this is spot on. we need to see more consistency from him before we get excited. just think a couple of weeks ago, people thought bayless was the next Roy and now look at him. martell has not shown that he can do this for a long period of time.
It's amazing to see how quick fans jump on and off a players bandwagon. Rudy misses 19 games, and plays with a bad back most of the season before that, and he's trade bait. Martell has a solid stretch of games, and all the sudden he's the greatest thing. There is no point in trading Jerryd, Rudy or Martell. There are reasons to trade Outlaw and Blake.
You know all those people that are thinking Batum will start when he comes back, I think you are going to be dissapointed. I never thought I would say this earlier this year, but Martell is a superior player right now, and you would have to be pretty high to believe that Batum would be scoring at the clip Martell is at the moment. Martells defense has been solid on top of it. The facts are that right now, Martell is a better player than what we saw from Batum at the end of last year. So unless Batum really improved his offensive game, it's not going to happen.
When I saw the title of this thread, I thought this was going to be another discussion of LaMarcus Aldridge's numbers - because his numbers for the season are about equal to what we're so impressed with coming out of Webster in his best stretch ever, as a Blazer. Interesting how different the expectations are for Portland's #2 option, and #2 overall draft pick (Aldridge) vs. Martell Webster, whom the Blazers picked over Chris Paul and Deron Williams. All that aside, I think it's great that Webster is rounding into form. This is truly his time. The Blazers will have an interesting dilemma of playing time when Batum and Outlaw return. Because of the injuries at C, I figure we'll see Outlaw playing PF and Aldridge still playing a lot of C. But Batum may have to work to get playing time away from Webster and Fernandez at this point.
There is no dilmena. Martell is the starter. Batum is the backup SF. Outlaw will come back one month before the season ends at best, and he plays backup PF most of the time anyhow.
We'll see if you're right. If Webster continues to shoot at his current torrid pace, no doubt, you're right. But if his shooting comes back down to earth (as he's done every time in the past), and his defensive effort lags along with it (as has been the trend with Webster in the past), AND Batum picks up anywhere close to where he left off last season - then I could see Webster once again heading to the bench. I see a potential dilemma coming. As for Outlaw, you're probably right. Also, as I pointed out, Outlaw will be most needed to beef up the frontcourt, and that's where he'll be playing. Displacing Cunningham and/or Pendergraph isn't much of a problem, I'd say.
Here is the reason I don't think it is going to drop back down. In the past with Martell, it's was either "Wax On" or "Wax Off". He was either hitting everything or nothing. Mostly nothing. Now when he shoots, you will notice it matters very little if his last shot went in. He comes back and shoots with confidence every time. Remember how you would get like one good quarter of play in every 8 quarters, and during that one quarter, he would be extremely on fire? We don't see that anymore. Now you see more of straight shooting percentage Martell, where every quarter he makes some, and misses some. I have also noticed he has been working on a fake and step in for the easy 2. Nice. As for Outlaw displacing Pendergraph, maybe, but Pendergraph is going to be playing a lot of backup center this year. I just view it as he will probably play more of that than backup PF once Travis is back.
And here's the reason why it's not a lock that this is a permanent condition: All season, Martell has been the only SF on the roster. As long as he wasn't playing horribly, he knew he was going to get minutes. There was no competition for his spot, so he had no reason to look over his shoulder. But Batum is coming back, and eventually Outlaw as well. What if the presence of competition impacts his confidence? We've all seen in the past that he has not always been the strongest mentally. He's playing with no worries now, but will that continue when last year's much-heralded rookie starting SF returns? I sure hope so, but it's no lock.
What if he gets hit by a bus? You can play the what if game all you want, but all we can really go off of is the situation we have at the current time. Last night Rudy played behind him, and when the game started to get questionable, Nate went back to Martell. All last night whenever the game was getting sketchy, it was Miller, Webster and Aldridge who were brought back in to stabilize the unit. That includes with Rudy playing behind him, who is no slouch of a player himself. Right now, Batum would have to triple his scoring average from last year to put up the numbers Webster is putting up. I don't see that happening.
