He had a good game. He had the matchup he wanted though. Like I have always said, he performs best when he gets a slow power forward type to have to guard him from the perimeter. That's what he had last night and he has always thrived in that sort of matchup. That is why Nate uses him off the bench to replace Lamarcus, is to exploit that very matchup which is usually there every time.
Everyone is saying they would like to see Travis and Martell be more consistent. They have been consistent, just not in a good way... but thats why they're paid like rotation level players. STOMP
I liked what Travis did last night, for sure - but I also liked what I saw from Webster. He moved without the ball a lot better than I have seen him before. If this continues - he will have a much better year. Good to see, overall.
Damn Kingspeed, you really do have a hard-on for Trout! Played a great game, but he's also shot us out of a lot of games w/bad decisions etc. If he can do what he did last night with consistency every time he plays, then I will definitely add him back into my NBA2K10 roster
Travis was just relied on way too much last season as our No. 3 go-to scorer. This season, with a couple more offensive weapons, I think he doesn't have that kind of pressure to score 15-20 a night, and he can just go out and play off Andre or Greg or Brandon or LaMarcus, and just be that guy that no one else is paying attention to on the floor. He can still go to the boards a bit more, but we've been saying that for awhile now.
Surprisingly - I think Travis might benefit most from Miller's addition - because on offense Travis has always been a pretty big mismatch for most players - and Miller seems to be able to get him the ball in the right place to take advantage of these mismatches. That alley-oop thing was a thing of beauty.
Well said and pretty much spot on. I want more D, rebounding and all around hustle from Travis. If he brings those things I can live with his cold spells. It's when he is cold and lacksadasical on defense and rebounding that I become enraged with him. His decision making was still suspect in this game and at least one of Greg's TO's should have been Outlaw's as Greg was in Auto-dunk position in the paint and Travis held the ball so long that Oden got called for 3 in the key. That said fucking fantastic effort by Outlaw. Also what about Martell Webster? He was fantastic! Exactly what we need from our 3.
we realigned our expectations? How about... (past performances x hopes that they'll improve) / fears that they'll regress STOMP
Can you image a bench player being inconsistent. That doesn't happen much. He just needs to hustle every night. His shot will be off every few games as with all players. But if he works hard every night then he is a huge asset coming off the bench.
Did you guys see Outlaw's current PER on ESPN? 2009-10 Current PER: 31.49 League Average Comparison: +16.49 He's currently at #4! I know the sample size is small but I thought that was interesting. Hell, if he can keep this up he's got the Most Improved Award in the bag! His projected per is actually much lower and suppose to be worse than last year's: Projected PER: 14.78 2008-09 PER: 15.15
Would that statement be "I don't give a fuck that Oden is wide open under the basket with a 6'6" forward guarding him, I am still going to get up more shots per minute than anyone"?
Reminds me of the poster who tried to claim that Zach was at fault for Webster struggling at the FT line. Outlaw didn't make Oden turn the ball over 7 times.
There were stretches where he looked like a POWER forward out there. I don't believe for a minute it's something he can maintain for one he's not built that way. Physically or mentally. But I agree, for about two quarters, Outlaw was a different Outlaw last night. But he went back to him old self in the fourth.
I'm not sure where I said he did? Oden had 3 actual TO's. 3 others on offensive fouls, and 1 on a 3 second violation.
As a long-time card carrying member of the Trade Travis for Value Club, I have to admit he had a great game. Good job Travis. Keep it up.
Yes he is not built like a prototypical PF. But more and more PF's are hanging out at the 3 pt line. Can Howard guard those guys? Hell know. But then again Travis can't muscle up inside like Howard. So it is good that we have both. (Plus Joel and Dante) Plus on offense the slow muscle guys can't stay with Travis. Bottom line it is his best position.
I am one of the biggest, if not the biggest anti-Outlaw posters here and I have to say he really brought it. It's not like I want the kid to fail. If he can do what he did last night 2 out of every 3 games then he is a keeper. If he can only do it one out of three games he is fools gold. I want Outlaw to succeed only because it will help Portland win games. He did that last night. I hope he does it again tomorrow.
