Zach Lowe was talking about this very thing on his podcast a couple of weeks ago and he made some fair points that make sense to me. Lot's of people will point to Aldridge's midrange shooting and overall shooting %, but guys like him and Dirk are anomalies that affect the game in ways that don't show on the stat sheet. Yes, the midrange is not an efficient shot, but when you have a player who can make them at the clip he does (including the types of difficult shots he makes), it really changes the opponent's gameplan. Fact of the matter is, he is the main piece (not Lillard) in the Blazers' attack which was the best offense in the league until his injury right after the all-star break and finished top 3. It must be working, right?
As a Blazers fan, I'd like to see more of what he was doing in game 1 against Houston, but I understand the physical toll of putting your head down and attacking the basket relentlessly. I read somewhere that in game 1, his average shot was about 8 feet from the basket compared to over 15 feet in game 2. You just aren't going to get that out of him night in and night out. Not to mention, anyone who has watched Portland play for and particularly Aldridge will be quick to point out how inconsistent he is at finishing at the basket. Dude is often able to body his way to the paint but either resorts to that running fade which is horribly inconsistent, or the up and under (a far better move for himself). He also tries too often to make finesse finishes rather than just powering it down. It happened in the second quarter last night where Lillard hit him on the PNR and he opted for the layup, which missed, over just flushing it. This isn't that rare of an occurrence, unfortunately.