checks Calendar* No... I don't believe so. :|
@ou_sas @OBoymuzik LOL cool funny how I as waiting for you to do that
@ou_sas @kennygee90 @OBoymuzik What is this, 2008?
@kennygee90 @OBoymuzik I'd tease you right there about stats, but I'm in a pretty good mood this morning. :D
@ou_sas @OBoymuzik Hollinger is a laker hater and especially a Kobe hater...He uses all kind of stupid stats to make Kobe look bad
@OBoymuzik Probably 4th, he'll give the Lakers more love than us.
@ou_sas For sure
@OBoymuzik "They would have made the playoffs last year if it wasn't for The Call."
(spoiler alert: the nuggets won't be second in the west)
@OBoymuzik
where did he say that?
@Bsooreal http://es.pn/SMahPh it's an insider article. If anyone has insider some notes would be nice
Wow, so Kobe came out and said he's only playing 2 more seasons....? You don't hear players come out and say that very often.
@BallSoHarden
Kobe is determining the final chapters in his legacy. Hate him if ou wan but that was very smart of him. He will do what Jordan couldnt do and that is walk away leaving very few dints on his name. Kobe knows what he is doing and ,truthfully, he knows his xbody isnt doing well by him. I like the older Kobe much better than the Kobe a few years back.
@Bsooreal @BallSoHarden Steve Nash and Kobe will save each others bodies for the next two years.. Its too hard for a guard to play for all these years at his level...His done after his contract as it should be ...The wear and tear in his body is crazy..
@BallSoHarden that offense is long gone except for the post ups..Thats why he wanted the princeton's offense and loves nash being here..even I don't wanna see his isolations where the whole defense keys on him...Durant made life a living hell for him in the 4th quarter with that type of play
@kennygee90 I'd consider him more of an isolation, post-up, one-on-one player.
@kennygee90 @BallSoHarden @justin_mia Kobe Kobe Kobe Kobe Kobe
@BallSoHarden @justin_mia His not a catch and shoot player? Kobe is actually one of the best players scoring off of screens catching and shoot..And all he needs to do is make a couple of jump shots in the weakside and he'll have people flying with pump fakes and getting to the basket with ease..
@kennygee90 @BallSoHarden 26 on 18 attempts? So Kobe's going to have one of the 10 most efficient scoring seasons in NBA history, then?
@kennygee90 @justin_mia I think all it means is that he won't shoot as much. He's never been a catch-and-shoot player. Efficiency will remain the same I think.
@justin_mia @BallSoHarden He'll score more efficiently since there'll be easier shots all around..Nash barely ever scores, Gasol doesn't care for it either...This is the perfect team for Kobe..Howard can score 20 off of garbage points easily with Nash here..He'll score 26 in 18attempts..and get to the line more with howard putting teams in the penalty early now
@kennygee90 @BallSoHarden So you think that with Nash, Howard and Gasol around him he's going to maintain his FGA rate from last season? That's good news for other teams.
@kennygee90 He is on a rapid downslop....can't we all admit that. He can't shake defenders anymore and his step isn't as fast. He won't (or shouldn't) shoot as much this year with the players that got brought in around him. If his shots decline, and his % remains (which it will)....ppg game decline.
@justin_mia @BallSoHarden Your underestimating how good Kobe is..The problem last year was that he didn't want the ball handling duties..Its the main reason why defenses were able to key on him..with Nash he'll score too easily...All he needs to do is score and shoot, no more creating shots for scrubs..thats nash's job now which is something he does best..
@kennygee90 @Bsooreal @BallSoHarden We'll see about that.
@kennygee90 @BallSoHarden OK so by next season you meant over the next two seasons? That makes more sense. Kobe's about 2800 points behind, is he going to maintain 35%+ USG the next two seasons? Will he play 38 minutes a game like he did last season, or 34 minute a game like he did the year before? I think you're taking this for granted here.
@justin_mia @Bsooreal @BallSoHarden You got Kobe confused with Jordan, Kobe's wear and tear in his body will be too much..there's no way his going to play as a role player, just No Way...Jordan always wanted to prove other people wrong, Kobe just plays to win Now..He already won his ring without shaq and beat the celtics in the finals making him a Laker Legend
@kennygee90 @justin_mia @BallSoHarden Not if he's going to defer to Dwight and Nash (and Pau) like you've been suggesting. Your Lakers will be at their best offensively with Kobe scoring 20-22 per game. If he's having to carry a larger load, then there's problems offensively.
@justin_mia @BallSoHarden all he needs to do is score 25 ppg for the next 2 years and he'll pass him..something that he'll definetly do..
@Bsooreal @kennygee90 @BallSoHarden I just don't consider Kobe to be this special snowflake who will retire so easily when he's still 'good'. Look at the history of wing players in the NBA. Even Jordan came back past his prime. Kobe is a lot of things but he's not Barry Sanders, or Jim Brown.
@justin_mia @kennygee90 @BallSoHarden
That would damage his legacy(Short term) more than help it IMO. I still think of Gary Payton as the guy who joined that failed l@kers team when he should have retired.
@Bsooreal @kennygee90 @BallSoHarden If he's within 5000 points or so of Malone I think he keeps on going, for one.
@justin_mia @kennygee90 @BallSoHarden
Which ones?
@kennygee90 @BallSoHarden You think Kobe will score 2800 points next season? LOL.
@justin_mia @BallSoHarden The only other stat other than Jordan's 6 rings is passing Jordan career scoring, which he'll pass next year
@kennygee90 @BallSoHarden Kobe's not going to retire in two seasons if he's within reasonable striking distance of significant records. No way
@BallSoHarden As a Laker Fan, There's no price I put for Championship..I don't care for his contract as long as Jerry Bus is able to field a championship team..His an Icon, His value to the Lakers is in the 60+ in millions, and Buss doesn't care for the cap so pay him whatever as long as it ends in a ring..I want him to retire and have a goodbye tour that year where everyone gets to appreciate him and what he's done for this league post Jordan..
@kennygee90 For a Laker fan, you should be pretty thankful for this. Lakers would be put in a tough situation if he wanted to come back. I would also be equally worried how much you are paying this guy the next 2 years. Will the output equal the worth?
I'm not judging Kobe for it. I think it is probably a wise move. The players that can't ever decide are the ones that get on my nerves. I like that he has determined this, just don't see players do that....predetermine retirement 2 years out and come out and say it.