Basketball IQ and Travis Outlaw

The IQ thing to me is evident on little things… particularly boxing out. I hate seeing a shot go up and watching Outlaw just stand and wait to see where the ball goes. Too often there is no movement to block another player from getting the rebound. Not to say he never does this, but it’s like he has to actively “think” about it for it to happen. It’s not something natural for him. After six years it shouldn’t even be considered common sense (what’s less common that that?), you just do it, but he doesn’t.

…………………….. that is, a basic failure to learn from mistakes or to do obvious, basic things.

I was searching for an exact WORD or term for what is going on with Travis and the “Low BB IQ” mantra. Starting with “racism” puts too much emphasis on that component, which is itty-bitty and almost subliminal. It’s mostly elitism and anti-southern bias, with a sprinkle of racism in there somewhere… Imagine if Travis wasn’t black — would people use that same “low BB IQ” phrase about a straight-out-of-HS southern WHITE? — I really doubt it. But it’s not overt, it’s subtle… Many of our BB heroes are black and a fairly big majority of the league is black, after all…

I’ve got a couple friends from Kentucky and they assure me that the rest of the country hears the accent and instantly thinks they’re Jethro Bodine — “banjo pluckin’, cousin chuckin’ morons,” or something similar was the exact phrase… Whereas, and this might come as a shock to some of us — people with southern accents are not necessarily slow…

This is 90% of the deal with the common, rote-repeated fan perception of straight-out-of-Mississippi-high-school Travis and his “low basketball IQ”… “Elitism” and “anti-southern bias” with a teeny tiny dash of racism or elitist paternalism in the mix there somewhere, at some level.

t

I can feel TOs pain.

That being said, the thing I notice about Trout’s game that bugs me the most is his shot selection. I am not talking about raising up and fading away….Travis has shown time and again that he can make that shot. The problem I see on a continual basis is him getting a wide open 3 (in the context of the play) and him chosing to drive the ball into a triple team and then him raising up for the fadeaway….yuck!!. The other variation is when he gets the ball at the 3pt line but is tightly covered by one guy (a great oportunity to drive by his guy) but elects to shoot it. Lastly he will get doubled with no room to drive either…..and he will force up the shot (this what gets him that black hole rep). I have really not seen any improvement in these areas.

Couldnt this topic have been included in Thacks Travis: The Expendable Blazer post? It just seems like another attempt to perpetuate the myth and provide continuity to that particularly insulting notion.

For me Hoops IQ as related to my main man, is acronimonous for Irreverence Qualified.

When he gets the ball, he has already made up his mind as to whether he will shoot or pass. He is unable to read the situation he is in and come up with a plan. He passes 2-3 times then decides that its OK for him to take a shot, regardless of whether he is being guarded aggressively or not. He has amazing talent, its just not wired up correctly. Unfortunately I dont think he will ever be able to think on the fly. Its something you can do, or not.

being born and raised in Portland, I was surprised that when I spent a few months in Texas, all the stereo types about the south were true. They are not as smart, they talk funny, and they love High school football.

OK I’m kidding. I think people want Travis to be something he isn’t. Travis is a scorer. There are things I WISH he would do, namely on Defense, but I can appriciate the things he does well. When he is on, he makes our second unit very potent.

understanding the roles and abilities of your teammates and the opponents

understanding the possibilities and probablilities of the action on the floor as it unfolds

understanding the role you have on the floor with your team and the assignment you have

Nothing to do with race, regionality, whatever…some guys are students of the game and get all this stuff, some could care less…some would be stupid at whatever they did…some are QB’s and future coaches…

Don’t know where Travis falls with this, but I gotta say when I saw him play early I said, boy he doesn’t look like he knows where he fits in on the squad (this was late october…) and when I said this to Shav he said that that was funny cause thats what Trav told him that very day…so ..the idea that he is a 3/4 playing with/behind Batum with Marty in the wings and rudy in the mix…it’s not helping him understand the expectations on him

From what I’m learning his first few years amongst the hoods here wasn’t Baketball University…he needs solid direction and instruction…gotta say his bursts of focus (cuts to the rim, rebounds, passes (there have been some)…indicate he can improve…but he misses on some of thefour points I used to define BBIQ…he can improve there too though with focused instruction

His skills and ability to be clutch would tell me either keep working him or trade high….he’s quite an athlete.

