This is why we've had two presidents in a row who clearly made massive screwups, yet never accepted any personal responsibility. Bush sites his biggest mistake as the failure of intelligence agencies to thoroughly vet WMD data. (Wow, way to go out on a limb. "My mistake was that other people made mistakes.") Clinton declares, "I did not have sex with that woman." Outlaw's biggest mistake seems to be that he admitted to making a mistake. You do that and you get crucified. Outlaw shouldn't have even acknowledge the mistake happened. We're beyond passing the buck now. The safe option is to pretend the buck isn't there.
OK...I have to speak up on this one. For over two years now (some almost six), there have been people who think Outlaw is not good at understanding the game of basketball. Anytime it's brought up that he's had a really dumb turnover/play that led to us losing a game, or almost losing a game, there is a legion of people on here who decide that it's their mission in life to ensure "Travis Hate" isn't tolerated. They bring up records in close games, come up with alternate explanations for "crunch time" stats, the fact that Outlaw's loved by his teammates or anointed "Mr. 4th Quarter" by the media. Those who dare to point out flaws, bad plays, general cluelessness, etc. are effectively shouted down. Now, in a game where a) the coach lights him up for a stupid play, b) he admits he made a stupid play, c) he admits that his play directly led to a loss; in THIS game people are posting that "his biggest mistake is that he admitted making a mistake". Nope, his biggest mistake is a toss-up between not knowing what the 24-second clock said when it's nearing zero, taking a 3 with a bunch of time left on the clock and up five (and don't mistake me, I'm even more critical of Blake's crunch time play) and his mental lapse on the last offensive play, while not denying the ball on the last defensive play. You know, the ones the coach lit him up for? And what did he say? "Eh, sometimes you just have to take it." There are some starting to come around: "Ugh, yes - it was a mistake by Travis - but he did keep us in the game in the first half", "It's Nate's fault for putting him out there in a clutch defensive assignment", "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", "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. ", "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." But there are still apologists who think he's the Man for standing up to his mistakes without acknowledging that if he does any one of those 4 "bonehead" plays better, we win. I'm not talking about missing shots, or having someone play good D...I'm talking about bonehead plays. This is not a "trade Travis now" post. This is a "this is who he is, and no amount of wishing from fans isn't going to change that he isn't a) trustworthy in close-and-late situations, and b) going to understand the game soon, no matter how much Nate 'trusts' him to" post. In much this situation last year, there were many (me being one of the loudest) saying that Jack should be traded not because he's a bad guy, but b/c Nate doesn't use him in situations where he can help the team out, or pull him when he shouldn't be out there. There are plenty more options. If you need someone spotted up in a corner to hit a three, Travis is your man. If you need someone to shoot a bailout shot, he's your man. If you need a rebound, defensive stop, foul drawn, average-to-intelligent play, ballhandling, etc. then he's not one of the top 5 options on the team. It's that simple. Light me up Salinger
The only thing I am not buying from the rant above is that Travis is not going to get better. He gets better every year - he is not going to be a superstar - but he is becoming better. If he can be a center-piece of getting you someone much better - no problem - but you have to look at what Travis does for and against you and decide if it is worth it in the large picture. My opinion is that he tips the balance in your favor more than he tips it against. The same, btw - was the Jack situation - we got a chance to get a much better prospect than Jack in Bayless - so I have no issues with the trade - but the people that were calling for Sergio to get Jack's minutes last year were crazy - Sergio played like garbage last year. This year - we have to choose between Batum and Outlaw - and on games where Batum played well - he got more minutes. Last night - Batum had a bad game and Outlaw was balling in the first half - but why is his mistake (on a night shooting 50% 3-6 of the night) the scapegoat when Sergio (who never shoots well) was an awful 3-9 for the game? Do we really want Sergio shooting 9 shots when Outlaw only took 6? Outlaw made a mistake, one that he admitted to. But he was put in position to lose us the game by this mistake because as a team we shot miserable from the 3 last night - Rudy 1-5, Steve 0-2, Roy 1-4 (would have been 1-3 if Outlaw or Rudy were there to bail him). Outlaw is there because he has a rare talent - he can take these bailout shots - and that usually puts him in a miserable place when he makes a mistake - not too many people are willing to accept this role. Let's stop the bitching and start appreciating what we have here. At the end of the night - the game was lost by our piss poor long ball performance and the Magic's magical shooting night.