We can go off of both current situation and recent history. Has Martell ever been hit by a bus? No. But in the past, Martell has shown himself to be mentally fragile. To completely discount that possibility is naïve. Was the team playing particularly well when Rudy was in? No. Does Rudy play good defense like Batum does? No again. Comparing last night to Batum's presence is apples and oranges. Again, I'm not saying that Webster's confidence is an illusion--all I'm saying is that we won't know until Batum's back and we see how he responds to legitimate competion for his spot and playing time.
no, i still think our best nucleus at the guard spot going forward is roy, rudy and bayless. i just don't understand the love that he gets from some of you when he hasn't shown an ability to do much more than bury his head and drive to the basket. that's great and all but teams have figured it out. at this point he is looking more and more like a volume shooter, he needs to find a j or he won't be in our long term plans.
by that impeccable logic, he's also made Travis utterly and completely expendable, along with Jerryd too.
I have made it pretty clear I am being patient with Martell. I have never been a fan of him. I have said if he plays this way the rest of the season I would jump on his bandwagon.
When Outlaw came into the league, he was expected to be a rebounder because of his leaping ability. After a couple of years, he moved outside, developed his scoring, and established himself as a guy who would last in the NBA. When Webster started, he was expected to be a top shooter. But he couldn't dribble, missed them all, had no strength, etc. Similar to Outlaw. The reason Webster is beginning to find his place in the league is that he has reversed his priorities. Instead of trying to be a shooter, his main efforts are defense and rebounding. Maybe he'll be another Bruce Bowen. The parallel I'm drawing is--For both players, it took a few years to reverse course. Until then, they were waiver material. As for Webster vs. Batum, that's another matter. Batum is more cagey and strategic, instead of a helter-skelter energy player like Webster. He's also taller. I'll go with Batum.
Really? I think he has shown flashes that he can be a good defender and a good playmaker for himself and others, on top of being able to score and get to the line at will. At 21 years old, i'd say he is on a good path considering his improvement from year 1 to 2. Saying he isn't in our long term plans, as things currently stand I believe is silly. If we get a decently young PG though, then I can see that changing. But as of right now, with Blake maybe not coming back next year and Miller having only 2 years on his contract (and being old), I think he is in our plans.
Thanks to a few rare success stories (KG, Kobe, Lebron) the expectations for kids coming straight from high school to the NBA are unrealistically high. Martell just turned 23 a month ago. In the olden days, he'd be a fifth year college senor right now (after red shirting last season with the foot injury). It just takes these young guys a few years to reach their potential - many never do. I'm glad to see Martell's improvement. He has become a valuable contributor to this team. He'll never be better than Chris Paul or Deron Williams. That's not his fault. I just want him to be the best Martell Webster he can possibly be. He seems to be headed in the right direction. BNM
Ditto. I'm thrilled that Webster is finally coming around, but I'm holding my breath, too. He's been so erratic his entire career that this latest run of good games seems like a fluke. I hope I'm wrong.
Nic is at most 1/2" taller then Martell and has about the same length. Essentially they are the same size. http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2008-Nike-Hoop-Summit-Official-Measurements,-plus-2007-Analysis/ STOMP
They both have good size for a sf. I don't think those measurements are completely correct. I have been to enough games, seeing them side by side to know that Batum is at least an inch taller then webs. Also, according to draftexpress, batum has a 1 inch greater wingspan. Those small differences however do give Batum a slight edge in length. However, Martell has a very strong body, which Batum does not. But most important, both of them are very athletic, and that gives them a good chance to become good players. Martell is also a smart man. This does not necessarily translate to high bball IQ, but over time I imagine that he will use his mind to help him instead of hurt him like it has in the past. I like the mention of Bowen above, because I think that Martell is the type of player that can use his intellect to learn all the little tricks to become a great defender. This does not mean that Batum is not intelligent, I really could not say one way or another, but it does appear that he has a higher natural bball IQ. They are very different players who both young with a ton of potential. I do believe that Batum has a higher ceiling, but at the moment, I think Martell has overtaken what Batum had done in his rookie year. However, it did take Webs a long time to get to where he is now.
