That is why he hit all the big shots last season. And last night, the Lakers were all over us and Roy and Oden were as nervous as hell. But Outlaw wasn't AT ALL. He doesn't get shaken when the pressure is on. That is a valuable player to have on our team. Rudy is also fearless. That is why they were our best players last night. They were not shaken by playing in Los Angeles against a Lakers team that wanted to make up for the 39 point drubbing that ended their season 4 months ago.
I agree. Outlaw, Bayless and Rudy...they were ready to play and weren't fearing anything. Roy slept the first half, then woke up later...... I need to watch more games before I can make more observations.
Outlaw was absolute garbage at first. He only started hitting shots once we were way down. Not a whole lot of pressure when you're down 18. He hit big shots last year in the 4th, but I'm not going to applaud him for getting hot after starting off horrible-which was part of why we got down by so much.
Here's what happened exactly: http://www.nba.com/games/20081028/PORLAL/playbyplay.html He scored 2 pts in the first quarter on 1-2 shooting. That's right. He took TWO SHOTS in the first quarter. How was that disruptive?? Then in the second quarter Outlaw hit a three, a layup, and a jump shot on 3-5 shooting for the quarter. 9 points at halftime. Then in the third quarter, he hit a three and another jump shot to open the third quarter as part of our 14-0 run (which started in the second quarter) to pull us within 8 at 49-41. So there you go, 14 of his points were scored when we were still fighting to win the game. So at that point he was shooting 6-9 from the field. He went 2 of 6 the rest of the way. Not a bad game at all.
You're totally wrong. Outlaw wasnt good from the get go. Hit his first basket. Had about 2 points in the first quarter. Hit a (singular) big open three early on(first half). Kept us in the game(made two buckets in a row in 2nd quarter). Watch the game again. You're completely wrong. Think Im wrong? Link Cocaine's a helluva drug...
LOTS of pressure when you're down 18. The crowd is going nuts and you have to figure out a way to get the team back into the game. WHICH he DID. 9 points in the first half. Totally unforced. And then he scored the first 5 points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 10. Then LMA made it 8. And when exactly did he start off HORRIBLE? He shot 1 of 2 in the first quarter. And don't tell me he didn't shoot enough. You'd be all over him if he did.
Read the post above you. I corrected myself and posted the truth. He shot 4-7 in the first half. He didn't force anything. He didn't dominate the shooting in the first quarter as people thought he did. And he scored the first 5 points of the second half. So the idea that he got his points in garbage time is bullshit. All the knocks against Outlaw are unfounded. Yes, he only made 1 shot in the first quarter but that's my POINT. People would have DESTROYED Outlaw if he shot anymore. The whole knock on him was that he was a black hole who makes it harder on the other starters. Couldn't be further from the truth. He played great. Period.
What is bad about 1 of 2 in the first quarter? That is not garbage. He deferred to LMA and Roy who stunk up the joint. Then he asserted himself a bit more in the second and then again at the start of the third. But he couldn't do it by himself.
I am not Outlaw's biggest fan, but he's in an impossible situation with some Blazers fans. He shoots a lot? He's disruptive. If he makes a lot of shots? They're still "too difficult" or "out of the flow of the offense". If he doesn't shoot? He's worthless. Sadly, of course, he only does one thing well: score. When he doesn't get to the line, he's not even particularly good at that. He needs shots to be effective and that's why I think, long term, he'll be nothing more than a Vinnie Johnson-kind of "instant offense from the bench" kinda guy for the Blazers. Ed O.
I didn't say anything was wrong with it. But he won't be a cornerstone of the team if he's limited to that. Ed O.
how many blocked shots did "Black Homer" average? Last year @23 Travis shot 40% from 3's while Vinny's best year was 30% and he was a career 25% guy. This really seems like a bad comparison. If Travis can produce at starter minute levels what he's averaged per minute thus far he'll likely average more then a steal and a block a game. Very few players do this and most are on the All D teams. Dude does have some attributes besides just scoring. STOMP
I find it interesting that many people think Webster is a significantly better defender than Outlaw. Both are pretty bad mano-a-mano (though Webster may be less wretched). OTOH, it seems to me that Outlaw is at least adequate in a zone scheme. (and better than Webster, in that regard)
toss to outlaw...offense grinds to a hault...dripple....dripple.....up he goes so high in the sky...shoots...clank....does not fight for the ball....clank....bad clank.
