NBA Portland Trail Blazers

LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard are the Best Duo in the NBA

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By @b2brennan

Alridge/Lillard

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Every since LeBron James made “The Decision” forming the Big 3 in Miami, there has been a constant battle among teams to capture the prized superstar tandems. Among the best Big 2s in the league are:

LeBron James-Kyrie Irving, LeBron James-Kevin Love, Stephen Curry-Klay Thompson, James Harden-Dwight Howard, Chris Paul-Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant.

The best in the league, though, not listed above, is LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard. The duo of the Portland Trail Blazers have a unique blend of extremely different talents that flow so smoothly with each other. The reason they are the best of the group is not because they are the best two players, but because of what their combined talent brings.

Alridge is the most complete post-scoring power forward in the NBA. He is lights-out from the mid-range and can hold his own in the paint. With an array of moves and now a three-point shot, Aldridge is nearly unstoppable. Also, he is a very good rebounder and an underrated defender.

Lillard is a deadly three-point shooter, but has so many more aspects to his game that are outstanding. He’s gotten so much better at finishing in the paint and playing perimeter defense. Him and Aldridge run the pick-and-pop better than anyone in the league.

The other duos listed are no doubt exceptional, but each of them have flaws. James-Irving have trouble with who should take the ball up court. James-Love get crowded in the paint at times. Curry-Thompson are both outside shooters. Westbrook-Durant are both ball-stoppers and have butted heads, and egos if you will. Harden-Howard and Paul-Griffin are the best comparison to Aldridge-Lillard because of their positioning. The only difference among the big men is Griffin and Howard aren’t as polished offensively as Aldridge. For the backcourt, Harden may be a little better scorer, but he’s not a better floor general than Lillard. Paul is a better floor general, but is not the scorer that Lillard is.

What Lillard and Aldridge bring combined is a vast array of scoring from different spots and different ways. When watching the Blazers play, you almost never see them get in each other’s way. Their games come together so easily where most other superstar duos have stretches where one tries to dominate while the other sits back. As I previously stated, these two might not be the two best players in the league, but you’ll have a hard time convincing me that their talent doesn’t mesh the best together over anybody elses.

Brian Brennan is a Portland Trail Blazers writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b2brennan.

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