It’s similar to the way computer code is evaluated. See the following image and replace all instances of “code” with “BBIQ”. Link (contains mild cursing)

Poor decision making and poor shot selection. dribble dribble dribble shoot. That’s his game. He has the athletic ability and body type to be an insanely effective defender, which takes smarts. Yet, we’ve not seen this from him on even a slightly consistent basis. Yeah, he makes some great shots, improbable ones at that. But those are the same shot selections that make you want to punch your tv when they don’t go in. I really think for me it has to do with what he HASN’T done (defensive stopper) than what he’s attempted to do (wacky shot taker guy)… If he became a rebounder and shot blocker I’d look at him differently.

I think what people will come up with are a lot of little stories and examples (= anecdotal evidence and “case studies”) of what is deemed “low basketball IQ” trying to define it, but very little empirical evidence (= statistics/studies in which behavior or abilities can be measured and repeated). Because there is little. You can’t calibrate your observations and tests on someone. Like in many other areas in life where situations, circumstances and personnel change quickly, basketball doesn’t lend itself very good to that. You usually can’t repeat the exact same situation, only make the case for what might have been done better. I know it when I see it, as a former Supreme Court Judge said. Few people will come up with a clear definition, if it all.

I can’t. I suppose it is a derogatory term used to summarize a multitude of issues due to laziness and lack of a better expression, such as little awareness of your own abilities, of a teammate’s abilities, of the clock, or the situation. Is it innate? I think it can get better with experience (“rookie mistake”). Is there a fixed scale to measure players on it? I haven’t seen it.

It’s not just his shot – I’m surprised that most of the comments about his low basketball IQ are on his offense; offense is his strength! That’s what he did for us in Phoenix, and that is the contribution he will continue to make for this team. However, he often seems to be lost on the court, and that’s where I knock him. It’s things like not noticing an open teammate, not knowing where his man is on defense, and not knowing where to go on offense that frustrate me about him. Usually, he stands in the corner on offense, and then when the ball comes to him he does what he does – sometimes more effectively (a la Phoenix), sometimes less (quite a few other games this year). He’s getting better about crashing the boards, but that general “court awareness” still seems to be a project. It’s the same confusion and walking around that Greg had for his first few games, but now he’s growing out of it. I just wish Travis would grow out of it faster…

and defense. See final play of the Orlando game a week and 1/2 ago. Travis required to cut, he does not Roy w/ the shot clock violation. This happens often. Travis doesn’t adjust his game to the flow of the game and either choses NOT to run a play (not likely) or simply not smart enough basketball wise to run a play properly.

Paradoxically, the very qualities you are contending to be the reason he is perceived to have a low BBIQ, are extremely endearing to me as well as the majority of Blazer fans and his most loyal supporters as well. That down home southern charm, accent and bashful disposition make him VERY easy to love. Especially after he has a really good game.

Sophia

Academically dumb as dirt, but one of the true geniuses on the hardwood.

BBIQ is about adapting and thinking on the court to the situation at hand. Each decision is tactical and consequential. Every pass, shot, or movement plays a note within the team symphony. Outlaw is one those musicians who plays at the same volume, the same tempo, and the same pitch no matter the song or conductor. The best you can do is to allow him to play the solo part and hope he nails it. Every time he fails, you can hear it from a mile away.

That is, considering that there was no mention of toughness.

Jason Quick writes:

Here’s my thing with Travis: If he is going to be good, or if he is going to help this team, he needs to free his mind and just play. Take any shot he wants, as long as he rebounds, plays defense and runs all over the court. Yes, he’s going to take some absolutely brutal shots … and he’s going to make some of those. But I think with Outlaw, you have to just live with his shots – make or miss. It’s who he is.

Be thankful Quick doesn’t coach this team.

could be explained by slow thinking. This is completely different than intelligence, although it is often used as a component of intelligence testing. An intelligent, slow thinking persons brain may be like a collection of every database available, all being processed on a VIC-20. A slow thinking person is unable to develop a new plan of action quickly. Too much data to be processed or too many options causes their brain to lock up, usually resulting in execution of a predetermined plan, whether or not that plan is now applicable. A slow thinker will usually compensate with several predetermined plans in advance of some action or interaction. Each plan has an associated trigger and execution of a predetermined plan can occur without delay, yet deviation from the anticipated “norms” results in lock up…the brains blue screen of death (without the actual death, mind you).

