San Antonio Spurs: The Blessing of LaMarcus Aldridge

Post-up Offense

For the Trail Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge was a little bit of everything.  Offense would obviously run through Lillard, as he would orchestrate the initial ball movement.  But, Aldridge’s usage rating was more than three points higher than Lillard’s last season.

Through his nine years in the league, Aldridge has developed one of the best all-around arsenals of any power forward. There are always some players you point to as “one-dimensional,” or those that aren’t accustomed to scoring in more than a couple ways.  Aldridge, however, seemed to expand his attack, based on the frequency of his possessions:

• Post-ups:  36.5%
• Spot-ups:  18.6%
• Roll-man situations: 15.5%
• Put-backs:  7.9%
• Isolations:  6.9%
• Transition:  4.6%
• Cuts:  4%
• Misc:  6%

Nobody in the entire league had more post-up possessions than Aldridge last season, as he was credited for 618 post-ups in 71 games, an average of almost nine per game.  That’s a lot of time spent trying to post-up opponents, and the fact that he was nearly 100 higher than the next player (Marc Gasol) is a bit crazy:

* Bold numbers are the players’ respective ranks in each category, with the minimum possessions being set at 200.

** Free throw frequency represents the percentage of time a player gets to the foul line as a result of a post-up play.

There are a couple of things to point out:

The reason Marc Gasol has a higher post-up frequency (despite having 85 fewer post-ups) is because Aldridge had the ball in his hands a lot more than Gasol. Thus, Aldridge had more opportunities to get those post touches, while also having a lot more spot-up plays to “balance out” his offense. See, the 36.5% frequency from Aldridge is just how often he used post-ups compared to his other aspects.  Marc Gasol’s percentage is higher, because he used way less spot-up possessions than Aldridge — giving Gasol less of a variation.

As you can see in the chart above, Portland received 596 points off Aldridge post-ups, giving him an 0.96 points-per-possession rating.  That was fourth, behind only Donatas Montiejunas, Kevin Love, and Jonas Valanciunas.

However, out of all nine big men included in the chart, Aldridge had the second-highest average ranking across the board.  Where you can see how they ranked in each category (the bold number), Aldridge’s average was behind only Marc Gasol:

• M. Gasol — 5.0
• L. Aldridge — 9.25
• B. Griffin — 10.25
• K. Love — 10.76
• Z. Randolph — 11.5
• D. Cousins — 13.75
• P. Gasol — 17.0
• T. Duncan — 17.75
• A. Davis — 32.5

Given that Marc Gasol is actually a center, it means that Aldridge was the most well-rounded post player of all power forwards last season. You may look at Anthony Davis‘ rankings in the specific categories and think it’s absurd, but it should be understood that Davis is still extremely young and these kind of struggles in post-up situations were expected.  He’ll grow and improve.

Duncan struggled in post situations last season more than we’re used to seeing.  Out of the group listed, he had the worst field goal percentage and points-per-possession mark — but hey, he was 38 years old, so give him a break.  What’s the best way to improve a weakness in the NBA?

Go out and try to fill the void through free agency.  Flash around your championship trophies to prominent free agents.  Chase down a player that wants to be the perfect piece to your puzzle.

The Spurs did that when they sat down at dinner with Aldridge this July.  Because, as a team, they needed more players to post-up and force defenses to collapse.  Duncan wasn’t very efficient in his opportunities, and Splitter (shooting 56.3% in post-ups), wasn’t very prolific in his post frequency.  Splitter only finished with 85 total post-ups for the season, and they’re replacing him with someone that attempted more than 7 times that amount!

But, as a team, the Spurs are just adding to their potency in post-ups. They were wildly efficient in the post last year, ranking 2nd in post-up field goal percentage:

If you can couple great efficiency with an increased number of attempts, you’re mastering the system.  Isn’t that what San Antonio always seems to do, though?

Turning 30 years old, Aldridge is the ideal fix for the Spurs’ offense.  Having someone there to draw double teams will get San Antonio back to creating more open shots for their wings.  That’s something that dwindled last year — their “wide open” shot frequency dipped from 21.3% in 2013-14 to 19.3% in 2014-15.  Not a major difference, but it was surely felt. Aldridge’s touches will change it for the better.

He’s always been in love with the post-up game, especially on the left-block.  It’s always been Aldridge’s strength, since it allows for a variety of options once he backs his way closer to the basket.

Post-ups on the left-block give Aldridge the flexibility to either spin to his right (towards the baseline) and shoot his high-releasing jumpshot, deliver his famous running jump-hook through the middle of the lane, or use that opening in the paint as the foundation for a pivot-move.

