Is LaMarcus Aldridge a legitimate MVP candidate? Are the Trail Blazers one piece away from winning it all? And has Paul George surpassed Kevin Durant as the second-best player in the NBA? Six local reporters who eat, sleep, and breathe Trail Blazers basketball give their take in this week's edition of Running The Break.
1. On Friday, NBA.com moved LaMarcus Aldridge up to No. 6 on their Race to the MVP list (up four spots from last week). If you had to turn in your ballot, today, where would LA rank? And do you envision him becoming the first legitimate MVP candidate the Trail Blazers have had since Clyde Drexler in 1992 (placed second behind Michael Jordan)?
Casey Holdahl (@Chold), TrailBlazers.com: Somewhere in the Top 5 feels about right. Kevin Durant and LeBron James are untouchable, then there's Chris Paul and Paul George. After that, I think Aldridge is playing as well as anyone in the league and there's little doubt the Trail Blazers would take a nosedive if he were to miss any extended amount of time.
Second part of the question is a little more difficult to answer. One one hand, you could argue Brandon Roy was a legitimate MVP candidate during his pre-injury heyday and I think you could make a case for either Rasheed Wallace or Scottie Pippen during the 1999-00 season.
But I'm one of those guys who thinks there isn't an argument when it comes to MVP this season. There is no team in the league that wouldn't trade their best player for LeBron James, period. You could parse whether there's a distinction between "most valuable" and "best" but there isn't to me.
Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes), CSNNW.com: LaMarcus Aldridge’s MVP chances rely solely on the success of the team. If there is anyway the Trail Blazers can keep up this absurd winning ratio, he will be a serious MVP candidate. Right now, I’ll have to put L.A. at No. 3 behind LeBron James and Paul George.
Mike Tokito (@mtokito), The Oregonian: Since the ballot requires you to vote for five players, that’s a tough call. I might vote Aldridge No. 5, but it’s so early, that can change almost game-to-game.
Erik Gundersen (@BlazerBanter), The Columbian: LeBron James, Paul George, Kevin Durant and then I'd put Aldridge at number four. Aldridge has been so impressive I'd have to put him in my top-four at this point in the season. Aldridge carries a big responsibility defensively and he is one of two players in the NBA that is averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game along with Kevin Love of Minnesota. Aldridge has been the rock for this team and is shooting the ball 20 times a night. His team is the best in the West right now and I don't see anybody else that you could put in the number four spot ahead of him.
Mike Acker (@mikeacker), Willamette Week: I fully believe that LaMarcus is a legitimate candidate for the MVP. He’s at least 75% responsible for putting the Blazers in the position they are currently in. But there’s a significant difference between being a candidate for MVP and being the winner of the award. At this point, there really isn’t a good case that can be made for anybody but LeBron James. Bron is the best player on a team that hasn’t finished worse than the NBA Finals in three straight seasons. He’s going to be a tough incumbent MVP to un-seat. If Aldridge stays hot and the Blazers keep winning, he very much deserves to be mentioned in the race for MVP. But to reach as high as number two on the list, Portland is probably going to have to finish at or near the top of the Western Conference ladder. For right now, No. 6 on the list of best players in the NBA is probably right where he belongs.
Dave Deckard (@blazersedge), BlazersEdge: It’s too early for me to sort them out, but I will say this…whatever you give to Paul George in Indiana you should also be giving to Aldridge. They’re both having the best seasons of their career and are leading their teams to an obnoxious number of victories. Wherever one is the other should be.
2. On ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith stated the Trail Blazers are "a piece away" from winning it all. Do you believe that statement to be true? If so, would you go into 'Win Now' mode or just ride it out with the 15 guys currently on the roster? Lastly, could CJ McCollum be that missing piece once he returns from injury?
As for the question, I have a hard time believing Portland is "a piece away" only because they haven't even won a playoff series since 2000-01. I think the talent is there, but the playoff experience isn't. And for the sake of the question, I'm considering "a piece" to be a player who could be reasonably be acquired. I mean, yes, if the Trail Blazers added a perennial all-star in his prime to their team, I could see them winning the whole thing, but those players don't get traded for a reason.
Deckard: You could name about a dozen pieces who would push the Blazers over the top but they’re all untouchable. Even so, your top 6-7 guys just showed you that they’re willing and able to play with the conference and league elite. Don’t you have to honor that by looking to get them as much help as possible?
The Blazers have shown themselves to be vulnerable on nights when Robin Lopez gets into foul trouble or just isn’t effective. The Blazers are also an injury away from disaster at power forward and center. They can’t get the guaranteed-over-the-top superstar but they might be able to buy insurance against fatigue, fouls, or fractures. I’d be on the phone with Utah, with Milwaukee, with any team that’s underperforming, looking to rebuild, and has a surfeit of bigs. I don’t need their prize starter but I might try to talk them out of a serviceable center or tall power forward in exchange for a youngster or two. If I can get their starter for a package of 2-3 young guys without touching my starting lineup, that’s even better!
I don’t see McCollum being a championship-level difference-maker. He’s too young and he plays a position the Blazers have well-covered right now.
3. After the Indiana win, Thomas Robinson said the team refers to the bench as one All-Star player. So far, the four in the rotation (Williams, Wright, Robinson, Freeland) have all had their moments. Which member of the bench do you think has had the biggest impact?
Deckard: Williams, and it’s not close. Mo flat-out won a couple games for the Blazers during the streak. His willingness to shoot no matter what the circumstance has been 95% positive for the Blazers so far. They need a guy who just doesn’t care, who’s just going to fire even if everybody around him is nervous or off. Mo can go 1-5 in the first half but it doesn’t matter if he hits a couple key shots in the early fourth to spur a run. When your weak points get turned to assets you know your team has chemistry.
4. As of this writing (December 6, 2013), Paul George is averaging 24.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists to go along with a 24.2 PER. He's lead the Pacers to an NBA-best 17-2 record and dropped 43 points in the Moda Center this past Monday. With all that said, is he now the second-best player in the NBA behind LeBron James?
Deckard: Chris Paul and Kevin Durant might have something to say about that, but George is right up there in terms of impact. It’s not just stats, it’s that his team is excelling because of him. Since by my earlier argument George being #2 would put Aldridge at #2a, I’ll say yes.
5. The Heat are 14-5 on the season and losers of two straight after getting blown out in Chicago on Thursday. But the main concern is Dwyane Wade's health. Wade has only played in 14 of Miami's 19 games and the Heat are just 2-3 without Wade's services. Is this a cause for concern for the defending champs or something that will work its way out over the course of an 82-game season?
Deckard: Back in the Drexler years we learned that true championship contenders aren’t overly concerned about anything that happens before the playoffs begin. If Wade has to sit and the Heat have to eat a 3rd seed in the East because of it, they’ll probably take it as long as he’s healthy for the playoff run. If he can’t go in the post-season then yeah, that’s a big concern. Then this becomes more of a LeBron-in-Cleveland situation than LeBron-in-Miami. If that happens the eyes of a bunch of Western Conference contenders are going to light up.