Blazer Highlights

by ssa400 on Jul 1, 2007 2:04 PM PDT Comment 10 comments

I was just watching some blazer highlights on www.blazersclips.com , and am now just absolutely giddy about next year. The guy on the site has a bunch of clips, one of the more impressive ones is a collection of all of Brandon Roy's clutch plays. We all knew he was clutch, but my god, watching all the plays back to back is an experience.

I've always been a Zach supporter. But now that I looked back at all those highlights, I am unbelievably excited about not having Randolph and Magloire, and even having Pryzbilla play a minimal role. Almost all the "prettier" plays came out of ball movement, and with the addition of Oden, it seems like it'll only get better.

One other thing I noticed was the Outlaw highlights and game footage. The guy's only 22 and can obviously play the 3. He's got a jumper, can drive to the basket and draw fouls, is long, and is easily one of the more exciting finishers in the league. If you're going to keep either Outlaw or Udoka (i can't imagine keeping both), Outlaw seems to be the no-brainer. If we can convince him to keep driving to the basket and not just settle for the J and he'll get better at D, he'll be a solid solid SF. In the mean time Oden and Aldridge will easily makeup for his defensive mistakes. One potential problem is with the trio we have, the game is going to be all about fluid execution, and we can't have Outlaw (if he's going to play big minutes) get lost, hopefully he won't.

After watching the gave footage, a lineup of Jack, Roy, Outlaw, LMA and Oden could be just enough. I don't know how much is too much for Outlaw though. I would guess the MLE is the limit. He would be in the draft this year if he had gone to college and played 4 years, and we do need at least one uber athletic finisher on the team.....

My vote is for Outlaw, any thoughts?

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Watching the highlights

Reinforced my belief in LMA, as he looked even better running the court and finishing and making that turnaround than he did the first time I saw it. I know the Wizards or Hawks have no interior defense but he looked incredible against them. He and Sergio have a good rapport on the court. Outlaw looks good, I hope Blazer faithful aren't forgetting those games against GS and the Jazz, where he made 16FTs in a row and looked like a scorer. I can't wait to see more fast breaks coming off those Oden/Aldridge/Outlaw blocks instead of taking 10 seconds to dribble it up and then throw it to Magloire to start backing down some to set up a jump hook he will miss.

by morescrillaigots on Jul 1, 2007 4:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This is going to be unpopular

and my little Blazer heart dislikes it also, but if forced to choose between the two (assuming that you don't assume either is a waste of space) I think you have to take Travis over Ime. I love Udoka but he's 30, recovering from surgery, and probably won't be a key guy if/when you get good. If you believe in Outlaw at all I don't think you can let him get away when he's still relatively cheap.

However I will admit some suspicion over Travis:

His best moments always seem to come at the end of the season, which in the last few years has meant when the games are pretty meaningless. Whenever he's been put in a prime-time position of responsibility he's been pulled from it fairly quickly.
His best moments of all came at the end of his contract season, which is usually a sign that we need some serious caveat emptoring.
His best moments also came when he did nothing but shoot the ball. He didn't just have a green light, he had a bulldozer and a police escort out in front of him clearing the way. That isn't going to be the case if our team's going to get any good.

If you believe that any of these are fatal flaws then you don't re-sign him.

--Dave

by Dave on Jul 1, 2007 6:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed.

If it comes down to it Trout is more important to keep. This should be the poll question, if you could take one, Outlaw or Udoka, who would it be. We all hope as he matures Travis will improve the things Dave mentioned, being only 22. He's played a lot more than Jermaine did, but who would want to see him leave or get traded for pennies on the dollar to turn into an all-star?

by morescrillaigots on Jul 1, 2007 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

good points

I agree, his main value was at the end of a contract year and when he had the green light to shoot whenever he wanted to. I'm confident that he could give us a solid 13-14 ppg as a starting SF along with some finishing ability from the wings.

Udoka's a great player. But we need to forget that he may "deserve" a roster spot and a nice salary. We have to do what's best for us. If we all agree that the blazers are 3-4 years away from true contention, then what use do we have to give a 30 yr old journeyman (who had surgery just recently) a contract. A team like the spurs who are ready to compete now could use him, and i hope that udoka finds a good home, I just don't see it on a Blazer team.

We made the same mistake when using the "he deserves it" line when we signed Pryzbilla. I know it was a previous front office, but still. Outlaw is only 22, averaged close to 10 ppg, and is a physical specimen. Sergio's gonna need a couple finishers along with Oden and LMA, does he not?

by ssa400 on Jul 1, 2007 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And moreover

we're talking about a sample size of what, like 5 games total? Giving a guy even MLE type money based on 5 games strikes me as being borderline foolish. Especially when the most impressive 2 of those 5 games came as a result of 3 quarters of garbage time in blowout losses that were blowouts from the first quarter on.

I guess there's enough interest that we may give him this type of contract anyways as a tradeable asset. But I've been very disappointed by how little he's improved this year, until the last month of the season.

by howlingfantods on Jul 1, 2007 7:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Worst case scenario...

For Travis is to be a 10 point per game role player and spark plug of the bench. As sad as that is in the NBA that'll get the MLE or around there. Gerald Wallace is going to get 10mil a year for notching 18 and 7 for one of the worst teams in the NBA. Wallace averaged 37 minutes a game last year, Outlaw almost 23. Had Trout been starting and getting 37 minutes of court time for the Bobcats he'd probably have very similar numbers and being 22 to Wallace's soon to be 25 would get an even richer deal. I believe there's more potential, he's improved every year.

by morescrillaigots on Jul 1, 2007 11:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ime: 6'5" and our best perimeter shooter.

Plus a hellacious defender.

So how does this guy NOT spend time at the 2?
Easy: In the starting lineup, we needed a 3 and Roy filled the 2.
But if he moves to the reserves, his 2/3 versatility becomes him SO well.

He's a BenchRaja. A BenchBowen. A WingVinnie.

And if I were a betting man (I'M NOT--this has immense ramifications),
I'd have mucho dinero on Ime winning "Sixth Man Of The Year" honors
before Hillarack Clintobama faces re-election in 2012.

("Hillararack Clintobama"?!?)

Blazers have a five-on-three...and they pull it back and wait for help.

by QualityPie on Jul 1, 2007 6:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

keep both

how expensive can Ime be? For all the disparity in their natural talents, I still don't see Outlaw beating out Udoka. What's Durant's favorite quote? "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard" I think.

Ime works hard. There has to be a place on our roster for him unless someone else throws more money at him.

by matthewcc on Jul 1, 2007 7:02 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

do you let ime go

so outlaw can plaw and develop more? much like we did with zach for LMA?

life is like a bank, you can only take out as much as you put in. -Cal Ripken Sr.

by winnerwinner on Jul 1, 2007 7:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully they can keep both.

I imagine the team will need Ime for his veteran leadership this year, especially since Zach is gone and Oden and Aldridge are so young.

Has there been an explaination of why the Blazers purchased the contract of James Jones? Was that part of the price for getting the 24th pick or did they think he is going to be needed on the team?

by bbfred on Jul 1, 2007 8:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs