PORTLAND — One conclusion you can make about Portland’s Al-Farouq Aminu is that he’s a good learner.
After a career in relative obscurity as a role player, Aminu has emerged as one of the more unique players in the NBA nearly 20 percent of the way through the season.
Only four players in the league so far have played over 300 minutes, while posting a rebound percentage of 12.8 or higher while also taking over 40 percent of their shots from beyond-the-arc: Cleveland’s Kevin Love, Golden State’s Draymond Green, Aminu and his opponent Tuesday night Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic.
Aminu can guard any team’s best perimeter player effectively while also equipped to bother power forwards. He gives Portland a dynamic versatility which most teams would crave.
Sunday, Aminu was surpassed by Mason Plumlee for the team lead in total rebounds, 121-115.
Blazers coach Terry Stotts hasn’t coached many wings that have the knack for the glass like Aminu.
“He’s kind of a unique athlete,” Stotts said. “He has great length, he’s quick to the ball. He’s played the four (position) a lot in his career, so he’s used to being around the basket. I think the good thing is it’s harder to rebound from the three spot.”
It’s no wonder then that Aminu has played the third-most minutes of anyone on the Blazers. Or that Portland performs much better when he is on the court, outscoring their opponents by nearly four points per 100 possessions when he plays, according to NBA.com.
When Aminu sits, the Blazers are outscored by 11.4 points per 100 possessions.
The Blazers get a higher percentage of their shots from the most valuable areas on the court, at the rim and from long-range, while shooting a higher percentage on both when Aminu plays, according to NBAWowy.com.
Behind Aminu’s growth as a scorer is an opportunity and an improvement in his jump shot, helped by taking notes from a legend along the way.
After Blazers practices he can be seen taking 3-pointer after 3-pointer, sometimes for even an hour after practice is already over.
Aminu is shooting a career-high 36 percent from long-range.
“He spends a lot of hours in the gym,” Stotts said. “He gets a lot of 3’s up I think confidence has a lot to do with it. He sees the ball going in practice he knows that we want him taking those shots. And he doesn’t have to hesitate.”
Last year in Dallas, Aminu learned from watching the great Dirk Nowitzki.
“Even after 18 years, there’s always something you can learn or get better at,” Aminu said. “That’s the process that I choose to use as well. I thought after you get to that level you know what to do. He’s watching film on the most minute things, there’s never a finishing point. There’s always a learning curve you have to keep up with.”
Aminu also brings an intensity on the court.
“He’s really competitive,” Blazers guard Damian Lillard said. “You see it in practice, he does the same thing. When he blocks a shot, he’ll yell. When he dunks, he’ll yell. That’s just who he is. When I have the ball and I’m calling out sets, he’ll be the one echoing the plays.”
Opponents have tested him, forcing the ball away from Lillard and C.J. McCollum, forcing him to beat them.
Against Houston, he couldn’t buy a basket and ended the game with an ugly turnover.
But it’s how jarring and sometimes predictable the turnovers look that is alarming more than how many he commits.
The Blazers have a turnover problem in general, but Aminu is right at the NBA average turnover rate per Basketball-Reference.
After Lillard or McCollum, the ball is most likely to end up in his hands.
There have been pains — which usually goes hand in hand with learning — but above all, there has been a great deal of growth in Aminu’s emergence as one of the NBA’s most versatile players.
