Lamarcus Aldridge Struggles to Find Role in Presence of Greg Oden

Just as I expected: with Greg Oden finally being healthy, LaMarcus Aldridge has begun to struggle. The possible explanation is that Oden is also another scorer on the block, meaning that Aldridge's touches are being reduced to integrate Oden into the offensive flow. During the time that Oden has been playing, Aldridge has struggled with his shot.  Let's take a look at Aldridge's statistics with Oden in the lineup and without Oden in the lineup. There's a huge difference between Aldridge's play. With Oden in the lineup: Aldridge is averaging 10.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and .67 blocks per game, and is shooting 38.5 percent from the field.  Without Oden in the lineup: Aldridge is averaging 21.6 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game, and is shooting 48.9 percent from the field. The Blazers are currently 3-2 without Oden in the lineup. With Oden in the lineup, the Blazers are 3-3. The Blazers are an extremely young team. In order for them to continue their success and make a run ... (link)