With a big-time win over the Golden State Warriors in San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge showed fans that he can become a big-time scorer for the Spurs moving forward. While the future of the franchise largely remains focused on the development of Kawhi Leonard, Aldridge’s performances in recent months have justified his big-money signing as a free-agent with the Spurs. After a seemingly slow start to the season, the former Portland Trailblazer has become a more aggressive and efficient point scorer as he continues to evolve his game under the tutelage of head coach Gregg Popovich.
It would seem that after scoring only 5 points from the floor in 25 minutes in his previous game at Oracle Arena, LaMarcus Aldridge needed to atone for his poor shooting performance on the night. But even before that, in the months leading up to their first encounter with Golden State, Aldridge was only averaging 14.1 points a game in almost 30 minutes. As one of the most talented face-up fours in the league, Aldridge averaged 23.4 points a game in 35.4 minutes as a Trailblazer and was intended to make an immediate impact on the offensive end in San Antonio. So it was disappointing for Spurs fans to see his numbers drop so dramatically.
But it seems like it has all been part of a larger adjustment period for Aldridge, who has slowly been adapting to the Spurs playbook. Shot-charts have shown that he has been shooting from all areas in the mid-range, instead of mainly the left elbow, and now playing more often with his back to the rim. As a result, Aldridge has a better field goal percentage than his previous two seasons with the Trailblazers (.507%) and is shooting above the league average from most areas on the floor. During the month of March, Aldridge has also been averaging 24.0 points alongside 9.0 rebounds, which are both more than his 22.3 points and 8.8 rebounds this time last year.
It would seem that a major catalyst in Aldridge’s emergence as a key offensive figure in the Spurs lineup was the absence of Tim Duncan through injury on January 22. This might seem like a subjective take on the matter, but if we look at the data Aldridge only averaged 15.9 points while Duncan was involved in 37 of the Spurs’ first 44 games. Aldridge’s scoring increased to 20.8 points per game at 54.7% shooting while Duncan was out with a sore right knee. Since then, Aldridge has continued to average over 20 points a game, but there have been other developments in his game which would indicate the scoring impact he could have in the future.
One such development has been the chemistry with his fellow teammates. Aldridge has become more comfortable in Popovich’s offensive system and his teammates are beginning to find him more often on the court. Last season with the Trailblazers, only six different teammates had over 10 assists on Aldridge’s made baskets (Lillard 130, Batum 74, Steve Blake 46, Matthews 28, McCollum 10, Kaman 10). With 13 games still remaining, eight different Spurs teammates have already made over 10 assists each for Aldridge’s points (Parker 97, Duncan 39, Leonard 34, Mills 28, Green 26, Ginobili 23, West 12, Diaw 11). So it is apparent that Aldridge is already becoming more familiar with his surroundings and linking up well with the rest of the roster.
All of these factors came to light in the Spurs most recent game against the Golden State Warriors. After a dismal first game at Oracle Arena earlier in the season, Aldridge shut down his social media accounts in order to “lock in”. He certainly seemed locked in. Aldridge asserted himself as the Spurs’ most dominant offensive weapon with a game-high 26 points, but also took over the Center role in Duncan’s stead with 13 rebounds. With 44% shooting, compared to their last match-up with the Warriors in which he shot 22%, Aldridge also got a wider variety of looks this time around, shooting especially well under the rim (72.7%). LaMarcus Aldridge is proving to be an especially effective weapon for the Spurs, proving now that he can spot-up from anywhere, pick-and-pop from anywhere, and is now posting up on either block.
It is important to note that Golden State was missing three crucial defensive players in Igoudala, Ezeli and Bogut that night. Unlike their previous match-up, the Warriors often endured a mismatch between Aldridge and Harrison Barnes, which usually resulted in some easy buckets for the Spurs. As well, apart from Marreese Speights, the Warriors had to settle for a smaller lineup for the majority of the game and missed some steel on the boards as they watched San Antonio grab 14 offensive rebounds.
None of this, however, can take anything away from LaMarcus Aldridge’s growth as a Spur. After a commitment to “lock in” for the season, Aldridge has proved that he can thrive on a great team. Adding variety and versatility to his game, fans would agree that Aldridge is starting to peak at the right time as the Spurs gear up for the postseason. Alongside Kawhi Leonard, the future of the franchise appears to be in safe hands as Aldridge looks to become the go-to guy in San Antonio.