Basketball IQ can be the understanding of the fundamentals of the game, but also the ability to act at game speed. It is certainly possible that if you presented Travis with a game situation on paper and asked him to come up with the appropriate play, he would do the right thing every time. But at game speed he has “brain freeze”. One track mind. Tunnel vision. All the same stuff.

Incidentally I think the southern drawl is the result of slow thinking. The drawl stretches out words to be longer, allowing more time to think of the next one. Not everybody with a drawl is a slow thinker, but I believe the origins of the accent are here.

Here’s a case study. A friend of a friend is a Blazers insider. He describes what the Blazers’ coaches had to deal with in coaching Ruben Patterson. According to this guy, when diagramming a play for Ruben, the coaches couldn’t say, for instance, “The four will set a pick here, at the right elbow, while the three cuts back door.” Instead, they’d have to say, “The four will set a pick here, at the right elbow, while RUBEN cuts back door.”

He (for the most part) seems to see the play develop AFTER the ball is in his hands.

Not alot of vision when its on its way.

Unless a guy has a ton of talent, this kind of player can be very frustrating to play with. Travis can make a shot, so alot is forgiven.

If his game was translated into the baseball world, he would strike out way too much.

Do you all thrive on negativity??

The less I understand the Basketball IQ term, and see it as an excuse for people to justify Outlaw’s irrational play at times. I’ve mentioned this before and it hardly gets much acceptance, but Outlaw has the trust of the coaching staff and by his teammates. They want him to shoot the ball, they know he is relatively efficient and urge him to do so.

Outlaw is a hard worker during the season (dunno about off season), and he does as he is asked by the coaching staff. Is it his fault he is asked to shoot so much?

I am obviously a major Outlaw supporter, and even I get frustrated with him at times, but I don’t think it would be wise to just trade him away. He fills the role of Blazer who, if traded, would be least missed, and would bring in a decent piece. The thing is though that last year that was Jarrett Jack, and if Outlaw is packaged and dealt it will be another Blazer and all the fans will likely yearn for a trade whether it be Blake or Webster.

NBA fans are incredibly fickle due to the high volume of trades that occur in the sport. Outlaw is a great talent to have on our team, and any team in the NBA would be happy to have him, and he would likely make us regret it if we did end up trading him.

Great post Tom, got me and a lot of other people thinking.

from May

Throwing Down My Gauntlet
by tominhawaii

I think I might have thrown down a gauntlet before, it doesn’t matter, I had a spare. I thought it was time that a status quo diary was written, so that we could become the aggressors. Passively waiting as people try to trade dear sweet Travis Outlaw, for some guy who is just going to clog up an already crowded position, is no longer acceptable.

I just walked to my lanai and shouted at the top of my lungs, “Don’t {expletive deleted} trade Travis Outlaw.” (I really did, it was kind of awkward, and I was nervous, even though I’m on the 17th floor.) The Trail Blazers are not winning a championship next year. I want them too, I really do, it is just not going to happen. Sooner or later, they are going to run into a talented team with more experience.

Two new dynamic players are going to be added to the roster, in Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez. There is also the potential for a talented draft pick to be added to a team, that won 41 games. Name one team in the NBA that would not gladly, add just one of those players, draft pick included. Can’t do it, can ya?

In conclusion, there is no need for a dynamic trade. The only trade that should happen this summer, is to clearly define roles. I can handle the current roster with Oden, Fernandez, and the draft pick for one year as well. So if you’re going to propose a trade this summer, I’m here to tell you, you’re on notice.

Chris the Birdman Anderson, Ryan Bowen and Marcin Gortat have the highest basketball IQ’s in the league according to that website.

According to BasketballIQ.com, Sergio Rodriguez is ranked 3rd among shooting guards. So I’d suggest to take this website with a truck load of salt.

Travis Outlaw has a low BBIQ because he is so incredibly gifted. He doesn’t have to work, and often in the past did not. He has come into training camp behind most others’ fitness curve. He enters the season not ready for extended minutes, plays his way into shape, and finishes stronger.

Travis has TOO MUCH talent. If Travis had B-Roy’s body, which is professional athlete caliber but lacks elevation and Travis’ freakish length, he would have to do like Roy does and take over a game with other resources, e.g. with his head. Instead, he is a “gunslinger”.

