Blazers You’d Like to See Again Bracket: Aldridge vs. Petrovic

NCAA March Madness is just around the corner. In homage to the great annual event we’re running a波特兰开拓者bracket here at Blazer’s Edge this month. The second round happens this weekend, and boy, are the choices getting tough!

这个想法来自an article from Dia Miller and Dave Deckard, detailing the Blazers they’d most like to see one more time. The piece was fun and well-received, so we’re making a bracket of 16 candidates and letting you vote for your favorites. Eventually we’ll see which player you’d most like to bring back for one more go.

这是惯例：

• 我们不包括比尔·沃尔顿（Bill Walton）和克莱德·德雷克斯勒（Clyde Drexler），因为每个人都应该希望他们回到压倒性的人才和影响目的。他们算作“随时随地”的传说。
• 您可以在评论或Twitter @blazersedge中投票。我们不会以这种方式获得那么多的选票，就好像我们刚刚开放了一项民意调查一样，但讨论也很重要。
• You don’t necessarily have to consider the current roster or the state of the team as you make your choices, but you can. You’re voting for the player you’d most love to see suit up for one more season. The qualities/memories of that individual player are the most important things. Helping the current team is a bonus which can weigh in your decision, but doesn’t have to.
• 可悲的是，我们失去了此名单上的一些球员。我们以荣誉记得他们，并感谢他们的家人通过篮球与我们分享，以便我们欣赏并记住他们。
• Go ahead and envision the best Blazers version of each player. That’s part of the fun!

This matchup features two players who faced stiff competition in Round 1. Which one will edge the other and make it to the semifinals?

拉马库斯·奥尔德里奇（Lamarcus Aldridge）

在2006年至2015年之间，没有人看到拉马库斯·奥尔德里奇（Lamarcus Aldridge）为开拓者队（Trail Blazers）效力的人会忘记他的进化。尽管他在2006年被选为第二名NBA Draft，他迅速成为波特兰冠军联盟的Triumvirate中的第三个名字，其中包括布兰登·罗伊（Brandon Roy）和2007年的首次选择，格雷格·奥登（Greg Oden）。不过，在标题的路上发生了一件有趣的事情。奥登的身体崩溃了，使他的职业生涯陷入了破烂。罗伊（Roy）的膝盖紧随其后。突然，第三个小提琴占领了第一把椅子。

Aldridge responded with four straight NBA All-Star appearances between 2012 and 2015. During that span he averaged 22.5 points per game, becoming a deadly weapon catching at the elbow, then lofting an unblockable jump shot that seemingly never missed. He added almost 10 rebounds plus 2.5 assists, passing to an eager team of three-point shooters gathered around him. Doing so, Aldridge led his team to multiple playoffs appearances in an era where they were supposed to be rebuilding.

这位36岁的年轻人仍在适合Brooklyn Netstoday. He plays center now, but a 6’11 power forward with range and 20-point scoring ability would fit nicely on the current Blazers. Plus it would give Damian Lillard and Aldridge a chance to reprise their success at the beginning of Lillard’s career with a callback nearer the end.

Aldridge beat out Damon Stoudamire by the smallest of margins in the first round. Readers cited his scoring ability and playoffs performances in support of the All-Star forward. What will happen when he takes on...

Drazen Petrovic

As we all know, Drazen Petrovic is one of the players in this bracket who has passed on. His death in 1993 at the age of 28 sent shock waves through the basketball world.

Petrovic is also the only player for whom we are bending the bracket rules somewhat. We say to consider years with the Blazers as the foundation for your choices. But Petrovic’s seasons with the Blazers, spent behind Clyde Drexler and other veteran guards, were the most muted of his career. Petrovic sparkled in his native Yugoslavia, then in European leagues, receiving the designation, “Mozart of the Hardwood”. His craftiness with the ball was good, but his shooting was legendary. Basketball hadn’t invented a shot that Petro couldn’t hit. Pull-ups were like candy to him, three-pointers like free throws.

开拓者了解他的潜力，在1986年的第二轮中起草了石油NBA Draft。直到1989年，他才会加入球队。他在新秀年场只打了12.6分钟，但他的平均距离为46％，总体48.5％。适合他的昵称，看着他的命中率就像在工作中看大师。

The Blazers ascended through the NBA ranks in Petro’s second and third seasons. Intent on chasing rings, they didn’t have time or patience to put up with his learning curve, or encourage him through it. In January, 1991, they’d trade him in a three-way deal, exporting him to the New Jersey Nets for凤凰太阳传奇人物沃尔特·戴维斯（Walter Davis）。到那时，戴维斯的壮观日子很长。

在他的两个赛季中，彼得罗维奇在他的两个赛季中平均达到21分和22分，射门得分为50％以北，44.4％和44.9％的射门得分为44.9％。1993年，他在过时的死前就被任命为全NBA第三队。

很难以绝对令人振奋的冲动再次看到彼得罗维奇的冲动，这是很难区分的愿望，但两者都是合适的，但对于其他心爱的球员也是如此，例如莫里斯·卢卡斯（Maurice Lucas）和杰罗姆·凯西（Jerome Kersey）也是如此。

Were Petrovic able to take the court in his prime for these Blazers, his distance shooting would make him an instant star in the modern NBA. That, and watching him work so hard for shots that other people wouldn’t even dare to take, make Petro an easy addition into this “Who would you want to see?” bracket.

Petro的荣誉足以推动他在第一轮比赛中超越特许经营权，尽管“ Sheed挥之不去的声誉可能无济于事。读者列举了他的射击能力，在波特兰任职期间未开发的潜力，以及一个简单的渴望，希望他再次将法庭作为提名的原因。

So who will you take, Petrovic or Aldridge? Vote in the comments below or on Twitter!