Outlaw blames himself

[KingSpeed]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/12/blazers_slip_down_stretch_agai.html

Reading the article makes me feel better. It humanizes the loss.

 

[alex42083]

Travis had a pretty crappy second half in general. Oh well, you live and learn.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

He just has low basketball IQ, he should have never been in there on the defensive side. It should have been Batum guarding Hedo. Man to man, Batum is unquestionably better than Travis' cement feet.

 

[KingSpeed]

He didn't do anything wrong on the defensive side. Hedo just made a tough lucky bank shot that no one could've guarded. Outlaw's problem was on the offensive possession before.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

He didn't do anything wrong on the defensive side. Hedo just made a tough lucky bank shot that no one could've guarded. Outlaw's problem was on the offensive possession before.

I don't think he got up into him enough or moved his feet quick enough. Either way, it's on Nate to put Batum in there instead of Travis on the defensive side. I even said it was a mistake to have Blake on Jameer, instead they should have put Bayless on him.

 

[craigehlo]

Travis was pretty weak on D but the entire last 2 minutes seemed like no Blazers realized that the Magic were shooting over 50% 3-pointers. Shooters were getting wide open looks the entire time. We got away with poor perimeter defense in Toronto, but the Magic burned us. We should have been fouling Dwight Howard instead of letting them bomb away if we can't close on shooters.

 

[BatumKaboom]

Roy should have never had to attempt the desperation three-pointer. Outlaw, who was standing in the corner behind the three-point line, was supposed to cut into the middle of the lane, but instead, he stood his ground.

While talking to reporters after the game, coach Nate McMillan couldn't get over the play, citing it several times, although never saying which player didn't execute the plan. But later, in a deserted locker room, Outlaw owned up.

"I messed up on my assignment," Outlaw said. "If I would have cut to the middle, who knows what would have happened."

This is why we need to get rid of Travis. Yeah he is a good player, a Blazer and all that. But what if some bullshit like this happened in the WCF, game 7 and Travis blows it for us? We cannot have MORONS on the team like Travis. How can you NOT have a decent basketball IQ after playing the game YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?

I think we need to get Hedo.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Someone has siad it before, and I thought it was right on the money.

Travis sucks.

Oh wait, that was me who said it.

 

[BatumKaboom]

On the fateful shot-clock violation play, Outlaw was being guarded by Rashard Lewis. In the first half, Lewis was the player trapping Roy. But on the last play, Turkoglu trapped Roy, confusing Outlaw.

"When I saw my guy not doubling, I stayed in the corner and tried to space (the court)," Outlaw said. "I should have gone to the ball."

But since it wasn't Outlaw's man who doubled Roy (Rudy Fernandez was guarding Turkoglu), Outlaw didn't think it was his responsibility.

"You gotta know what to do," Outlaw said.

Stupid ass Outlaw. Please trade him for someone with a brain.

 

[andalusian]

Ugh, yes - it was a mistake by Travis - but he did keep us in the game in the first half.

In the same vain - Roy missed 5 FT, Rudy missed a ton of 3s, Blake was off tonight (but won us last game), Oden had a bad game (but Joel was bad in the last one).

At least he is man enough to say "it was my mistake". Hopefully - he will learn from it.

Good game all-around. Props to the Magic. Time to go and get Utah.

 

[Sheldon Shape]

This is why we need to get rid of Travis. Yeah he is a good player, a Blazer and all that. But what if some bullshit like this happened in the WCF, game 7 and Travis blows it for us? We cannot have MORONS on the team like Travis. How can you NOT have a decent basketball IQ after playing the game YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?

I think we need to get Hedo.

This is not WHY you get rid of Travis. It's Nate's fault for putting him out there in a clutch defensive assignment. Travis has low IQ, we all know that but he brings pros to the court as well. I wouldn't have Travis in the clutch moments of any game despite his many clutch shots last season, but he's a good spark off the bench. It's Nate's job to realize his weakness and go in a different direction. Now if we are able to get an upgrade in talent? Yea, trade him all night long. It would be sweet if we could acquire Caron Butler some how.

 

[blue32]

Free throws, bad perimeter defense, and lucky shooting....Watchu gunna do brotha?

I don't like Travis in on defense in these situations, I'd much rather have Rudy, but oh well....today's a new game.

 

[andalusian]

Free throws, bad perimeter defense, and lucky shooting....Watchu gunna do brotha?

