San Antonio Spurs: LaMarcus Aldridge Subtraction By Addition?

Chemistry is a fickle thing.

The popular sentiment is especially true in a sport like basketball, where the synergism engendered by the sum of the whole outweighs the standalone individual talents on any given team.

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We’ve seen this story before: superteam is built; superteam fails to gel in a timely manner; superteam falls woefully short of meeting their unwarranted, lofty expectations. Simply put, the game is not played “on paper,” and adding an offensively dominant piece — or worse yet, pieces — can change the entire dynamic of a team, for better or for worse.

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As such, when the San Antonio Spurs wheeled in the most sought-after free agent this summer in LaMarcus Aldridge, I was a little more skeptical than your average Joe regarding the potential effectiveness of the newly formed marriage.

No big man playing in this decade embodies the fundamental elements of the new-age inside-outside hybrid anchor moreso than LMA — a walking 20-and-10 power forward who possesses the size and the length of a traditional center (6’11” in shoes, 7’5″ wingspan, and 9’2″ standing reach), in conjunction with the perimeter skills and silky-smooth stroke of a contemporary stretch 4.

In addition, he’s not afraid to mix it up inside and dominate the trenches, and his Rasheed Wallace-like pyramid release makes his right-shoulder turnaround J an unblockable proposition when operating out of the post.

He is the current poster-boy for the multi-skilled 7-footer — the torchbearer that links the Kevin Garnetts and Dirk Nowitzkis of eras past to the Anthony Davises and Karl-Anthony Townses of the present/future.

However, the former Texas Longhorn is also a possession-consuming star — a big man who prefers to catch the ball in the pinch post and survey the defensive landscape before delivering a definitive course of action.

Therein lies the potential issue; as a ball-holder and possession killer of sorts, Aldridge’s style of play goes against every authentic principle the Spurs have so cautiously abided by over the last decade.

Not since the days when coach Gregg Popovich trotted out the Alamo rendition of the Twin Towers — Tim Duncan and David Robinson — did San Antonio rely on “dumping the ball down low” and letting their star “go to work”.

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More explicitly, almost half of the Spurs’ field goal attempts last season were taken directly off of a pass. Conversely, 54.9 percent of LaMarcus’ shots last year came after taking one or more dribbles, per NBA.com’s SportVU data.

Along the same vein, approximately 36.5 percent of Aldridge’s possessions in 2014-15 came via the block. Whereas, no Spur, contrariwise, posted up on more than 28 percent of their touches last season.

However, one of the main staples of LMA’s game is the pick-and-pop, an avenue of offense which allows the big Texan to attack a shifting defense with his catch-and-shoot proficiency in the mid-range areas of the floor, and ability to execute his pump-fake, one-dribble pull-up game.

And while utilizing Aldridge as the hub of their pick-and-roll game sounds nice in theory, the scheme also requires a highly-competent ball-in-hand creator to make the strategy flourish.

Sure enough, Tony Parker is supposed to be that guy. But, if his late-season/playoff performance and his disappointing play at EuroBasket is any indication, he may be experiencing a precipitous decline as a player.

Likewise, his longtime running mate in the backcourt, Manu Ginobili, has not looked much better over the last couple of seasons.

Make one thing clear, though, I am not by any means insinuating that the Aldridge-Spurs pairing is an unmitigated disaster; but rather the transition will not be as easy of an adjustment as some would anticipate.

Depth — particularly, in the backcourt — is a prevalent problem. Fit, as mentioned, is another one — especially when you take into account that Kawhi Leonard and LMA like to operate in similar spots on the floor (elbow extended, facing up).

Here is what starting shooting guard Danny Green told Sam Amick of USA Today regarding the subject:

"“He’s used to making his moves. He knows where guys are when he was in Portland, and now he’s still getting used to where the double-team is coming from and where guys are going to be at for his outlets. He’s not used to that yet.”"

But, at the end of the day, there is a reason why Pop is regarded by the majority of pundits as the best coach of the modern era.

Pop assesses LA's 1st preseason game: "He's LaMarcus Aldridge. He's going to do a great job so I really don't make any judgments right now."
— Dan McCarney (@danmccarneyNBA) October 10, 2015

Eventually, one has to believe that the bearded, condescending head man of San Antonio will figure out a way to make this version of the Spurs blossom. At least that is what LaMarcus Aldridge is banking on, telling USA Today the following:

"“People told me that I’m not going to fit in because I’m ball-dominant, I’m a ball-stopper, so I’m not worried about that,” Aldridge told USA TODAY Sports. “I feel like if the Spurs didn’t feel like I fit in, then they wouldn’t have gotten me. I think the things that they wanted was someone who could play in pick-and-roll. I do that. Someone who could score on the block. I do that.”"

For his sake, and the segment of NBA fans who support aesthetically pleasing, tactically sound basketball, let’s hope he’s right.

Next: Chicago Bulls: Unearthing Point Jimmy Butler?

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