Aldridge Is The Last Of A Dying Breed

3) Big Man Extinction:

• The Houston Rockets and even the Golden State Warriors are not built to withstand a strong inside presence that Lamarcus Aldridge is capable of becoming. He has shown glimpses but he has to continuously post-up and become a 20-10 player night in and night out. The Rockets had no answers for the Spurs when Aldridge is playing like a traditional big-man down-low. The Spurs high-low plays revitalized Aldridge and even Paul Gasol for stretches in the Game 3 vs the Rockets. Spurs are hoping that Aldridge can force teams to double so their 3pt personnel can knock down open shots.

2) Legacy Time:

• Aldridge’s time is now. He came to San Antonio with championship aspirations and inherited arguably the best player in the league in Leonard. This is a defining moment in his career and his teammates need him to go to work. The good news for Aldridge is that he only has to be the second scorer and to play with energy for 48 minutes--being aggressive. The most pressure is still on Leonard to carry the offense.  Confidence has been Aldridge's biggest issue because he has the skill set to be very successful against a Rocket team that isn’t prepared to bang down low.

1) 20-10 Big Fella:

• In the regular season he averaged around 17 points and 7 rebounds, that isn’t good enough for the rest of the playoffs. Spurs need 20 plus points and 10 plus rebounds a night from him. This is the old big man standard, a standard that the greats like Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’neal lived by in the playoffs. Aldridge needs to return to this old standard. He isn’t a Ryan Anderson type player, he is the last of dying breed--a post master. If he does their is no one left in the playoffs that could guard him--he would be unstoppable--but it starts as a mindset.