[MarlinsFan2212]

Ridiculous how Griffin got the nod over him to start.
Griffin not in the same class as far as polish & IQ. Blake is definitely more explosive, but Aldridge is the best PF in the NBA bar none. I would put K Love # 2, and Griffin #3.

Aldridge is only 1 of 3 players in the NBA(Durant, LeBron), who is averaging 23 PPG and shooting 50%.
He has literally improved every year hes been in the league, and has the size(6'11") and wingspan(7'5") to dominate PFs and outplay any center not named Bynum or Howard.

He gets a bad rap about rebounding sometimes, but people dont realize Portland has always been an outstanding team on the boards, and Camby has been an elite rebounder his whole career. 9 RPG isnt too bad anyway.

I really hope it doesn't come down to him and Love again for the AllStar game.
In 9 career Matchups Aldridge is 9-0.
Aldridge averages 21.4PPG, 9.4REBs w/ 48%FG in these matchups. Love avg 12.3PPG, 10.1Reb, w/ 36%FGs

I hope you guys voted for Aldridge. Guys a Monster.

[beerman2619]

i agree

[EaglesPhan36]

< Kevin Love

[PS3]

A fellow Blazers fan!
Cheers Man!

[Kalibongo]

[PR9]

Too bad he doesn't play on the road like he plays at home (when h's aggressive and attacks the paint and attacks the rim drawing fouls like a champ)

On the road he's this ridiculously predictable 20 foot jump shooter and does not show even 40% of the aggressiveness in his overall game compared to the Rose Garden version of Aldridge.

His buddy Wallace is even worse on the road, far worse. A lackadaisical total pussy when not playing in the RG.

meh

[MoYaL]

What about this guy ?



Not having a great year so far ... but still .. I think you forgot him .

[Kalibongo]

What about this guy ?



Not having a great year so far ... but still .. I think you forgot him .

This guy too...

[MarlinsFan2212]

Dirk in his prime, better than all of them. This is for this season. Dirk is old, guy sat out for conditioning, and isnt close to the top 3 right now.

Last year you could argue he was the best player in the NBA.

Top 3 this year is:
1.)Lamarcus Aldridge
2.)Kevin Love
3.) Blake Griffin

Rest is debatable. Millsap, Dirk, Pau, Bosh spice in the next tier. Amares fallen off a bit.

[MoYaL]

No way dirk isnt in the top3 ... this is bullshit !

[MarlinsFan2212]

Too bad he doesn't play on the road like he plays at home (when h's aggressive and attacks the paint and attacks the rim drawing fouls like a champ) On the road he's this ridiculously predictable 20 foot jump shooter and does not show even 40% of the aggressiveness in his overall game compared to the Rose Garden version of Aldridge. His buddy Wallace is even worse on the road, far worse. A lackadaisical total pussy when not playing in the RG. meh

I will agree 100% with Wallace. But Aldridge? His home/road stats are very comparable. Avgs 23.8 on the Road and 22.4 at home. Avgs 7.8 Rebs @ home, and 9.7 on the road. Shoots relatively the same percentage, and averages 2 more FTs per game on the road. So I dont know what you are talking about.
Guard play has been horrible for Portland this year. Felton was suppose to space the floor better than Miller, and is infact a worse 3 pt shooter than Andre was(which says alot). Wes Matthews has not progressed from his great sophomore season. Aldridge brings it every night.

[TehSharp]

Kevin love is better, but Aldridge is a close second

[t-wizzle]

Agreed. Love Aldridge's game - classic power forward.

[Mexes]

absolutely not. he doesn't even reach 9 boards per game... he is a good power forward and I like watching him play but he is definitely not the best PF imo

[MarlinsFan2212]

absolutely not. he doesn't even reach 9 boards per game... he is a good power forward and I like watching him play but he is definitely not the best PF imo

8.8 is solid. Consider this, there are only 4 teams in the NBA w/ 3 Rebounders on their team who are in the Top 45 in the NBA. Miami, Philly, Chicago and Portland.

Aldridge plays with Camby, whos made a living off of defense and rebounding, as well as Gerald Wallace, a perennial leader in the rebounding category among SFs.
Blazers are ranked 7th in Rebounding in the NBA.

[bureK]

Mexes who then? NBA is full of shitty PFs.


Alrdige, Love and that's about it.

[vyomguy]

dirk is the best PF.

aldridge is better than love.

Love is very overrated.

[MoYaL]

dirk is the best PF.

aldridge is better than love.

Love is very overrated.

Finally someone agree with me!!!

Dont get me wrong.
Aldridge , Love , Griffin and all the others you mentioned are great PF's , they are the elite
but they arent close to Dirk level.

[PR9]

stats shmats. I can throw a hundred examples how simple stats don't tell the whole story. watch the games. Aldridge is far more noticeable on his home floor as a difference maker than he is on the road, AND ESPECIALLY later on in games when games are really decided and won.. I'm not talking about garbage points off jumpers earlier in games, any good player can do that. He hides under a rock far too often than you'd like from a star player when on the road in critical junctures on momentum swings. Numbers don't always tell the whole story or paint the proper picture, as is the case here.

[MarlinsFan2212]

Finally someone agree with me!!!

