The San Antonio Spurs are off to a great start to the season as many people expected as they are 5-2 and both losses were very close defeats to very good teams. Despite the very good record there is still a lot that needs to be worked out with this team as they integrate some new pieces, namely LaMarcus Aldridge. Coming in both the Spurs and Aldridge knew it would be an adjustment to add another superstar to the mix and head coach Gregg Popovich doesn't think Aldridge is comfortable with the system just yet, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.
Aldridge spent the first nine seasons of his career as the guy for the Portland Trail Blazers as he put up huge numbers. This offseason though, Aldridge signed with the Spurs because he wanted to win and they surely give him a great chance to but he knew it would be different for him to not be the go-to-guy. Aldridge still may be the number one option on this Spurs team but their offense works in a way that everyone gets shots and they make the extra pass. Popovich said that right now he is just letting Aldridge play so he can possibly make adjustments later in the season.
"I'm just watching him play right now. He's fairly uncomfortable trying to figure out where to be on the court in relation to the other players and where I want him to be in the system. That's enough for him to handle without me trying to coach him. So as time goes on we'll look at what we think we can add to his game, but right now we're just observers," said Popovich.
For his career Aldridge has averaged 19.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. So far this season he is averaging 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game but he is also taking much less shots than he is used to. As of right now Aldridge's shooting percentage is at a career low 46 percent which is part of the reason for the low scoring average but that number should go up as he starts to shoot better.
Aldridge is still the second leading scorer on the team behind Kawhi Leonard and it seems as though the more Popovich sees him play the more he will be able to utilize him better. Things should continue to get better for Aldridge as he gets more comfortable with the system and Popovich figures out how to best use him but for now they will take the production he is giving them and we can think about how great this team may be when they start to put it all together.
