Defense is another issue.  We know that Martell has a ways to go in that dept, and we've heard reports that Jones is an above-average defender.  But no one has said Jones is a stopper, and Martell seems dedicated to improving at the defensive end.  

So I'd say that unless Martell loses his shooting touch and shows no improvement defensively, he'll start and Outlaw & Jones will come off the bench.  (Travis might end up playing a lot of 4.)  

I hope you understand that I wasn't taking credit for anything other than feeling good about recent events, and my feeling that he would surpass Outlaw as the top SF on the current roster.  If that happens, all the credit goes to Martell.

Your points are very valid.  It is only 3 preseason games.  But it is not useless info.

How could you be concerned about his performance if it was poor without taking note about his performance if it is superlative?  That's contradictory, at best.

After all, look how much concern Outlaw's performance has generated so far.

Should we discount that just because preseason games don't get you in the playoffs?

For an average winning team, the preseason is almost meaningless.

But for a team like ours, which is in a crucial developmental phase, I say that preseason games are VERY important.  Not because we win or lose, but because they present an opportunity for young players to battle for playing time and starting roles, and for the team to experiment with and forge its identity.

An opportunity that Martell and The Blazers, clearly, have seized and relished.

Which is one of the reasons I've felt that Blake could be a mainstay on this team, despite his age, when we are contending for championships in 3-5 years.

We need that defensive stopper off the bench to contain the Kobe's and Durant's of the world.

Although ideally, I would prefer Nicholas Batum to take that role (somehow I don't see Blake slowing down Durant in the slightest).

Come on, ping pong ball!

But what can I do, I'm employed by the team...

He was good for some comic relief, perhaps even insight on rare occasions.

But there were too many instances where he went totally over the line in defending an obviously insane point of view, to the point where he dragged the level of conversation down to that of the forum on oregonlive.com.

I'm pretty sure most of us come here to avoid juvenile venues such as that, for some real discussion with serious and respectful sports fans.

It takes maturity, initiative, and self-discipline--all psychological features--to adopt & integrate that exposure into success on the hardwood.  Martell has had the same amount of college as Outlaw has, but he is experiencing a resurgence as of late in part due to his increased effort & maturity.  Do you think it's possible that Outlaw is struggling due to lack of the same?

PS., You bring up a good point about Martell's ability to punish a defense from long-range on the break.  This could have the effect of spreading a defense, even on the run, for deeper penetration by the ball-handler and wings.  Do you feel that this, in itself, makes Martell a better fast-break asset than Outlaw?

It's a good question, and I think you're right.

My logic is flawed.

Why?

I'm basing my vision of Outlaw's game on the open floor based on where his game SHOULD be, as opposed to where it actually IS.

Truth is that he's not even in shape right now, which is a pretty crappy thing if you're trying to beat everyone up the floor with some consistency and slam it home.

So I'll retract my statement and concur with jscot:  Martell is more effective, right now, no matter what kind offense we're running.

PS., I think jscot answered your question about the half-court set as well.  There are a LOT of reasons why he will excel in a free-flowing half-court game.  Roy, Oden, and LMA are three of them.