Is Howard a better back-up than Outlaw?

That said, who is the better backup depends on how you define "backup".

If you need a guy to log 10 minutes a night behind Aldridge, it appears that Howard might be a better option. Might. If he can keep up his current pace.

If you need a reserve who can replace Aldridge in the starting lineup if he gets injured, I'd much rather have Outlaw. Without Aldridge, Outlaw's youth and ability to score suddenly becomes much, much more valuable, and Howard will get completely abused playing against most fresh, starting power forwards (although Outlaw will too, so maybe that's a wash).

 

Howard better? No. Just more traditional at PF. Outlaw is different and brings different skills to the PF position, especially on offense.

 

Obviously Howard isn't going to score as much as Outlaw, that's a given, but I feel Howard can contribute in other ways that Outlaw would not. I think his passing his far superior to Travis. I think he is going to make the heady play. He should also know how to defend other fours a bit better.

 

come on now... you're counting on Juwan Howard's slow feet to keep Greg out of foul trouble? If you want to send JH into a time machine where he has a 13 PER you have to go back to 2004-5 (5 seasons not 3). When was the last time a 36 year old player reverted to their form from a half decade ago after years of decline?

Posters act like Travis turns the ball over every time he touches it, but of the guys in last year's rotation, only Batum and Joel averaged fewer turnovers per minute. As for pairing him with Greg on occasion, when Travis is in he's pulling a Big out to the 3 pt line. Greg's most devastating skill is rebounding, and I actually like the idea of having his chances gathering offensive boards when covered one on one. I totally disagree that having a perimeter shooter who can create their own shot doesn't work within the flow of the offense. Dude spreads the D with a very effective perimeter threat which benefits both post players and slashers.

Given the history of both these two players and how players age in general, I'm pretty sure how this will shake out once the real season starts

STOMP

 

He had PER's of 13, 12.5, and 12.8 his three years in Houston. So yeah, the last time he had a PER of 13 was 5 years ago. The last time he had a PER of 12.8 was 3 years ago. Whatever. (Is this really worth our time even nitpicking? Jeez.)

No, Outlaw doesn't turn it over much. Why? Because his two moves are: 1. Rise and shoot. 2. Dribble once, rise and shoot. If you aren't passing and you aren't attacking the rim, how exactly do you turn it over?

Yes, Oden is a devastating rebounder. He is when Outlaw plays, and he is when Outlaw doesn't play. Oden flat out boards.

However, Oden is not a decent offensive threat when Outlaw plays because he doesn't get the ball much. He is an offensive threat when Howard plays, though, because Howard actually looks for him.

 

generally having your pf make the post entry pass isn't a huge part of the offense. if oden isn't getting the ball enough(and i agree that he didn't last season) there are 3 other guys on the court i'd be blaming before the pf.

oden should be a bigger offensive threat with outlaw on the floor because while teams would love to give up a juwan howard jump shot, you can't double off of outlaw and give him wide open 3s.

 

I have to agree.

In short spurts, Howard might be the better defender/rebounder. When the team needs points, Outlaw is still the better option. Howard's superior passing is nice, but not a huge priority for the position.

In fairness, I will admit I have gone back-and-forth on this....but I just can't convince myself that Howard has enough left in the tank to play sustained minutes at a high level.

 

right... TO never ever passes the ball in the half court set this isn't even close to true. Dude was 4th on the club in FTA per minute so the never attacks the rim claim holds a similar amount of water. While his FTA rate was lower then in the past couple years, it was still higher then Howard's rate in any of the last 6 seasons.

Howard's outside threat isn't nearly on the same level as Travis's in range, accuracy, or the ability to create his own look, so his man can't cheat to the middle like Howard's defender. When Greg gets an offensive board with only one defender in the paint he's going to go right back up and convert more times then not. I'd rather a majority of Greg's offensive contributions come this way then being force fed post up opportunities as that part of his game has left a lot to be desired. Having the focus coming from the perimeter and penetration rather then clear outs allows their many perimeter threats to do their thing and Greg to focus on what he does best. I completely disagree that Greg is not an offensive threat used this way... this is how Portland kills teams with their balance.

STOMP

 

1. Your assumption that being 4th on this team of jump shooters in free throw attempts per minute meaning he attacks the rim is flat out wrong. It only is a barometer of how he is on this team. That being, this team of jump shooters. So basically you are saying he is the 4th best of a jump shooting team at attacking the rim. That means he sucks at it.

2. Your PF shouldn't be an outside threat. Channing Frye is gone because he is an outside in power forward, and he didn't rebound. This team is a team built around stars. Unlike past Blazer teams that were well balanced, that means you get the ball to the "horses" that are going to score for you, and get the fuck out of the way. Otherwise play defense ande rebound. Get your buckets when you get a chance intead of shooting every time you touch the ball.

 

no, actually his rate of getting to the rim is middle of the pack by nba forward standards. To say that he never attacks the rim is just overboard hyperbole

whatever dude... if you're so set in your head with the word power and not seeing how the pieces fit together there is little to discuss. I can recognize the value of an outside threat from the PF spot as I (like most coaches) don't want multiple players in the paint on offense at the same time. As such I can see the value in KG, Sheed, Bosh, DWest, LA, etc... shooting out there. Greg and Joel are the low post bangers for Portland, LaMarcus Travis and the rest of the team play around them which gives them spacing for drives and their Bigs room to dominate the offensive boards... Portland didn't lead the league in offensive rebounds by accident, it was by design.

STOMP

 

Have you actually watched Travis play? If you have a chance at a live game, just watch what Travis does for an entire quarter. Unfortunately, this isn't possible on TV.

The stat line does not show the entire negative impact he has on the team.

 

right, I've never watched Travis play yet here I am in the offseason debating Blazer minutiae... good grief

STOMP

 

Hmmmm

 

^^^Very predictable...

 

Right ... 'cause we all know this is how Trav is going to play night and night out for the remainder of the season, nobody's saying he's untalented, he's just not consistent from game to game -- he starts doing this on a nightly basis (or near nightly) and no complaints from me.

 

And Juwan is?? He averaged like 1.8 rpg in 11 mpg last season.