The threat of Aldridge taking a few dribbles towards the middle of the paint is what helps him use his feet for an easy score:

If going against a slower defender, particularly one that he feels he can get one step ahead of, Aldridge will utilize one hard dribble to the middle. Gathering for the running shot, he’s usually on the money when he squares his body:

It’s difficult to find a power forward with as large of a frame as Aldridge, as he’s blessed with an exemplary combination of height, upper-body width, and arms longer than the average NBA player.  The size gives him the opportunity to knock back defenders to create just a few inches of space.  The arms?  They give him the chance to get these shots off against firm defenders:

The softness of Aldridge’s shot in these situations really mirrors Pau Gasol‘s soft touch that he put on display during the Lakers’ championship years. Aldridge has any type of shot off these scenarios, in which he fights toward the middle — one-handed releases, flip-shots, a nice squared-up jumper, or even some trickery with up-and-unders.

When he’s posting against defenders that have his similar body-build (but maybe just a tad-bit smaller in height), Aldridge is still unaffected when he’s on the move.  Seriously, he probably needs to be re-measured because it’s almost as if his listed height of 6’11” is a couple inches short.  Either that, or it’s still understated how long his wingspan is.

Not even Tristan Thompson can rattle Aldridge’s runner through the lane, because he lacks the height when Aldridge fully extends:

Aldridge not only demoralized Thompson on that night, but he tormented Cleveland, as a whole, for 38 points on 13-of-23 shooting. If Kyrie Irving didn’t decide to turn into The Terminator (55 points), Portland would’ve stole this game with LeBron sitting out.

Undoubtedly, he most underrated part of Aldridge’s post-ups is the patience he works with on the block.  He’s not Hakeem Olajuwon or even Al Jefferson with his footwork, but he understands one thing:  You can’t rush a shot from the post.  The entire concept of getting a post opportunity is that it’s supposed to be easier when you’re closer to the rim.  Therefore, if you’ve worked hard enough to get within 10 feet, you better make it count.

Some big men wouldn’t take the time to make sure their feet are squared to the basket.  Some big men wouldn’t care about the finesse and fluidity of their shot once they get close to the basket, because they would let their force & power take over.

The Spurs’ new addition, Aldridge, is much different.  Actually, it’s funny — he’s much more fundamental than most modern power forwards when it comes to his post-ups, and he’s now playing alongside someone that claims the title of “The Big Fundamental.”  It’s not fair, is it?

Aldridge’s patience out of his post-ups is a thing of beauty, and he doesn’t care how long it takes him to get adjusted.  More often than not, the time he takes is worth it:

In this instance above, he’s working hard against a stronger body in Nene. After a couple dribbles to get in scoring position, he notices that Nene is perfectly prepared to stop his right turnaround.  Sometimes, guys will force up a shot anyway, or risk it and try to draw a foul.  Aldridge has a gift for deciding to reset with his pivot, using a subtle bump to the body, and getting off a balanced jumper.  Balance is the biggest key to shooting in motion, whether it’s fading back or fading to the side.

Patience in the post is also important to Aldridge’s game as it pertains to shots at the rim:

Here, Portland tries to slow down the game and run offense through the post. With it being tied late in the fourth quarter, Aldridge is either banking on Ibaka being overly-aggressive and putting him on the foul line, or the Thunder defense to collapse and leave Portland’s shooters.

Neither really happens, as Ibaka (a devastating one-on-one defender) doesn’t allow enough space for a quick jumper. However, it should be recognized that Aldridge had already gained quite a lot of ground on the post-up, getting from the perimeter to the paint in just a matter of seconds.

By lowering his head and inching Ibaka back with a small elbow, Aldridge is able to get a step-through on the left side. Of course, it’s not technically legal to use an elbow, but it’s small and subdued enough to where nobody realizes it during the first glance. The great superstars in any sport are able to master little techniques, little tricky maneuvers, to get what they want.  It’s a lot better than rushing into a troublesome shot.

Then, you have Aldridge’s favorite variation of the post-up.  When he backs down his defender with his right hand, he’s almost perfected the turnaround toward the baseline.  It requires him pivoting right, using the power from his legs to get enough lift for the shot:

If Dwight Howard — a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner with major athleticism — can’t even rattle Aldridge’s insanely high releasing point … nobody will. The beautiful patience is also demonstrated here, as Aldridge catches the ball in a pretty good position at first.  But, as it’s a common fact of life:  Only you know your strengths.  Aldridge recognizes that he can get off a better percentage shot for himself, since Howard is more of a low-post defender than one to stop fadeaway jumpers.  He takes his time, resets, and gets a comfortable look.  Notice how lightning-quick his release his, too, as he adjusts it based on the defender’s distance from his body.

When he notices a double team coming his way, Aldridge even has another move he uses to his advantage.  If a defender from the top of the key “shows” a little help for the post defender (Kyrie Irving in the next example), Aldridge will employ a hesitation move as another trick:

The small fake-spin to the right gets Tristan Thompson guessing, and it opens up valuable time for Aldridge to make his real pivot.  Notice how Thompson moves his foot (and body) back just a hair when Aldridge fakes.

If you were paying attention, you’d catch that every play illustrated came from the left side of the post.  There’s really nobody better from that spot, and it just proves that superstars are sometimes unguardable in their niche.

Next: Spot-up Game