Today's Poll

In my opinion, a clutch player needs to “pull the team to victory through both offense and defense for at least 1/2 of the regular season.”

So you might not like this definition. But it distinguishes a “good game” vs. “clutch”

Kobe is Clutch.

Paul Pierce is Clutch.

Steve Blake is not.

3, count them, 3 besides Roy.

Blake nailed free throws down the stretch in Orlando, then hits the icer last night.

Outlaw hits free throws down the stretch as well as stupid shots that end up being huge.

Rudy… need I really say more?

Even though I’m not Travis’ biggest fan, he’s earned the title of clutch player. Last year’s game winning shot clinched it for him.

Rudy’s already shown plenty of clutch, even while missing a shot against Utah (even clutch players miss big shots sometimes… MJ did a commercial around it!)

Believe it or not, I’d have considered Jarrett if he was still here. He hit some big ones in big moments.

for Outlaw and Rudy..

I think Blake would need to do this a bit more.. also.. Chris Quinn made free throws to win the game for Miami before we came to town.. Think heat fans are voting on whether chris quinn in clutch (he was a good shooter in college so maybe there is something there.. heh)

Do we have a defensive clutch player? I remember times last season when outlaw blocked a huge shot.. and Rudy and Roy show moments..

I got that poll right yesterday and I deserve a prize.

I think Rudy is clutch and LA has it in him. I voted 1 but would have liked to vote 1.5.

I think of a “clutch player” as a person who perseveres and excels in difficult and high pressure situations.

Blake ain’t clutch, Travis ain’t clutch.
RUDY

but there were definitely enough instances of clutch play last year.. on both ends

but would be nervous if it was anyone else, not to say that they might not be able to hit it and pleasantly surprise!

“Down the stretch” is a term for horseracing, coming to the finish line.

Travis, whether concious of it or not, elevates his game in crunch time. He soars high when the game is on the line. He has a shooter’s conscience. Hey, Jordan missed alot of game winners. Travis is clutch often enough to count.

Blake is steady. He does not “clutch” (break under pressure) nor is he exceptional in crunch time. Yes, put him in with the lead — deadeye at the line and knows when not to risk a TO.

Big obvs for BRoy and Rudy. Clutch and clutch. They do it on both ends.

And no, you cannot be .5 clutch. LMA can get there — he’s still working out a full arsenal of moves.

I think of clutch players as ones who will actually perform better in game winning situations. E.g. Brandon would have missed that long jumper against huston most of the time if he were just practicing. However the game was on the line, so he hit it. Travis and Rudy both seem to get better in high pressure situations.

Blake is not clutch but he’s not afraid of the pressure either. I feel like blake is unaffected by pressure more than anything else. That’s fine, in fact that’s much better than most people who tend to cave under pressure, however he’s not like Brandon, Travis or Rudy. They take that pressure and feed off of it. It makes them better, whereas i just dont think it affects blake at all.

Potential such handbags on our team?
(BRoy, of course)
Travis
LaMarcus
Rudy
Bbbblake?

In order to be “clutch,” you have to be significantly better down the stretch than you are during the course of the game. For example, Kobe is not “clutch”— Kobe is just “ridiculously good.” To me, how clutch you are is relative to how good you are in general.

I don’t know if Rudy is “clutch” yet. Rudy makes shots in the 4th quarter because Rudy is just really good. I haven’t seen evidence that he gets even better down the stretch. However, give me a really good player over a mediocre but “clutch” player any day of the week.

Last year, Outlaw showed signs of being bigtime clutch— he played by far his best ball down the stretch of games. We haven’t really seen it this year, however.

LMA is a good player, but he hasn’t been any better in big moments than in the 1st quarter. Again, give me a good player over a clutch player anyday.

So, Roy is the only Blazer who I would call “clutch” by my definition, with Outlaw being close.

one thing I was thinking about is how much we’ve swtiched lamarcus onto the opposing players best perimeter defender in the fourth quarter.. there haven’t been any obvious massive plays to point to like a block or steal but I think LMA could earn the right to be called a clutch defender before a clutch shooter

Outlaw has mad a couple of lucky late shots, But would you rather had him shoot the 3 to be Houston instead Brandon, I do not think so, maybe Rudy not Travis.

