San Antonio Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge has not exactly dominated in his first two regular-season games. In the season-opening 112-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Aldridge had 11 points and five rebounds, shooting 4-for-12 from the field. On Friday, in a 102-75 blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets, he had 10 points, 11 boards and four assists, and he shot 5-for-11 from the field.
Aldridge is obviously not trying to do too much at the beginning of his Spurs tenure. He readily admitted that he just wants to fit in for now, via ESPN's Michael C. Wright:
"It's not the same. I'm not the same person here that I was in Portland," Aldridge said. "I don't feel like they need me to be that person all the time. It's learning how to be myself in the offense. I haven't figured that out yet. I feel like the whole [team philosophy of] 'good to great passes' [is] in my head all the time. Hopefully as the season goes on I'll figure it out. But right now, I'm just trying to fit in."
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"I've always been the main guy. I've always gotten the ball a lot," Aldridge said. "I'm trying to learn how to play in the offense, trying to learn how to get my shots out of the offense. [I'm] just trying to learn how to move the ball [the way the Spurs do it] and get shots. Pop keeps telling me to shoot it, but it's a process for me. I'm definitely not playing like myself right now. I can't be selfish here. I'm just here to win. Tonight, we won. I played good defense down low. I felt like I got some good blocks on defense, and I crashed the boards. So if we can win every game like that, I'm fine. I don't [look to shoot]. We'll figure it out, though."
Let's be clear: Aldridge isn't frustrated. He isn't complaining. He correctly added that the team will be sharper and he'll have to be more aggressive over the course of the season. These are the very early days of what will be a long partnership, and San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich said that it was normal for the new guy to defer.
For years, even with rising star Damian Lillard on the roster, it was clear that Aldridge was the Portland Trail Blazers' No. 1 option. He might end up leading the Spurs in shot attempts, too, but they do things differently. Kawhi Leonard is a superstar in his own right, and the strength of the team has been that you never know when Danny Green or Patty Mills is going to go off.
This is a change for Aldridge, but it's not necessarily a problem. Do not be surprised if he has a huge scoring night in the very near future. The good news for San Antonio: this team is so talented that it will continue to win games as the players sort all this stuff out.
