LaMarcus Aldridge doesn’t think he’s shooting too many jumpers, but thanks for asking

The Blazers have a new head coach, a lower overall talent level, and a couple of rookies who they’re going to get as much experience as possible in what is slated as a rebuilding year in Portland by just about everyone’s standards.

The team still has Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews and LaMarcus Aldridge, of course, but the new offense installed by Terry Stotts has the core talent playing in areas of the floor that perhaps aren’t the best to maximize their talents.

Aldridge in particular has been worse offensively, seemingly settling for far more mid-range jump shots than the bread-and-butter post play that once made him an All-Star. And apparently, he’s a little sensitive about that.

Jason Quick of The Oregonian has a solid breakdown of the numbers, and tried to get the story from Aldridge after Thursday night’s loss to the Clippers. Whether it was the timing of the questions or the questions themselves, Aldridge seemed irritated when giving his responses (excerpted here):

In a salty postgame interview Thursday after 7-for-17 shooting night, Aldridge said he doesn’t believe he is shooting too many jumpers.

“I don’t,’’ Aldridge said. “Obviously you do, you asked the question.’’

“He has plays that he calls that get me to the block.’’ Aldridge said of Stotts. “Other than that, you float to the elbow. So the offense is designed for me to be at the elbow.’’

“What do you want me to say?’’ Aldridge said. “I don’t have nothing to say. I’m taking what I’m getting out there. We call post up plays, but our offense starts at the elbow.’’

“Why am I shooting jump shots?’’ Aldridge snipped, repeating my question. “The system is designed for movement and flow, and the system is designed to be around the elbow. If you are around the elbow, you don’t post up. But we do have plays for me to post up.’’

Again, there are plenty of factors that go into why a player may get agitated at a post-game line of questioning. What’s clear, though, is that Aldridge is shooting too many jump shots, and whether it’s due to the offense pulling him of the paint or a combination of other factors, so far the plan hasn’t worked too well for the Blazers this season.