The guy doesnt fit with this team plain and simple. Hes the black sheep. Every bad run we had was basically with outlaw in this game. He turns the ball over, sucks on defense, and has no clue on bball fundamentals. Seriously outlaw needs to be traded. He doesnt fit with this group. I dont care what hes done in the 4th qtr. As many good plays he makes, he makes 100 more bad ones. I seriously cringe when outlaw gets teh ball at the top of teh key, puts his shoulder down like a RB and then throws a brick up. gross. On a happy note. Aldridge has made me look like a complete a$$. Im glad cause it means the blazers are winning. GREAT F'IN WIN TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just hope aldridge stays this way and stops thinking about rebecca.
Travis didn't play well today, but I still like him on the team. He can hit the 3-ball and that is important on this team.
On a saner note, Outlaw hasn't been playing well. Or rather, Batum has been simply outplaying him. At the beginning of the season, I saw Outlaw as untradable. After this win, I want Batum playing 30+ mpg every game. When Martell comes back, Travis looks like the odd man out.
Travis has been struggling, and he did have some cringe worthy plays, but it was his big three in the 4th that sparked the Blazers run to put the game away. He still has a role with this team and he will be needed so I don't want to trade him. But I agree Batum is starting to look like a Pippen type SF that will most likely be getting a majority of the PT in the future, and Martell is more of a compliment to him coming off the bench. That leaves Travis out unless he moves full time the PF.
It actually wasn't. After he hit that three, Sheed hit another one back. It was Brandon taking over that allowed us to make the run. He's proven this year and last that he likes making boneheaded plays.
Outlaw's been very important to the team's success this year... but I still have my doubts about his long-term viability with this team, as well. *shrug* It's a nice problem to have. Ed O.
If anything, Travis has improved defensively a great deal. I don't see how he's sucked on defense this year. The only thing still holding him back is his ball handling and ability to drive to the hoop. But when you have guys like Travis, Nicolas, LaMarcus, Greg and Joel on defense, those are A LOT of long-armed, athletic guys to try to get to the hole against. Our defense has been really good, and teams aren't just walking to the rim anymore for layups like they did last year a ton. I'd keep Travis on this team, and make him the backup PF, which unfortunately leaves Channing out the loop and he only got five minutes today with Martell still out of the lineup.
Agreed. There a lot of people here who think any mention of Outlaw in a trade is 'hate', but its a good problem to have. If we keep him he is not going to hurt us, and if we trade him I'm assured KP would be getting higher value back.
Outlaw is a good player. That makes him a nice player to keep. Conversely, it makes him great trade bait (bad players don't have much trade value, unless they have a LaFrentzian deal). Whichever way Pritchard goes with Outlaw will work for me. I'd be happy to see him bolster our bench for years (if Outlaw is satisfied with that) and I'd be happy to see him used to bring in, say, a good point guard. Pritchard knows what to do.
Outlaw is what he is, and it's not "bad" so much as it's inconsistent. Beyond that though, I'd rather not focus on the negative and instead focus on the positive that is Nicolas Batum; the Blazers have their starting small forward of the future and that should make us all very pleased. I caught myself saying aloud to my wife at least 4 times today, "Wow. I love Nicolas' game!" They guy is like the second coming of Jerome Kersey, or (fingers crossed) Scottie Pippen.
If there is a reason to trade Outlaw it's the rise of Nicolas Batum. Of course, this all depends on how Webster returns.
I really do not see what this has to do with Nicolas's emergence. Unless Martel has learned how to create for himself and close games strong - all it has done is allowed Portland to concentrate on looking for the PG of the future instead of the SF of the future. Seems to me like we are set with our starting and backup SF with Nic/Travis.
Shhh Ed....we can assume that Travis has turned a corner in his 6th year and learned how to shoot the lights out and play tough D and pass...but Webster at 21/4th year can't possible be anything other than a stand-in-the-corner shooter with a career 39%. Sorry...that was probably out of line. I'll add [/sarcasm] now.
correcting your favorable math, Martell's career averages are 37% from 3's, 41% from the field, 75% from the line. Are those the numbers of a deadeye shooter? These percentages have been relatively stable throughout his career... not much of an upswing. Besides not excelling at rebounding, passing, or D the reason he's depicted as only a stand in the corner shooter is because when he tries to take guys off the dribble he gets stripped. btw, in 5 days he's 22. STOMP
I stand corrected. I thought the 38.8% was his career, not last year. Thanks. I still think it's wild that Nate's called him specifically the defensive stopper last year and yet those who tend to prefer Outlaw praise Outlaw's D and say Webs doesn't excel at rebounding or D. That player usage doesn't factor into anyone's equation. I digress, though. But as I've said multiple times, I'm trying very hard not to say anything about Webster or do any comparisons until he plays this year.
Glen Rice 3 points numbers at 22 - 24.6, 23 - 38.6, 24 - 39.1, Jeff Hornacek 3 point numbers at 23 - 27.9, 24 - 29.3, 25 - 33.3 Reggie Miller 3 point numbers at 22 - 35, 23 - 40.2, 24 - 41.4 all with a 3 point line FURTHER IN as for a more relevent current comparison (coming out of HS, playing stlye, Nate, body similarities) Rashard Lewis at 19 - 16.7, 20 - 33.3 I'm not saying Martell will be one of the great shooters of all time, but unlike Outlaw he is known and defended for his shooting and has still managed to shoot fairly well in his short career. I see no reason for him not to improve, especially that we are now passing and screening much more and he should see many more open shots. Martell has always shot it around the arc and been a threat from every spot. Outlaw definitely has his hot spots and is defended much less on the perimeter (still) than Webster. Those numbers sure do look like they could become the numbers of a dead-eye shooter, just an extremely young one.
sorry but Nate's quotes were that he felt Webster had the potential to be a defensive stopper not that he was one. Nate felt so strongly about Webster's ability to actually do that, that he rarely played him with the game on the line down the stretch. What to believe actions or misquotes? KP was so impressed with Martell's D that he openly pined for a wing defender throughout last year and going into the draft... then of course he traded up for Batum specifically siting his ability to defend. I don't think highly of Travis or Martell's ability to defend... they both struggle on that end. Thats largely why I prefer Batum. I like Travis over Martell as the backup as TO is the better shooter, scorer, rebounder, draws more fouls, and gets more steals and blocks. He can also create his own shot which is an important skill. You've regularly bashed Travis (while praising Martell) and compared them again and again. We'll see how things shake out soon enough. STOMP