Dont get me wrong.
Aldridge , Love , Griffin and all the others you mentioned are great PF's , they are the elite
but they arent close to Dirk level.

This is not based on career. This is based more so on this season, as well as who deserved to start in the allstar game.

Aldridge, Love & Griffin dont belong in the same sentence as Dirk as far as career goes.

However based on the 11-12 season, Dirk only merits an allstar birth based purely off of reputation. Hes not close to playing at the level the other 3 have been playing at.

[PR9]

In SAC Aldridge is a beast in the 1st half hitting over 60% of his shots. Later on in the game he doesn't even attempt to go after loose balls near his feet on two occasions, and gets easily boxed out by a player 2 inches shorter than him for consecutive rebounds,,, and he passes around the perimeter in the 2nd half deferring shots. He also doesn't move off the ball or cut , not even attempting to go through the paint... looking like a bum

His defense is also garbage allowing opposing players the run right by him like a pylon

In Utah, Aldridge nails 5 consecutive "jumpshots" in the 3rd qtr (early 4th) feeling hot. Refuses to go to the rim again for the rest of the game, also defers shots, he doesn't go after rebounds hard, more loose balls that could have been retrieved he opts to go at half speed for them. There is absolutely no jump to his step, and no want in his game in any sense. Hee is just standing around the court with his thumb up his ass while his team doesn't make a basket for 7 consecutive minutes.

and again, he is just a pylon defensively through the entire qtr, not even raising his arms to attempt a block or obstruct the view of a shooter vs his man on 6 occasions i counted..4 of them were makes.. not to mention the numerous layups utah had easy at the rim driving around him like he was standing still.. and then as a trailer he doesn't even attempt to do the fundamental thing which is to box out player beside him, resulting in easy rebounds and putbacks for the opponent

This has been his MO on the road for awhile, not just those 2 games, last year etc. Stats shmats

but keep believing what you want to believe

[DemoralizdDreamr]

K Love.

[Tree Rollins]

If you're talking about right now who is the best PF, not career or anything (meaning there are 3 guys minimum who have undoubtedly outplayed Dirk for the majority of this season) then i would rank them like this:

1. Aldridge (Love can't guard anyone. He just focuses on getting rebounds over everything. Which hurts him defensively. Say what you want about Aldridge defensively, but he has held just about every elite 4 he's played this season to below their averages. Has a very strong back to the basket game and a lethal mid-range jump shot)
2. Love (his rebounding and shooting range make up for his awful defense)
3. Griffin (earns this spot based on sheer athleticism)
4. Pau (Despite how soft he is, he is still the most skilled back to the basket, inside big man in the league. He dropped 28 on Love recently and played great against the Clippers and Griffin with a 23/10/4/70% from the field)
5. Dirk (This guy is limping around the court every night, something is very wrong with his knee. When he's on, he can easily be at the top of this list)
6. Amare (doesn't fit well with Carmelo, would have been better off if Knicks kept Danilo, Felton, Wilson Chandler, Mozgov, and then signed another solid FA big man)
7. Bosh (just as soft as Pau, the worst rebounder on this list outside of Dirk, clear cut 3rd banana on his team, which no one else on the list can say. Very good midrange J. Deserves credit for playing well in the absence of Wade)

[jmonkres]

I'm a Dallas homer, but IMO Dirk is still #1. The amazing playoff run also took a toll on his body. He also has a lot of miles on his legs and I don't think people are thinking how the lockout affected him. Athletes are creatures of habits and Dirk is one of the most habitual players I've ever seen in my lifetime. Especially when consider he's a shooter and shooters always have stricter habits to prepare for an NBA season. The guy is obviously hobbled right now and doesn't have a lot of lift on his shot, but he seems to be coming along slowly but surely. When he gets his legs/confidence back i expect him to be the #1 PF if not the best player overall. With that being said, Aldridge deserves the spot in the AS game with the way he's playing this year and has developed as a leader on that team.

[BigDeem5]

Aldridge is the best. The second half he isn't as good as first half because "I shoot too much" Crawford comes in and takes TOO many shots. They don't go to him. He isnt a dribble-drive guy like Dirk. But you throw him the ball in the post he can do too many things to not be considered the best.

[ChalkyDog]

Aldridge is a beast, but I am taking Love every single day.

1. K. Love
2. Amar'e / Aldridge
3. Dirk
4. Griffin

[Tree Rollins]

I'm a Dallas homer, but IMO Dirk is still #1. The amazing playoff run also took a toll on his body. He also has a lot of miles on his legs and I don't think people are thinking how the lockout affected him. Athletes are creatures of habits and Dirk is one of the most habitual players I've ever seen in my lifetime. Especially when consider he's a shooter and shooters always have stricter habits to prepare for an NBA season. The guy is obviously hobbled right now and doesn't have a lot of lift on his shot, but he seems to be coming along slowly but surely. When he gets his legs/confidence back i expect him to be the #1 PF if not the best player overall. With that being said, Aldridge deserves the spot in the AS game with the way he's playing this year and has developed as a leader on that team.

For his career, he obviously is, but you can't seriously say that he is playing better then any other PF in the game right now.

I guess there are just a lot of ways to read the question. Without it being more specific, you can make an argument for anyone from Dirk, to Pau, to LA, to Love.