I can't put this all on Travis. Sorry. Not going to happen. We played really great basketball for 90% of the game. Our defense was weaker than it should have been, but we were able to weather a team shooting 52% from downtown and over 50% from the field. We should have won this game. Travis made some mistakes, so did Blake, so did Roy... If Roy had made his freethrows, this whole thing would have been moot. If Blake hadn't turned the ball over, there wouldn't have been a problem. I was just disappointed that we were able to take their best shot for the whole game, and then we melted down at the very end. Sad. And in regards to Travis, I've been saying it for years now. I really like him. He's a good guy. He has talent. He'll never be able to overcome his low basketball IQ. I had to laugh when they said he is working on his awareness last night during the broadcast. You can't teach awareness. You can't teach basketball IQ. You either have it or you don't. This will be a problem that we will see with Travis throughout his career. Things like, letting the shot clock expire because he wasn't aware of how much time was left, or shooting the ball too soon because he wasn't aware of how much time was left. If the Blazers want to keep him, fine, but don't play him in crunch time.
Great post. Couldn't agree more Brian. Not really much to add. I have had the same criticism of Outlaw fo rthe last two years, and I guess as opposed to him changing his game, I need to just change my expectations, or get used to it. So be it. I will continue to be labeled a "hater" for pointing out the same flaws that were apparent in Outlaw's game at the beginning of last year, and I am fine with that. Seems too many on here say Let the Cake Bake, Chemistry Matters, No Trades!, etc. Yet after last season, when we had really good chemistry, and started our cake baking, we got rid of James Jones, a well liked player on the team and good shooter, Jarret Jack, another very well liked player on the team, seemingly a good friend of everyone on the team, and brought in 2 rookies who don't speak the language well, and another rookie not getting any time. Yet, miraculously, our chemistry is again top notch. Surprisingly, making trades, and changing up a full third of the roster did not adversely affect our chemistry, yet everyone assumes that were a trade to be made, it would do just that, as if KP will all of a sudden do a 180 from the way he has been building this team, and look specifically for someone to kill the chemistry.
That's me appreciating what we have. And how has his game awareness gotten better in the last 3 years? (Rhetorical and anecdotal: I can't bring a stat to change your mind and I don't think you could change mine on this) As far as Sergio's 3-9...maybe we don't want Sergio taking 9 shots...but he was the same % as Travis from 3 (2-4), he took 5 shots outside the paint (making 3) and the rest of his shots were at the hoop. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=281209022 Compare to Travis, who had one shot inside the free-throw line out of 6. I choose to disagree...our "piss poor long ball performance" had us up 8 with 1:40 to play. Our piss-poor decision making (2 by Blake, 2 by Outlaw) and inability to get a single point by foul shot or in the paint in the last 1:40 directly contributed to the loss. The sooner people start to realize that, the fewer piss-contest debates we'll have on here, imo.
I see Outlaw gets a lot of blame for this loss and deservedly so, but Blake had a critical turnover down the stretch, personally I think that hurt more than Outlaw's error....
You can choose to disagree until the cows come home - but if Rudy shoots 4-9 instead of 3-9 Outlaw's mistake would not matter, if Sergio realizes that he is shooting a miserable 36% from the field this year and takes only 5 shots instead of 9 - passing to someone who shoots better than him on the team (just about anyone on the team, when it comes to FG%) - we are not putting Outlaw in this position. Outlaw made a mistake. He manned up and admitted it. This would not be a case if some people would notice their mistakes during the game and not press - there was no point for Sergio to shoot so many shots when he bricks 2 out of 3, on a night when Rudy is shooting so bad from the outside - he should drive more and shoot closer ones. Outlaw made a mistake, simple as that. On the other hand - he is not the only one that did it - and putting it all on him because his was late in the game while others were doing it earlier is just poor analysis. The game is played for 48 minutes - it means that you can not show up to play just at the end of the game and you can not dog it all game long and show up for a short burst at the end of the 3rd/start of the 4th as Sergio and Rudy did last night.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I totally agree that having Blake in there doing what he did hurt as much as Travis during the last 1:40. And that's what I've been posting all day, up until I saw someone say "Travis's biggest mistake was saying he made a mistake". That focused it on him for me.
