by Marcus Stephenson
Hey everyone!
I’m back post trade deadline to rewrite history, and see what would’ve happened if the trade deadline rumors actually came true. This will be a 3-part series focusing on 3 then potential blockbusters that may have brought on new found success, or imminent disaster for a team. The first spotlight will be on the rumored trade of Amar’e Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns for Jerryd Bayless and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trailblazers.
Let’s first take a look at each team’s DNA to get an idea how each team is currently playing.
The Suns DNA is dramatically different than when we last looked at it in the “Rebirth of Shaq” piece. Since Terry Porter’s departure, the Suns have moved back to a run-style offense that has led to a lot of high-scoring games. As you can see, the DNA is spread out fairly evenly. This tells us that they’re spending more time pushing the ball and shooting spot-up (24%) shots in “7 seconds or less.”
When looking at the Blazers’s team DNA above, they spend a lot of time shooting spot up shots as well. This makes a lot of sense when you look at their playmakers. Brandon Roy is having a fantastic season with 22.6 PPG. Aldridge hasn’t been too bad himself either averaging 17.8 PPG, shooting almost 50% from the field and 7 RPG. The PG doesn’t spend a whole lot of time with the ball which explains the fairly average “Pick and Roll Ball Handler” percentage (18%). The Trailblazers are either getting the ball to Aldridge in the post for a face-up spot up shot, or Brandon Roy for a quick spot up shot.
NOW let’s see what happens when we make the trade happen!
As you can see, the Suns team DNA has changed. If Terry Porter were still coaching, I think he’d be pleased to know that they’re now running a more half-court style offense. With LaMarcus Aldridge now on the Suns, you’re seeing them post up more as well (16% vs 18%). Would Terry Porter have been fired had this trade been made? We’re all left wondering now…
Let’s move to Portland and check out their team DNA differences.
At first glance, you don’t see too much of a change. Look closely though. Having a guy like Amar’e on your team effects everything. In this case, most everything is, by a small margin. Although the “Isolation” percentage has dropped 1 percentage point ( 14% - 13%), the “Pick and Roll Ball Handler” percentage has decreased by 4 points. The “Pick and Roll Roll Man” has increased as well as the “Cuts” because that’s the type of player Amar’e is when he’s in the half-court offense. Do you think of Amar’e as a post up player? Portland doesn’t either. That’s why his “Post Up” percent has decreased by 2 points. The new Portland team DNA looks eerily similar to the original Suns team DNA. This is the Amar’e factor in full force. By the looks of this, it appears that the Blazers are trying to play to Amar’e’s strengths by running. That would explain the decrease in most of these fields.
NBA LIVE 09 is all about NBA LIVE 365 and Dynamic DNA. If this trade happened, it looks like Phoenix would have been better off than Portland. LaMarcus Aldridge is more of a diverse player that can adapt, while Amar’e is what he is. Bayless would help out Phoenix’s isolation game off of the bench. Portland and Phoenix, “what if” this trade actually happened? Answer = Portland, be glad it didn’t.
-Marcus