I don't like Travis in on defense in these situations, I'd much rather have Rudy, but oh well....today's a new game.

Rudy is too short to go against a 6'10'' Turk in this situation.

In the future we will have Nic in there. He is still a rook and needs seasoning - but it will come.

 

[handiman]

The thing I find interesting about Outlaw is how much my perception of his game differs from the box score. Usually, players are more than the stats indicate, with hustle plays, help defense, etc. Statistically, Outlaw had a pretty good game yesterday. However, his decision making and defense (other than the one good help play on Howard) were borderline horrible. Basically, unless it's a spot up jumper, I have no confidence in the outcome of an Outlaw play... In the last minute yesterday, his top of the key 3-pointer seemed to rub off on the mentality of his teammates, encouraging them all to be chuckers when all they needed was one basket to milk the lead. It's like he keeps his stats good but manages to lower the stats of his teammates. Sort of an anti-point guard.

 

[roydezlaw]

In the last minute yesterday, his top of the key 3-pointer seemed to rub off on the mentality of his teammates, encouraging them all to be chuckers when all they needed was one basket to milk the lead. It's like he keeps his stats good but manages to lower the stats of his teammates. Sort of an anti-point guard.

WOW! We have a weak minded team. Let's trade them all and start over. Blake being forced to hand over the ball to the Magic, not be able to inbound the ball, Roy drbbling into a double team in the corner and then chucking a desperation shot...all because of Outlaw's bad karma. If you are a winner you won't be influenced by such trivial things. We had a 8 pt. lead and Travis cost us the game. I'll be nice and not tell you what I really think. But Roy will learn to share the ball late again...he did this early in the season and then adjusted from trying do all the scoring himself while his teammates look on.

 

[Spud147]

Did you see the look Nate gave him after the shot clock violation? They called a timeout after the next play and Travis was the last one in. I swear it's because he didn't want to face Sarge. I know it was a really dumb mistake by someone who is supposed to be a veteran but at that moment I just felt so sorry for him.

 

[Ed O]

This again makes me wonder if Outlaw just seems to have a low bbiq because we are sensitive to him making mistakes, or if he really does. I've been pretty sure that it's the latter for some time, but I still would rather be proven wrong and it's painful to see him make mistakes like that

Ed O.

 

[B-Roy]

I've always bashed Outlaw, but I kind of feel sorry for him.

 

[bodyman5001]

Dude has asthma. Lack of oxygen to the brain as a child is what I suspect. I am still jealous of him though, what I wouldn't give to have his physical ability (without asthma of course)

 

[MAS RipCity]

This is why we need to get rid of Travis. Yeah he is a good player, a Blazer and all that. But what if some bullshit like this happened in the WCF, game 7 and Travis blows it for us? We cannot have MORONS on the team like Travis. How can you NOT have a decent basketball IQ after playing the game YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?

I think we need to get Hedo.

Please do not call our guys morons, if you like to base our own, then fucking be a radiers fan or some lame shit like that.
Travis fucked up, but he wasn't the whole reason we lost.

 

[mook]

This is why we've had two presidents in a row who clearly made massive screwups, yet never accepted any personal responsibility. Bush sites his biggest mistake as the failure of intelligence agencies to thoroughly vet WMD data. (Wow, way to go out on a limb. "My mistake was that other people made mistakes.") Clinton declares, "I did not have sex with that woman."

Outlaw's biggest mistake seems to be that he admitted to making a mistake. You do that and you get crucified. Outlaw shouldn't have even acknowledge the mistake happened. We're beyond passing the buck now. The safe option is to pretend the buck isn't there.

 

[BrianFromWA]

OK...I have to speak up on this one.

For over two years now (some almost six), there have been people who think Outlaw is not good at understanding the game of basketball. Anytime it's brought up that he's had a really dumb turnover/play that led to us losing a game, or almost losing a game, there is a legion of people on here who decide that it's their mission in life to ensure "Travis Hate" isn't tolerated. They bring up records in close games, come up with alternate explanations for "crunch time" stats, the fact that Outlaw's loved by his teammates or anointed "Mr. 4th Quarter" by the media. Those who dare to point out flaws, bad plays, general cluelessness, etc. are effectively shouted down.