Rudy was taking good shots. Sergio's shot selection was solid. They didn't HIT their shots, but their execution was good. The same cannot be said for Outlaw. In any case, so many (not all, of course) of Outlaw's supporters have hammered away at how clutch he is and how he's more valuable to the team (and, indeed, a better player in spite of not starting and playing fewer minutes than Webster) because of his ability to close out games. Even the BEST player can't win every game, and last night was in many ways a fluke, but given how his reputation amongst some fans is built on similarly flukish (but successful) situations, I think it's fair to counter that with what he did last night. Ed O.
Fine. I choose to disagree. We were up 8 with 1:40. We did not win the game. Therefore, anything happening before 1:40 is not relevant to the conversation of "who lost the game for us". Not Roy's free throws, not Rudy's shooting. Did you even look at the Sergio and Outlaw shot charts? Travis missed more jumpers than Sergio did. (Hmmm....) But let's just focus on the last 1:40. I know you probably don't want to b/c it's not a good story for Travis. Travis made 4 mistakes in the last 3 minutes (3 in the last 1:40), simple as that. Blake made 2 huge ones. Roy should've made his FTs...but he didn't have a chance to shoot FTs b/c Blake and Travis were jacking up 3's and turning it over. I'm intrigued about what else you plan on bringing up. It seems simple to me...but I admit my mind doesn't think the same way others' do sometimes.
outlaw blames himself? lol..who the f..k cares? we lost...it doesnt change the record or the fact hes a deer in head lights who takes awful shots. its like...great outlaw blames himself. oh well...we f@@kin lost
How the fuck do you forget to cut to the hoop when this is the play drawn up by the coach? Words can't describe that kind of mistake. That's something you don't forget man.
I am sorry. I fail to understand how shooting 1-5 from the 3 (as Rudy did) was good execution. I do not understand how a 36% FG shooter who usually takes 3.8 shots a game decides to take 9 shots in a game and converts them at 33% is good execution. They might have got to the spots they wanted to shoot from properly (and that part of the execution is fine) - but if you shoot 3 or 4 from there and see that you miss - maybe it is time to consider doing something else. Really? So it's bad when Outlaw shoots 50% from the field but it's good when Rudy and Sergio shoot 33%? These numbers do not mean much if Outlaw was forcing shots and Sergio/Rudy had a couple of bad ones and concentrated on doing something else - but Outlaw took just 6 shots last night - Rudy and Sergio took 9 each. I generally speaking do not have an issue with Rudy taking many shots - because he usually converts them - but if your 3rd 3P attempt bricks maybe it's OK take a couple of steps into the 2P area and try to make an easier one before you let the 4th and 5th fly. In Sergio's case - there is just no reason for him take 9 shots in 28 minutes, just no reason. He got into an "I am better than you" pissing match with Jameer Nelson and took way more shots than he should. I find it hard to understand what the problem is - Outlaw made a mistake, every one agrees to it - including Outlaw himself. No problem there - but his overall performance during this game was not as harmful as the number of bad shots taken by others (Sergio, Blake and to a degree Rudy), the turn-overs made by some (Batum, Blake) and the missed free-throws that Roy had. Me, I like Outlaw for what he does for you and what the cost is - he is a low cost player that shoots exceptionally well from far, can bail you out with tough shots when the play breaks (and he remembers to come bail you out - which he did not do last night) and can play decent defense most nights. If there is a better option out there - I am sure KP will make a trade to make the team better - but we had no-one better last night (Batum had a bad, bad game) - and at the end of the day - his play last night was not the reason we lost the game.
Outlaw was +/- 0 for the game. We did not lose because of him. I can't imagine how his mistake is worse than Sergio missing 4 layups at range zero?
