Seriously. Trade the guy and get a real small forward back. One of the most athletic guys in the league, and all he does is dribble-step and shoot a fadeaway. Can't pass, can't drive, unbelievably not that good in the open court. And now - with the rest of the talent we have on this team - his one talent becomes more and more irrelevant every day. I'd hate to see the +/- stats from this game, but my guess is they wouldn't play very favorably for when Travis was in the game. Got absolutely shut down by a PATHETIC Golden State defense. -Pop
Couldn't agree with you more pop. Didn't we try to trade him for Battier before? Wish we could do that trade and add whatever picks they want.
He had a -13 in the game, but every Blazer had a negative except LaMarcus' +2. Travis is really struggling to find his way in a team-oriented offense. I don't know... it's hard to tell, and it's only the second preseason game. But it's going to take some time with him, and shows he still has a lot to develop. I can't believe Martell is out for eight weeks.. that really hurts right now.
He was fine last year when he entered the game and we ran a 4-down set with him. But as alex42083 said, he struggles in a team game. And I can't see any point where we'd have him in with the first or second unit where it would be a good idea to iso Travis. -Pop
I think it's still obvious Outlaw doesn't contribute anything other than scoring most of the time. He just can't play within a team concept. Moving forward he won't fit with the team. Rudy is bumping him from his 6th man role.
I don't want to speak for Sodapop, but I think it's not that it's one game, but that it's a pattern of his game skill-set. He's in what, his 5th season? At this point, you'd hope that someone who claims to want to be a starter would not disappear from games in the manner that he did. Or at least, when your shot isn't dropping, don't become invisible and a negative on the court.
This year. While Travis has had some great games, they are always offensive. Last year we didn't have much scoring ability on the second team and hence, Travis was needed to do that. He doesn't have a good all-around game that fits into a team. As I've said before, he is a more athletic version of Zbo with the exception that Zbo also rebounded. Were I the coach (which it is a good thing I'm not), I'd be playing Batum before Travis. Sure we'd get some mistakes but we'd also get a much better all-around game from him and someone who I think has considerably more potential as well as someone who better understands playing as a member of a team, not as the lead with everyone else relegated to being supporting cast. Gramps...
I don't think KP will do it and right now it would be tough to make a trade for someone like Battier. I do think we need a SF a lot more then PG. I think Blake, Sergio, Rudy and Roy are good enough at PG but with Webster out maybe 2+ months and even when he comes back will take time to get back playing we need a SF. I'm just not sure Outlaw is a starter type player. He seems to play a lot better coming off the bench and being a spark plug type. I still would like to see against teams with a smaller lineup start Blake(or Sergio or Bayless), Roy and Rudy together with LMA and Oden especially until Webster comes back.
I see your points. But Outlaw is very effective coming off the bench as a spark. Least we forget he led this team in scoring in the 4th quarter last season. He's not a starter. In two years I think our starting SF will be Batum.
This thread from the same folks overreacting when Oden had a bad scrimmage. That said, Outlaw has disappointed me recently, and it wasn't on the court and it was in real life.
Also, let's not forget that LMA seems a bit lost right now with Oden being dominant inside. Should the Blazers get rid of him as well?
completely different. LMA wasn't half as bad as Outlaw. And this isn't judging Outlaw after 2 preseason games, He can't play within a team concept. Never really has. Running Outlaw iso plays with Bayless and Rudy on the 2nd unit this year doesn't seem like a good idea.
I'd trade Travis only because I think his trade value is as high as it's ever going to be. To which team and for whom? That's the million dollar question. But I agree that his role as the spark-plug off the bench is only going to be diminished, and he still seems to struggle with the idea of fitting into a team oriented defensive and offensive scheme. Frankly he's just not a good enough passer, and his court awareness leaves something to be desired. I think we're really going to be missing Martell, hopefully he heals quickly.