Now, in a game where a) the coach lights him up for a stupid play, b) he admits he made a stupid play, c) he admits that his play directly led to a loss; in THIS game people are posting that "his biggest mistake is that he admitted making a mistake". Nope, his biggest mistake is a toss-up between not knowing what the 24-second clock said when it's nearing zero, taking a 3 with a bunch of time left on the clock and up five (and don't mistake me, I'm even more critical of Blake's crunch time play) and his mental lapse on the last offensive play, while not denying the ball on the last defensive play. You know, the ones the coach lit him up for? And what did he say? "Eh, sometimes you just have to take it."

There are some starting to come around: "Ugh, yes - it was a mistake by Travis - but he did keep us in the game in the first half", "It's Nate's fault for putting him out there in a clutch defensive assignment", "Statistically, Outlaw had a pretty good game yesterday. However, his decision making and defense (other than the one good help play on Howard) were borderline horrible", "Travis was pretty weak on D but the entire last 2 minutes seemed like no Blazers realized that the Magic were shooting over 50% 3-pointers. ", "He just has low basketball IQ, he should have never been in there on the defensive side. It should have been Batum guarding Hedo. Man to man, Batum is unquestionably better than Travis' cement feet." But there are still apologists who think he's the Man for standing up to his mistakes without acknowledging that if he does any one of those 4 "bonehead" plays better, we win. I'm not talking about missing shots, or having someone play good D...I'm talking about bonehead plays.

This is not a "trade Travis now" post. This is a "this is who he is, and no amount of wishing from fans isn't going to change that he isn't a) trustworthy in close-and-late situations, and b) going to understand the game soon, no matter how much Nate 'trusts' him to" post. In much this situation last year, there were many (me being one of the loudest) saying that Jack should be traded not because he's a bad guy, but b/c Nate doesn't use him in situations where he can help the team out, or pull him when he shouldn't be out there. There are plenty more options. If you need someone spotted up in a corner to hit a three, Travis is your man. If you need someone to shoot a bailout shot, he's your man. If you need a rebound, defensive stop, foul drawn, average-to-intelligent play, ballhandling, etc. then he's not one of the top 5 options on the team. It's that simple.

Light me up

Salinger

 

[andalusian]

The only thing I am not buying from the rant above is that Travis is not going to get better. He gets better every year - he is not going to be a superstar - but he is becoming better.

If he can be a center-piece of getting you someone much better - no problem - but you have to look at what Travis does for and against you and decide if it is worth it in the large picture.

My opinion is that he tips the balance in your favor more than he tips it against. The same, btw - was the Jack situation - we got a chance to get a much better prospect than Jack in Bayless - so I have no issues with the trade - but the people that were calling for Sergio to get Jack's minutes last year were crazy - Sergio played like garbage last year.

This year - we have to choose between Batum and Outlaw - and on games where Batum played well - he got more minutes. Last night - Batum had a bad game and Outlaw was balling in the first half - but why is his mistake (on a night shooting 50% 3-6 of the night) the scapegoat when Sergio (who never shoots well) was an awful 3-9 for the game? Do we really want Sergio shooting 9 shots when Outlaw only took 6?

Outlaw made a mistake, one that he admitted to. But he was put in position to lose us the game by this mistake because as a team we shot miserable from the 3 last night - Rudy 1-5, Steve 0-2, Roy 1-4 (would have been 1-3 if Outlaw or Rudy were there to bail him).

Outlaw is there because he has a rare talent - he can take these bailout shots - and that usually puts him in a miserable place when he makes a mistake - not too many people are willing to accept this role.

Let's stop the bitching and start appreciating what we have here.

At the end of the night - the game was lost by our piss poor long ball performance and the Magic's magical shooting night.

 

[Natebishop3]

I can't put this all on Travis. Sorry. Not going to happen. We played really great basketball for 90% of the game. Our defense was weaker than it should have been, but we were able to weather a team shooting 52% from downtown and over 50% from the field. We should have won this game. Travis made some mistakes, so did Blake, so did Roy... If Roy had made his freethrows, this whole thing would have been moot. If Blake hadn't turned the ball over, there wouldn't have been a problem. I was just disappointed that we were able to take their best shot for the whole game, and then we melted down at the very end. Sad.

And in regards to Travis, I've been saying it for years now. I really like him. He's a good guy. He has talent. He'll never be able to overcome his low basketball IQ. I had to laugh when they said he is working on his awareness last night during the broadcast. You can't teach awareness. You can't teach basketball IQ. You either have it or you don't. This will be a problem that we will see with Travis throughout his career. Things like, letting the shot clock expire because he wasn't aware of how much time was left, or shooting the ball too soon because he wasn't aware of how much time was left. If the Blazers want to keep him, fine, but don't play him in crunch time.

 

[RR7]

Great post. Couldn't agree more Brian. Not really much to add. I have had the same criticism of Outlaw fo rthe last two years, and I guess as opposed to him changing his game, I need to just change my expectations, or get used to it. So be it. I will continue to be labeled a "hater" for pointing out the same flaws that were apparent in Outlaw's game at the beginning of last year, and I am fine with that.

Seems too many on here say Let the Cake Bake, Chemistry Matters, No Trades!, etc. Yet after last season, when we had really good chemistry, and started our cake baking, we got rid of James Jones, a well liked player on the team and good shooter, Jarret Jack, another very well liked player on the team, seemingly a good friend of everyone on the team, and brought in 2 rookies who don't speak the language well, and another rookie not getting any time. Yet, miraculously, our chemistry is again top notch. Surprisingly, making trades, and changing up a full third of the roster did not adversely affect our chemistry, yet everyone assumes that were a trade to be made, it would do just that, as if KP will all of a sudden do a 180 from the way he has been building this team, and look specifically for someone to kill the chemistry.

 

[BrianFromWA]

If you need someone spotted up in a corner to hit a three, Travis is your man. If you need someone to shoot a bailout shot, he's your man. If you need a rebound, defensive stop, foul drawn, average-to-intelligent play, ballhandling, etc. then he's not one of the top 5 options on the team. It's that simple.

Let's stop the bitching and start appreciating what we have here.

That's me appreciating what we have. And how has his game awareness gotten better in the last 3 years? (Rhetorical and anecdotal: I can't bring a stat to change your mind and I don't think you could change mine on this)

As far as Sergio's 3-9...maybe we don't want Sergio taking 9 shots...but he was the same % as Travis from 3 (2-4), he took 5 shots outside the paint (making 3) and the rest of his shots were at the hoop. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=281209022

Compare to Travis, who had one shot inside the free-throw line out of 6.

At the end of the night - the game was lost by our piss poor long ball performance and the Magic's magical shooting night.

I choose to disagree...our "piss poor long ball performance" had us up 8 with 1:40 to play. Our piss-poor decision making (2 by Blake, 2 by Outlaw) and inability to get a single point by foul shot or in the paint in the last 1:40 directly contributed to the loss. The sooner people start to realize that, the fewer piss-contest debates we'll have on here, imo.

 

[Blaze01]

I see Outlaw gets a lot of blame for this loss and deservedly so, but Blake had a critical turnover down the stretch, personally I think that hurt more than Outlaw's error....

 

[andalusian]

I choose to disagree...our "piss poor long ball performance" had us up 8 with 1:40 to play. Our piss-poor decision making (2 by Blake, 2 by Outlaw) and inability to get a single point by foul shot or in the paint in the last 1:40 directly contributed to the loss. The sooner people start to realize that, the fewer piss-contest debates we'll have on here, imo.

You can choose to disagree until the cows come home - but if Rudy shoots 4-9 instead of 3-9 Outlaw's mistake would not matter, if Sergio realizes that he is shooting a miserable 36% from the field this year and takes only 5 shots instead of 9 - passing to someone who shoots better than him on the team (just about anyone on the team, when it comes to FG%) - we are not putting Outlaw in this position.

Outlaw made a mistake. He manned up and admitted it. This would not be a case if some people would notice their mistakes during the game and not press - there was no point for Sergio to shoot so many shots when he bricks 2 out of 3, on a night when Rudy is shooting so bad from the outside - he should drive more and shoot closer ones.

Outlaw made a mistake, simple as that. On the other hand - he is not the only one that did it - and putting it all on him because his was late in the game while others were doing it earlier is just poor analysis. The game is played for 48 minutes - it means that you can not show up to play just at the end of the game and you can not dog it all game long and show up for a short burst at the end of the 3rd/start of the 4th as Sergio and Rudy did last night.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Outlaw actually made several mistakes.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I totally agree that having Blake in there doing what he did hurt as much as Travis during the last 1:40. And that's what I've been posting all day, up until I saw someone say "Travis's biggest mistake was saying he made a mistake". That focused it on him for me.