http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2008/12/blazers_slip_down_stretch_agai.html Reading the article makes me feel better. It humanizes the loss.
He just has low basketball IQ, he should have never been in there on the defensive side. It should have been Batum guarding Hedo. Man to man, Batum is unquestionably better than Travis' cement feet.
He didn't do anything wrong on the defensive side. Hedo just made a tough lucky bank shot that no one could've guarded. Outlaw's problem was on the offensive possession before.
I don't think he got up into him enough or moved his feet quick enough. Either way, it's on Nate to put Batum in there instead of Travis on the defensive side. I even said it was a mistake to have Blake on Jameer, instead they should have put Bayless on him.
Travis was pretty weak on D but the entire last 2 minutes seemed like no Blazers realized that the Magic were shooting over 50% 3-pointers. Shooters were getting wide open looks the entire time. We got away with poor perimeter defense in Toronto, but the Magic burned us. We should have been fouling Dwight Howard instead of letting them bomb away if we can't close on shooters.
This is why we need to get rid of Travis. Yeah he is a good player, a Blazer and all that. But what if some bullshit like this happened in the WCF, game 7 and Travis blows it for us? We cannot have MORONS on the team like Travis. How can you NOT have a decent basketball IQ after playing the game YOUR ENTIRE LIFE? I think we need to get Hedo.
Someone has siad it before, and I thought it was right on the money. Travis sucks. Oh wait, that was me who said it.
Ugh, yes - it was a mistake by Travis - but he did keep us in the game in the first half. In the same vain - Roy missed 5 FT, Rudy missed a ton of 3s, Blake was off tonight (but won us last game), Oden had a bad game (but Joel was bad in the last one). At least he is man enough to say "it was my mistake". Hopefully - he will learn from it. Good game all-around. Props to the Magic. Time to go and get Utah.
This is not WHY you get rid of Travis. It's Nate's fault for putting him out there in a clutch defensive assignment. Travis has low IQ, we all know that but he brings pros to the court as well. I wouldn't have Travis in the clutch moments of any game despite his many clutch shots last season, but he's a good spark off the bench. It's Nate's job to realize his weakness and go in a different direction. Now if we are able to get an upgrade in talent? Yea, trade him all night long. It would be sweet if we could acquire Caron Butler some how.
Free throws, bad perimeter defense, and lucky shooting....Watchu gunna do brotha? I don't like Travis in on defense in these situations, I'd much rather have Rudy, but oh well....today's a new game.
Rudy is too short to go against a 6'10'' Turk in this situation. In the future we will have Nic in there. He is still a rook and needs seasoning - but it will come.
The thing I find interesting about Outlaw is how much my perception of his game differs from the box score. Usually, players are more than the stats indicate, with hustle plays, help defense, etc. Statistically, Outlaw had a pretty good game yesterday. However, his decision making and defense (other than the one good help play on Howard) were borderline horrible. Basically, unless it's a spot up jumper, I have no confidence in the outcome of an Outlaw play... In the last minute yesterday, his top of the key 3-pointer seemed to rub off on the mentality of his teammates, encouraging them all to be chuckers when all they needed was one basket to milk the lead. It's like he keeps his stats good but manages to lower the stats of his teammates. Sort of an anti-point guard.
WOW! We have a weak minded team. Let's trade them all and start over. Blake being forced to hand over the ball to the Magic, not be able to inbound the ball, Roy drbbling into a double team in the corner and then chucking a desperation shot...all because of Outlaw's bad karma. If you are a winner you won't be influenced by such trivial things. We had a 8 pt. lead and Travis cost us the game. I'll be nice and not tell you what I really think. But Roy will learn to share the ball late again...he did this early in the season and then adjusted from trying do all the scoring himself while his teammates look on.
Did you see the look Nate gave him after the shot clock violation? They called a timeout after the next play and Travis was the last one in. I swear it's because he didn't want to face Sarge. I know it was a really dumb mistake by someone who is supposed to be a veteran but at that moment I just felt so sorry for him.
This again makes me wonder if Outlaw just seems to have a low bbiq because we are sensitive to him making mistakes, or if he really does. I've been pretty sure that it's the latter for some time, but I still would rather be proven wrong and it's painful to see him make mistakes like that Ed O.
Dude has asthma. Lack of oxygen to the brain as a child is what I suspect. I am still jealous of him though, what I wouldn't give to have his physical ability (without asthma of course)
Please do not call our guys morons, if you like to base our own, then fucking be a radiers fan or some lame shit like that. Travis fucked up, but he wasn't the whole reason we lost.
