Quick says loss of Outlaw will kill our running game.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/11/foot_injury_sidelines_outlaw_t.html

Nate, Roy, and of course, Travis are very upset.

I don't envision Howard racing up and down the court. This really sucks. I hope we're deep enough to deal with it. I'm sorry Roy loses his friend on the road.

 

It very well could change the blazers playing style, but I saw Howard get a running fastbreak layup tonight. If the threat of Howard running down the floor exists the running game is still effective.

 

...and if he gets winded, then I am sure Dante knows how to run effectively

 

Except Howard likes to throw outlets, so I don't see the problem. How does Travis help our running game at all? I would say Miller is much more vital to our running game.

 

I don't really know how to say this without being mean but Travis in the running game was really a 50/50 on whether he'd get an offensive foul on the break because he'd put his head down when he got the ball on the break. It will in absolutely no way kill our running game, none at all.

Howard's outlet passes with Martell and Rudy on the wings leads to only good things, IMO.

 

50/50?? Provide facts. I don't recall him committing offensive fouls on fast breaks. What I do remember, though, is that his steal vs the Hornets gave us a rare fast break basket.

 

More important to the running game are Miller, Rudy and LMA.

 

This doesn't make much sense, to have a running game you need a rebound and an outlet pass from a big, and fast finishers in the backcourt who make good decisions. Travis does none of those things. Howard boxes out for the board and looked to have some pretty sweet outlet passes earlier, and he's crafty enough to break free for a quick hit like we saw tonight.

Losing Travis will effect our scoring, in so far as the 2nd unit doesn't really have anyone that's always going to be looking to shoot. Martell gets passive a lot, Joel is just a catch and finish opportunist, Rudy's shot has been off and he can't seem to decide whether or not he's a 2 or a 1, and Bayless get's scared to really unleash himself for fear of every moron starting up the 'he's shooting so much and not looking for his teammates, he's not a PG!' BS.

If Bayless's ankle is ok and Nate takes off the reins a bit, I think our bench scoring will be fine, probably much more efficient and a lot more fun to watch too.

 

JH > Outlaw for our

running game - rebounds and outlet passes
rebounding - offense and defense
defense - doesn't leave the C on an island for fouls

but worse in the half-court offense. It just means more plays go through Rudy and Webster (not a bad thing IMO). This is going to be a trial run to see if Travis actually does help or hurt our team.

 

Well, I hope we don't have to lose games to understand that Travis is important to our team. After all, we're 8-3 without Batum but I still consider Batum to be a very important part of our team.

 

For as much grief as the guy gets, I think we'll miss him. I hate to rely on the guy to be our No. 3 scorer because he's so inconsistent, but he was one of the few who could create his own shot and he did hit key shots for us in the fourth quarter. But we'll see how much Juwan has left in the tank.

 

LOL at assclown.

Any excuse to slow down.

 

exactly, JQ staying true to form. Travis was mediocre on the boards, with his handle, and as a finisher... what little fastbreaking the team does won't be affected much if at all by his absence. I see them missing him in half court sets much more.

Injuries suck, hopefully the other guys can fill in adequately. These next few months should shed some light on the Martell-Travis debate thats been going on here.

STOMP

 

Detroit and Charlotte are the only teams that have played at a slower pace then us this season.

Charlotte is the only team with less fast break ppg than us this season. Yes we are second to last in the running game in the entire league.

 

Outlaw's injury is a dream come true. The team will be fine without him, and then management will be convinced to trade him. The sooner we get rid of Outlaw and Webster, the sooner we'll be contenders.

Was anybody else shaking their head at Webster's play last night?? He's been in the NBA for 4 years and I still wonder if he even belongs here. He was missing jump shots by a mile, and then running around trying impossible layups the rest of the time. He really seems like he's still in way over his head.

 

It sucks for Travis, but we'll get a chance to see what Cunningham can do now.