It is like the HS football player who gets by on his size. If that is all he brings, it is doubtful he plays at the next level. Not working at it, he will often look awkward. While the smooth athlete who hones his physique rather than taking it for granted will work at it, and he will get smooth.

Necessity is the mother of invention. If Travis has to, he might. This is not racism, at least not with me. Travis looking dumb out there comes down to either Travis being dumb or Travis not having to learn. Hopefully, he is just a late bloomer.

As the kids would say. I don’t think that he’s dumb in anyway. It’s just that what he does and what he sees are at two different speeds. I bet if you put him in a stock car he’d lead the race right up to the point that he crashes into the back of the first lapped car.

Also I don’t think he can dribble the ball more than twice before it gets away from him. All the defender has to do is get squarely in front of him and all he has left in his bag of tricks is a fade away jumper.

Blazers need to do all they can to help him improve his ball handling. Then we will see the real Super Trout.

Really? Bringing race into it? I am done here.

I mean I’m like #250 on this one and they keep coming but I’m not so sure…

Good post. Prompted a lot of good discussion above. There is some merit to the idea that Channing gets off the hook (a little bit – but the criticism is still pretty harsh) because he’s not from the South.

But the idea that BBIQ isn’t “real” and that questioning Travis Outlaw’s intelligence on the basketball court is based on some sort of illusory concept is coo coo for cocoa puffs.

Much of the time, Travis is just not a smart basketball player. He seems to be getting smarter. And he has skills and ability that no amount of smarts could replicate.

Bottom line is, however you define BBIQ, Travis grades out poorly. What’s the basis for that comment?

1. He takes bad shots. For the most part, these include long twos off the dribble, some of which are contested, and some of which are taken with more than 12 seconds on the shot clock.

2. He fails to do the right thing within the offensive gameplan. The most famous, recent, and obvious example was, of course, when Roy got double-teamed at the end of the Magic game, and it was Travis’s well defined responsibility to cut to the middle, and he had a brain fart and just didn’t do it.

3. He doesn’t play smart D. Here’s an example. He’s guarding Richardson during the Suns game, and J-Rich kicks the ball down to the post, and fakes like he’s cutting through the paint and then fades to the corner. Rather than staying with him, Travis runs UNDER the pick, giving Richardson (could’ve been Barnes, I’m not completely sure) and wide open three, which of course didn’t even hit the net. Other times, he closes out “high” (with a high center of gravity) and gets blown by on the perimeter.

That being said, I think Travis has been playing smarter basketball recently. In the Suns game, most of his twos were with the shot clock winding down – when those shots SHOULD be taken. Other than that, he attacked the basket rather than settling for jumpers, and there was a BIG difference in the results.

I like Travis, I think he’s underappreciated, and I am now leaning towards the “don’t trade him, he’s too important” camp. I’d like to see him as the long term SF off the bench. He’s great in that role.

But he DOES have a low BBIQ right now, however you define the term. Hopefully that will continue to improve.

<<But the idea that BBIQ isn’t "real" and that questioning Travis Outlaw’s intelligence on the basketball court is based on some sort of illusory concept is coo coo for cocoa puffs.>>

Are you suggesting that being coo coo for cocoa puffs is a real condition? Hmmmm.

Perhaps Travis doesn’t have low basketball IQ, he’s just coo coo for cocoa puffs.

He does wingman type stuff, no one expects him to be the smartest guy on the floor. I think that people’s animosity toward Outlaw is mostly style based, the blazers this season more than ever in a long time have turned into a pass-first type of team; and everyone is like that besides Travis, so his style is really standing out as “dumb” or “selfish.”
Granted we aren’t going to see him run the offense like lebron or pierce, but the guy can shoot and seems to be able to block shots and finish at the rim when he feels like it.
His 3 point shooting has obviously improved this year, compared to career average, his rebounding has improved, and his assists have improved. That’s pretty cool. Perhaps Batum is a good influence on him.

Right now it seems Nate is doing a good job of injecting Travis or Rudy into the game when he needs some offense, but removing them when we need defense, or either of them are struggling; if the two of them can get consistent, we are very potent (at least offensively).

Travis is displaying very high BBIQ this game. Well at least so far…

Should I take the time and read them?

Every now and then he gets lucky, but he’s dumb as a rock. Sorry Travis, you’re dumb.