With NBA All-Star Weekend upon us, the time has come for players to re-evaluate themselves. Making the All-Star team has always been somewhat of a mid-season scale for players to weigh their personal performance on. If you made the cut, then obviously you’re doing something right. However, every player isn’t so fortunate. Sure, some players who get snubbed say they don’t take it personally, but I can guarantee that LaMarcus Aldridge is not one of those players.
With all due respect to Kevin Love – who was chosen to fill-in for Yao Ming – Aldridge deserved that last All-Star spot. Don’t get me wrong, Love is putting up astounding numbers this season, posting 40 consecutive double-doubles (and counting) while averaging 21.3 points and 15.5 rebounds on the season. And to the untrained eye, he is the sexier pick. But Aldridge deserved an All-Star selection this year.
Overshadowed by Brandon Roy in previous years, Aldridge’s play has gone overlooked. However, with Roy being out this year, Aldridge has stepped his game up to another level, averaging 22.1 points and 9.0 rebounds on the season. Sure Love has an edge over Aldridge in the stats column, but stats aren’t the only basis with which All-Stars selections are made.
If you consider some of the more important factors like team wins, Aldridge is clearly a more deserving candidate. He has led the Blazers to a 30-24 record, which is good enough for eighth best in the West, while Love and the Timberwolves have recorded 13 wins – only five more than the League worst Cavaliers. (And keep in mind, Aldridge is doing this while Portland’s best player is sidelined by injury.)
The difference in numbers is what stands out on paper, but Love’s eye-opening rebounding stats are slightly overrated in my opinion. What people don’t realize is that Love often gives up defensive position to put himself in a more advantageous spot for a rebound. Playing for stats definitely doesn’t help Minnesota in the win/loss column. Also, when you consider the players working alongside the two in the post, the rebounding disparity makes more sense. Aldridge plays power forward alongside 7-foot veteran Marcus Camby, who is averaging a team-best 11.3 rebounds in 39 games this season. Obviously, that leaves Aldridge with a lot less rebounds to grab. Love on the other hand has been playing center alongside 6-9 power forward Michael Beasley – who has struggled to find the rebounding niche he once had at Kansas State – averaging only 5.6 rebounds per game. The difference between Camby and Beasley alone plays a large part in the rebounding gap between Aldridge and Love. Frankly, if that’s all that Love holds over Aldridge, than that isn’t enough to warrant the snub.
At the end of the day, Aldridge knows more than anyone that he should have been an All-Star and he is taking it upon himself to show the world that he deserved a selection. If you haven’t noticed, he has already notched two 40-point games in the month of February, on the way to much deserved Player of the Week honors. He also became the first Blazer ever to score 36-plus points in three consecutive games, and averaged 38.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.67 blocked shots and 1.33 steals for the week.
What do you think? Should Aldridge have been an All-Star?
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