LaMarcus Aldridge Should Probably Make The All Star Team This Season

You could argue that since the Blazers announced that they were putting their star Brandon Roy on the shelf "indefinitely" a couple of months ago, that there is really only one reason the Blazers are still the playoff hunt, instead of planning for the draft lottery.  And that reason is the emergence of LaMarcus Aldridge.

Of course, this isn't some new declaration by any means.  It's what everyone has been talking about here in town.  To say that LaMarcus has taken his overall game to the next level would be appropriate, maybe even an understatement.  LaMarcus has been playing so much and so well that he laid an egg in the game against Sacramento last week and the Blazers lost by 15 at home.

But is LaMarcus Aldridge an all-star this season?

First, if I were truly being honest, I would respond to that question by saying "who cares?"  I mean, does the NBA all star game really mean anything these days?  Do the players really care that much about being named to the all star team in their respective conference?  Is it regarded as that much of an honor or something?  Should LaMarcus Aldridge lose sleep over whether or not he's going to be named to the all star team?  If I was a player, I wouldn't want to play in the game at all.  I'd prefer to rest and relax and get a break.

Still, lots of people get paid to write about this stuff and so it is what it is.  NBA.com's Sekou Smith had a pretty good little article comparing the all star resumes of LaMarcus Aldridge and the Hornets' David West.  Along with West, Aldridge is competing with Kevin Love and Blake Griffin for what seems to be the final roster spot for the Western Conference.

Sekou Smith makes several good points about why Aldridge is a better, more deserving candidate than Love, West or even Griffin.

1. "Neither Aldridge nor West is piling up the flashy metrics that Griffin and Love are this season. But shouldn’t there be some weight given for being a major factor on a playoff team?"

2. "And as more than a few Portland fans have mentioned, Aldridge has more than held his own against both Griffin and Love in head-to-head matchups this season. In fact, he’s been dominant at times against both.....If head-to-head counts for anything, Aldridge would appear to have the edge over both guys."

3. "But Aldridge deserves a lot of credit for what he’s doing under those circumstances. Everyone knows that he’s Portland’s only real go-to-guy these days. That’s an entirely different set of pressure than what those other guys are dealing with." (quoting an veteran NBA scout...)

Listen, as flashy as Blake Griffin is right now, at the end of the day, his ridiculous numbers don't always help the Clippers win.  Same goes with Kevin Love.  And with David West, he has arguably the best point guard leading his team, which has to take a little bit of pressure off of him. 

Not so with Aldridge.  Every team knows that, at least for right now, he's all the Blazers have for a dependable scorer and that on most every night, if you can you shut Aldridge down effectively, you're going to beat the Blazers.

[ Hang Time Blog -- Sekou Smith ]