San Antonio Spurs: The Blessing of LaMarcus Aldridge

Rebounding

When he first entered the league out of Texas, it was unclear if Aldridge would turn into a dominant NBA rebounder.  He obviously had the size.  He obviously had the long limbs that would make up for his lack of jumping ability or freakish athleticism.

But, the fact that he enjoys living in the mid-range and extending outside, there were a lot of skeptics that thought Aldridge wouldn’t be able to rebound with the best big men.

For a while, it seemed like a logical concern.

It wasn’t until his 7th year in the league that Aldridge exceeded 8.5 rebounds per 36 minutes, which is the proper way to judge a player’s production on the boards. Now, in the last two years, he’s finally committed to being a consistent double-double player.  In 2013-14, he set a career-high for rebounds per 36 minutes, grabbing 11.  Just last season, he was still at 10.4, despite being out on the perimeter more than ever.

Aldridge is joining the Spurs just a few months after his most electric season.  On 10 different occasions last year, he scored 30+ points and grabbed 10+ rebounds.  Those 10 games were tied with DeMarcus Cousins’ 10, Russell Westbrook‘s 10, and behind Anthony Davis’ 15.

One of Aldridge’s best attributes would be his alertness and effort on the offensive glass.  Sure, he only grabs about 2.5 offensive rebounds per game on a yearly basis, but he’s always roaming the paint and getting in good position:

Despite having the thicker body (Boris Diaw) boxing him out above, Aldridge is able to use his height and upper-body strength to steal a couple rebounds like this.  He also has a keen desire to score off every offensive rebound he grabs near the rim.  Once he secures the board, he’ll try to create a little room in the paint and get himself a high-percentage shot.

What the Spurs are going to admire is that Aldridge will come in with a rebounding mentality, to help out the aging Duncan, who probably won’t have to play a huge load of minutes next regular season.

You see, Aldridge already rebounds at a higher clip than most NBA big men in general … not just out of the top power forwards.  Throw a couple high-quality centers into the mix, and he still secures boards at an impressive rate:

* A Rebounding “Chance” is defined as a player being within 3.5 feet of a potential rebound. If a player is within the vicinity (3.5 feet) of a rebound and doesn’t secure it, that’s a rebounding chance that he failed to grab.

** Minimum of 30 minutes per game

For Aldridge to record a higher “rebounding per chance” rating than some of the league’s most aggressive rebounders (Drummond, Davis, Love, Cousins), it says a great deal about how much Portland will miss him. DeAndre Jordan’s 73.6% rebounding rate was the only figure better out of big men that played at least 30 minutes a night.

However, looking a bit deeper, it’s possible that Aldridge’s rebounding may be considered “overrated” to some folks.  Typically, you reward and praise guys that have to work their tails off in the paint for their rebounds, and some may scoff at the players who receive most of their rebounds just by being at the right place at the right time.

With Aldridge last season, the toughness of his rebounds may be considered a bit “weaker” than most:

* Contested rebounds are defined as having an opponent within 3.5 feet of you while securing it.  Uncontested rebounds are obviously where no opponent is within 3.5 feet.

** Minimum of 30 minutes per game 

Out of this group above, Aldridge pulled in the 5th-fewest contested rebounds per game, at just 3.5.  Therefore, his ratio of contested rebounds in relation to total rebounds wasn’t very pretty — only 34% of his boards were contested, the lowest percentage of all 13 guys listed.

The fact is, Aldridge grabbed a lot of uncontested rebounds, and it may have something to do with the amount of perimeter shots Portland put emphasis on last year.  In direct comparison with Kevin Love (who also played in a 3-point reliant offense), it’s clear that Aldridge grabbed more rebounds that were further away from the basket:

Rebounding Distance Range (frequency):

Within 0-3 feet:

• Aldridge:  29.3%
• Love:  41%

Within 3-6 feet:

• Aldridge:  44.8%
• Love:  38.4%

Within 6-10 feet:

• Aldridge:  20.7%
• Love:  13%

10+ feet:

• Aldridge:  5.2%
• Love:  6.6%

With exception to the 10+ feet frequency, it’s pretty obvious why most of Aldridge’s rebounds weren’t “contested.”  He only grabbed 29.3% of his boards underneath the rim, where Love was 11.7% higher in that regard.

Regardless of how he was able to get his rebounds last season, Aldridge accomplished something that you can rarely brag about.  He became just the fourth player in the last 10 years (since 2005-06) to average at least 23.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while also shooting 46.5% or better. He joined Chris Bosh, Anthony Davis, and DeMarcus Cousins.

Love can’t exactly say he’s a part of that group.

Another part of Aldridge’s rebounding that goes unnoticed is actually related to his offensive game.

The ability he has when it comes to drawing double teams, and forcing the defense to help off perimeter shooters, is also what gives him rebounding chances.  Notice below, how the Spurs send a double toward Aldridge on the left wing.  Look how it all unfolds, and how easily Aldridge can sneak in for the offensive board:

When Baynes comes to help on Aldridge (because Bonner isn’t the defender you want), it creates a lot of motion.  Aldridge can read the floor masterfully, and he zips a pass to the opposite wing for an open 3-point shooter.  It forces Belinelli to close-out hard on the shooter, as he has to commit to either his man inside, or the player about to shoot.

When Baynes realizes that there’s an open Trail Blazer inside, he rushes back to collect the potential miss.  In a matter of seconds, all the attention has shifted from Aldridge.  Thus, he’s able to slide in by the baseline for an easy put-back rebound.

Aldridge’s presence on the defensive glass is felt even more.  His quickness, combined with the long-arm reach and how he uses his shoulders to contain opponents is what allows him to collect these:

Focusing on rebounding each possession may not have been Aldridge’s main goal during his early years.  But, we’ve seen nothing but progress.  Portland’s terrific staff has helped him realize how important it is to the game, and winning out West.

Heading to a team (and coach) that never gets lazy with any portion of the game will be a blessing for him.  The Spurs allowed the 4th-lowest offensive rebounding percentage by their opponents, which means they were hellacious in defensive rebounding discipline.

Now, they’re just adding someone stronger on the glass than they’ve had in the last few years.

If San Antonio doesn’t completely plunder everyone once they get through the usual adjusting period, there’s something terribly wrong.  And, if this team doesn’t go 25-5 (or better) against the Eastern Conference, Pop should scream at everyone.

They were already devastating.  Aldridge makes them nasty.

Stay tuned for the next installment, which will be dissecting Aldridge’s defensive impact for the Spurs.

**All statistical support credited to NBA.com/Stats and Basketball-Reference**