Rudy and a revolving clutch Blazer, game by game. I love how every night, someone else will come up huge with a block, steal, 3, dunk, or what have you.

Brandon and Rudy are clutch. TO will take the shot, but hasn’t yet proven to be clutch. Everyone else isn’t.

Being “clutch” in basketball is all about the 4th quarter and specifically about 4th quarters where the difference in the score is < 8pts.

There it’s all about free throw percentage, field goal percentage, minimizing turnovers and shutting down your man’s offence.

In order to make my clutch list, you must be noteworthy in these categories and make noticeable contributions to difficult wins in at least 10 games over the course of a season. So, jury’s still out on the current crop. Right now, I’m going with Brandon, Blake, Rudy, Trout, and LaMarcus. Lot of guys with clutch-potential though.

Jerry West, aka “Mr Clutch,” has said that he didn’t actually hit a higher percentage of his shots in crunch time. He said it just seemed that way because most players CHOKE under those circumstances. In other words, if you just continue to hit your normal percentage with the game on the line, you’re clutch.

By that definition, Roy, Trout, Rudy, and LaMarcus are all clutch IMO. I might add Blake to that list. In fact, I can’t think of a current Blazer, who—when he gets the ball in a clutch situation—I yell at my t.v. and say, “No, he always chokes!!”

Incidentally, I used to yell that very thing whenever ‘sheed got the ball in crunchtime. Ironically, I hear other people describe ’sheed as a clutch player. Frankly, that’s just bull. At least as a Blazer, ‘sheed ALWAYS missed clutch shots—that is when he didn’t fumble the pass out of bounds or dribble the ball off his foot.

The Blazers seem to have 3 or 4. Two of them coming off the bench. Sweet! I can taste a 79-3 season….yummy
Anyone that’s ever hit a game winning shot, ends up on an all-star ballot, or even just smell good are now clutch.

That would be Terry Porter for you newbies.

Kareem had that “Sky-Hook”. It was run the clock down, throw it into Kareem and Sky-Hook. Game over. Saw him do it to the Blazers as well as all NBA times time after time.

“clutch” as defined by 82games.com is 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes to play, score is within 5.

Roy and Outlaw are the top two Blazers, and they’re both well down the list.

3rd? JJack!

82games

but I was asking myself, “Who would be okay taking the last shot of the game?” Answer:

Definite:
- Roy
- Rudy
- Outlaw
- Oden (if someone can get him the ball under the basket)

Probable:
- Blake
- Aldridge (he hasn’t been the last-minute guy, but would you not let him take the shot?)
- Bayless

but we didn’t have a fractional option. Besides Roy (who is rapidly becoming the most “clutch” Blazer ever), we have:

Rudy – Yeah, 8 games is pretty short for defining that, but look at his second half in the gold medal game in Beijing this summer….I think we can safely assume a pattern.

Travis – He was clutch for the Blazers all of last season, and while he’s had a slow start this season, of late he’s been loooking mighty fine.

So there’s my 2……the half would be Blake. He can definitely come up big. I mean really….he comes off the bench stone cold last night…..hadn’t placed even a minute of the 4th quarter….and calmly sinks the 3 pointer that ices the game. That is clutch. But it is also a bit more hit and miss with Blake…….so he gets “half-clutch”.

“Mr. Clutch” was an All-Star 14 years, from 1961-1974.

Blake and LMA can be clutch at times, but not as consistently. Rudy is yet unproven as far as consistency, but I would bet my bottom dollar that he will be regularly.

Only Outlaw and LMA at this point. Jury is still out on Rudy.

You would think that this whole post was about it. :p

outlaw and rudy are the only guys that are clutch day in and day out. Look at Blake in his last 5 games. He has been hot in some but mostly less than what he should be. He may have hit a few 3s near the end of the gam, but when there is 4 seconds left, I do not want to trust my faith with his jumper.
        I can trust outlaw because he can drive
        I can trust Rudy because he can hit… anywhere
        I cant trust Blake because he cant drive and he is not always reliable to hit his shots.

Rudy Fernandez!!