It wasn't as obvious in the regular season but now in the playoffs i really am. I don't see how his shot would be off as badly as Outlaw's has been...
I missed Webster all season long. I thought he was going to start putting a complete game this year with how he was playing in pre season, and how he worked with Rudy so well. You can always use more 3 point shooters, and the facts are everyone in the organization thought he was the teams best 3 point shooter, at least until Rudy showed up.
He is with us here in Houston. It is cool to see him stick 3 after 3 after 3 when the guys are shooting around. He will be huge for us next year!
Noice! I want to see his improved handles and hopefully he is more offensive minded. He should be the 3rd option, he's an offensive stud and I cannot wait! have outlaw be the backup 4!
I really hope Martell has suddenly morphed into this offensive stud you are talking about, I love Nic's D, but he's just not quite ready to be a reliable outlet on offense. On the plus side, at least he's cheap.
two operative words in there: "kings" and "preseason" ... which doesn't automatically disqualify him from having a breakout year (because yes he did look VERY impressive with his athleticism and aggressiveness in that brief flash), but it's a lot to count on for a guy missing a whole year.
I think alot of Webster's early struggles were mainly mental. He has a scorer's mentality. Hopefully sitting a year helps him see the game and offense in a different light.
Some of his struggles aren't mental - they're mechanical. He has trouble handling the ball - something he greatly needs to improve on if he's ever going to be a 15-20 ppg type of scorer. With his athletic ability (he's actually got pretty good hops) and his ability to shoot, he should be able to get to the basket more. He's very methodical and predictable when he decides to drive to the basket. He never goes straight in (I think partially b/c he doesn't trust his handles) He always comes to that hop/jump stop and then goes up of two feet. That's just not going to get it done. He ends up getting his shot blocked or double clutching a lot, and those are tough shots to make.
Martell is a huge wildcard for this team next season. It appeared both through the 1 preseason game and the news around him that he was putting a serious effort into more of a driving and slashing game than the usual. But let me all ask you this, why on offense does Batum play EXACTLY like Martell Webster? They both stand to the side and wait for the 3 ball or swing it. Are you that naive to think that Batum has the same offensive game as Webster? The more likely scenario is that Coach Nate doesn't know what to do with his small forwards on offense and tells them to stand to the side and wait for the ball.
Rivers got an Orlando team of scrubs led by Darrell Armstrong and Ron Mercer to a 41-41 record; that's pretty amazing. I think he did ok last year as well.
Isn't that true of anyone who's ever coached in the NBA, though? And yet, still, coaches manage to get fired. I don't see how or why Nate should be immune from criticism just because he knows more than we do about coaching. Ed O.