I ask again...DID YOU LOOK AT THE F'ING SHOT CHART!?!?! Sergio shot better outside the paint than Travis did. He was 2-4 from 3, Travis 1-3. Travis was 1-2 on mid-range jumpers, Sergio 1-1. Travis took the ball to the rim one time, and made it. Sergio did it 4 times, didn't make it, though it was slammed through for a basket 3 times (no assist counted). He also had double the amount of foul shots (and made them all). I don't understand why you're digging this hole, Andalusian. Rudy and Sergio and Roy and LMA (with Travis on the floor) brought the team back from a 10 point deficit to an 8 point lead with 1:40 left. Travis's 4 bad plays in 3 minutes, as well as Blake's 2 bad plays in 2 minutes, DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTED to the team's surrender of an 8-point lead with less than 2 minutes left. There is really no other way around it. You can credit SVG for throwing a "confusing" defense at us, perhaps knowing that we didn't really have great ballhandlers on the floor, or defensive-minded players, or (in Travis' case) smart players. But you absolutely cannot deny (and still be credible) that Travis and Blake (and if you want to include Nate and Roy, I won't stop you, though I disagree) were directly responsible for the loss. Case closed. Coach said so, announcers said so, reporters say so, Travis says so....why can't you say so?
Who, specifically, are the posters here who don't think Travis is a little thick? I can't think of anybody here who has ever said, "Travis Outlaw has great (or even mediocre) basketball smarts." I can't think of anybody here who "shouts down" those who point out his dumb mistakes. The closest I can come to any of that is my point that his biggest mistake was admitting to mistakes. But that was couched in my observation about the sad state of politics, and how anybody who ever admits to doing anything wrong seems to get crucified. So it's easier (as two recent presidents did) to simply ignore everything that goes wrong. The funny thing is that I pretty much agree with your assessment of Outlaw's basketball skills. He's not bright. But then Sergio isn't a great perimeter shot, Frye can't play in the post, Blake isn't a threat at the rim, and Rudy doesn't have a great handle. All those guys, just like Outlaw, have weaknesses. You just have to evaluate them against their strengths. But it's silly to say that there's a witch hunt going on against anybody who speaks ill of Outlaw. He's a backup small forward with insane athleticism, a decent jumper, a nice personality, and little intelligence. I like the guy as a player, warts and all, but I'm not going to pretend he's unassailable. I think most of the people who like him feel the same.
Mook, I understand what your original post was saying...I wasn't trying to speak against yours, it was just the last one I read before I started writing. But I could name 3 posters off the top of my head who, every time I point out a Travis flaw (even if it's couched with his strengths), come up with a "Travis Hater" holier-than-thou response. Your last post was a good example of the kind of posting I like responding to. But I disagree that most people "think he's a backup small forward with insane athleticism". Most of those I'm calling out think he's "clutch", even in the face of statistics. They think he should start. They think I'm a fool for even discussing that Outlaw should be traded. When he messes up, they'll preemptively post something like "let me beat BrianFromWA to it and totally exaggerate right now". When he plays well, I'll see things like "where's BrianFromWA now?" Just looking at this thread, there is a poster who's not able to admit that Travis and Blake directly contributed to the loss. End of story.
Yes, I still can't believe that we have an NBA player on the roster that misses 4 layups in 28 minutes of play. Feel better? I am the one digging a hole? If there is a run with Travis on the floor it is the other players that are responsible - but if we get our ass kicked with him on the floor - it is his fault only? Travis did not have a good game. He did not have a horrible game either - and the reason we lost the game (which is played over 48 minutes, not over 1:40 as you continue to harp) is because they shot the lights out and we shot like crap - and since it was not just Travis that shot like crap... you can not blame it all on him. ... and Travis did not have 4 bad plays - he had one big mistake - but he is no worse than Rudy not coming to bail Roy when it was his man that was used to trap Roy, or Blake that lost the ball or Roy that did not stop and try to move backwards when he was trapped. Really, Travis made a mistake, no one is disagreeing. Taking this mistake however into the reason that we lost the game is a witch-hunt - when there is either enough blame to go around - or - as I like to look at it - understanding that this was overall a pretty good game for us - and we lost it on an off-night with our shot and the opponent going crazy hot from the 3 point line. If you insist that I am digging a hole because I see that the game is played for 48 minutes - so be it. I still stand by my theory that there were enough mistakes during the game that there is no real reason to continue the on-going witch-hunt - when the witch admits she is bobbing in the water... but if you feel the need to continue running through the street with your pitch-forks shouting at the top of your lungs... well, enjoy
