http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/10/breaking_news_mcmillan_changes.html Sorry if this has been mentioned, hadn't seen it on the board yet...
I found this interesting: In other words, can Travis be more than a second team player or is he going to be a career bench guy? If he is going to be a career bench player, then I think he has much less value for the Blazers than if he shows he can be a legitimate starter. Gramps...
Shocking news... since Batum has been with the starters the past week, and on game day, it's suddenly switched up. May have been a little much for the 19-year-old kid to handle on the big stage. Let's go Travis! I hope we don't see another 1 for 12, 2 for 10 clunkers from him.
The more I think about it, and the style Nate wants that second unit to play (uptempo), Batum is probably a good fit off the bench. He can create havoc with his ability to be around the ball and help get that group out on the break, and to be honest his defense will be needed with Rudy and Sergio in the backcourt together.
Wrong choice. Travis is ONLY effective in the game of basketball by getting his shots up. He will not get those shots on this unit. He is the FOURTH option... if I see him taking shots away from better players i'm going to be upset. This may open time up for Bayless though, as I think Bayless can fight for the backup SG position and Rudy slides to the backup 3 position while Sergio is at the bakcup point position. Batum was mainly in the lineup for 10-15 minutes a game because he complimented the starting unit better while Webster was out... Maybe this change wasn't all about Outlaw getting the opportunity to start but shifting the line-up around in other ways like that? IDK just trying to think outside the box.
The biggest problem is if Outlaw can play within the offense and pass the ball to the right guy without taking two dribbles and pulling up for a jumper.
exactly. That is what we need from that position with the starters. Defense, outside shooting and playing within' the flow of the game. Outlaw really doesn't excel at any, and is actually below average at the last one.
Great coaching move. The Lakers had to be preparing on how they were going to exploit Batum now they have to worry about Travis. In the long run I still like Batum as the starter and Travis coming off the bench but for tonight it might be a great move.
This is a big game for Travis. If he can prove he can play effectively with the starters (hasn't shown he can in the past) then his stock goes waaaay up. If he can't, he'll be relegated to spark plug off the bench. That's not a bad thing, but the difference in pay and trade value is huge.
Interesting game-day change. I can see a quick hook coming for Outlaw if he starts off 0-5 and isn't playing good team ball. I really hope that he can find his place with the starting unit.
Seems like a very un-Nate-like last minute move. Either Outlaw has shown him something encouraging in the past few days, or Batum has fallen off. Or Roy or Aldridge said something. My hope is that Outlaw saw what Batum was bringing and used that example to focus his own game on defense. Maybe all the Batum hype was just a mind game by Nate to get Outlaw to focus on the area where he's needed most.
There is one thing that Travis can do that Batum might not be able to do and that is hit an open outside shot ... of course he's streaky as hell and looked pretty pedestrian as a shooter this preseason, but if he (along with Roy and Blake) can hit the corner three at a respectable rate in tonight's game, he has the potential to open up space for LaMarcus and Oden to work inside. Honestly, I think this team is going to be struggling from the small forward position until Martell is back in the lineup, regardless of Batum or Travis getting the start.
Hmmm, that sounds very Jackson-esque; perhaps Nate is learning from Phil? Not that Nate learning from Jackson is bad - if that is the case, that would be a good thing IMO. Gramps...
The SF job is Webster's. Everything the team does until his return is patchwork. Outlaw, if he is the starter for a while, will slide back to the second unit when Martell returns.
Funny Webster was a question mark at the starter at the beginning of the year. Now we all miss having him there.
This is a horrible move. Totally unbalances the first and second units. Travis will be ineffective in the starting unit, since he will - at best - be the third option on every play. He doesn't play well without the ball. He can't rebound. Can't defend. Now we put Batum in with the second unit, which gives us one reliable scorer coming off the bench in Rudy. I just don't see how this move makes any sense. Let's hope Nate quickly recongizes the error in his ways with this decision when we start to see the Travis Outlaw brick and turnover-fest against the Lakers' starters. -Pop
