Outlaw's sweet spot

by Lance Uppercut on Jan 14, 2009 4:14 PM PST

Travis Outlaw talks about the differences between playing small and power forward and his sweet spot. None of this will probably come as a surprise to you hardcores, but maybe you'll learn something.

I don't know about you, but I hate shooting from the baseline. Granted, I'm a terrible basketball player (and athlete in general), but I simply can't hit that shot. I'd much rather have a chance of getting a kind bounce from the backboard.

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I'm no dead-eye to begin with

and my terrible depth perception makes it almost impossible to hit a baseline jumper. If I don’t have the backboard as a reference to figure my range, it’s airball all day.

For an actual shooter, though, the baseline three is the shortest-range three-point shot, so it makes sense that NBA players like the corners.

by abdelnaby on Jan 14, 2009 4:20 PM PST reply actions

Yes they do. But,

a miss from the corner makes for nice long rebounds that often times start fast breaks.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Jan 14, 2009 8:39 PM PST up reply actions

The "Travis has a low BBIQ" crowd will argue that

the baseline three is the easiest for low BBIQers because there is nothing but the rim to focus on. You can’t see the backboard and subconsciously think about banking it. The baseline shot is straightforward—aim for the front of the rim.

Since they will claim he has a low BBIQ, the less things to think about, the better. I don’t agree with them, but that’s their argument.

The Truth About Darius

by Bust a Bucket on Jan 14, 2009 4:45 PM PST reply actions

Or argue that

playing the small forward doesn’t mean you have to “do nothing but stand in the corner.”

by Lance Uppercut on Jan 14, 2009 4:55 PM PST up reply actions

ooo, ouch

The Truth About Darius

by Bust a Bucket on Jan 14, 2009 5:09 PM PST up reply actions

How many plays in Nate's playbook are designed for the small forward?

Serious question

by Norsktroll on Jan 14, 2009 5:13 PM PST up reply actions

That game winning 1-4 ISO from the Detroit game...

So at least one…

The Truth About Darius

by Bust a Bucket on Jan 14, 2009 5:15 PM PST up reply actions

agreed

Other than double screens for Martell in the 3rd quarter…I can’t think of any. It sucks to have players as athletic as Trout, Webby, and Batum camping out in the corner not using their athleticism to their advantage.

The most hated Blazer is like the least hottest supermodel - Sabonis4Ever

by Philthyanimal on Jan 14, 2009 7:44 PM PST up reply actions

Agree with your agreement.

Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave

by TwoDeep on Jan 15, 2009 4:25 PM PST up reply actions

seriously....

how do you conclude that and make this far fetched correlation with low BBIQ. Steve Blake ALWAYS hits from the corner. So does Martell Webster and Rudy Fernandez. That’s because the corner 3 is the easiest 3 because it’s a FOOT closer to the basket and Nate McMillan’s offense has the ball movement end at the corners.

The Kings have the best bench I’ve seen. There are easily 14 guys on this team good enough for every bench in the league. Now if we could only get some starters, I’d totally jizz in my pants.

Kings fan

by dyshooter182 on Jan 14, 2009 5:23 PM PST up reply actions

How do I conclude that?

Simple answer: I don’t.

I’m just saying what people who think “Travis has a low BBIQ” would say.

The Truth About Darius

by Bust a Bucket on Jan 14, 2009 5:47 PM PST up reply actions

Travis does have a low BBIQ.

It really isn’t that hard to spot. This doesn’t mean people hate Travis – it means they dislike some of the plays Travis the basketball player does (or doesn’t) make on the court.

by TSE on Jan 14, 2009 6:27 PM PST up reply actions

So his BBIQ really is low???

I feel like we keep going in circles on this issue.

Tominhawaii says that people who say Travis has a low BBIQ are racist.

Others say BBIQ is too vague to define.

Yet others, like you, say he really does have a low BBIQ, but it doesn’t mean we hate him as a person.

What is the bottom line: Does he have a low BBIQ or not?

The Truth About Darius

by Bust a Bucket on Jan 14, 2009 6:33 PM PST up reply actions

He has a low BBIQ.

He forgets basic fundamentals such as boxing out your man or giving him five feet of space when he’s an excellent three point shooter. He also forgets his man a lot on defense and has a tendency to drive uncontrolled into his man in the paint.

These things don’t mean I dislike Travis the person. Infact, I don’t dislike Travis the player if he were utilized properly. He has a good contract for what he is – offensive player off the bench that can give a team a shot in the arm sometimes. The problem I have isn’t even really Travis’s fault at this point and really is more like Nate and KP’s fault for not using a better option or getting a better option.

Ideally Travis would be a 15 minute a game type of player who if he was on that game would play more like 20-25 and if he was off he would play more like 5-10.

I just don’t see Travis ever being a big rotation player in a championship caliber team. He just has too many flaws to be a 25-30 minute a night guy on a consistence basis for a real contender, in my opinion.

This doesn’t mean I hate Travis, this doesn’t mean I think Travis the person has a low IQ (I just don’t think he has great basketball recognition skills for the most part), and it doesn’t mean I’m racist.

by TSE on Jan 14, 2009 7:58 PM PST up reply actions

I can't believe I'm reading this comment on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday.

Just kidding ya’ll.

I'm a Blazers fan and If you ban me from your blog, I'll sue you!

by tominhawaii on Jan 15, 2009 2:40 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

It appears

Travis doesn’t “see the floor”. Does that equate to low BBIQ? Not necessarily ….actually probably not at all.

He does appear to be a slow learner. But I’ve always looked at that positively because each year we see him gradually learning more and that is leading to him getting better and better. Here’s a guy whose ceiling clearly has not been reached. He’s going to keep learning the game through rote experience so despite him being in the league 6 years, we yet don’t know where his ceiling is. Gotta stick with T-Law …. and damn, ya gotta admit, he’s exciting. Isn’t that part of what we want to see as fans?

Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave

by TwoDeep on Jan 15, 2009 4:41 PM PST up reply actions

Very few

Nate says he runs plays for Outlaw, but it doesn’t seem like it’s very frequently from the 3.

by Lance Uppercut on Jan 14, 2009 6:04 PM PST reply actions

I also hate the baseline shot

All my buddies I play with know I cant hit that shot to save my life. Its where they always go when we play HORSE.

"When I have the ball, I experiment." #5

by Sabonis4Ever on Jan 14, 2009 7:09 PM PST reply actions

Outlaws sweet spot

Is right next to Brandon… deflect those questions about poor shot selection for me Brando will ya?

Blazer fans tell me, where were you,
When our Brandon Roy dropped 52?

by GreatOden'sRaven on Jan 14, 2009 7:16 PM PST reply actions

3-10.

back to being most hated yet?

Blazers Edge.com

by Ben Golliver on Jan 14, 2009 8:27 PM PST reply actions

Actually, 30% was danged near team high...

"Now with a non-provocative footer!"

by timbo on Jan 14, 2009 10:05 PM PST up reply actions

I <3 Baseline

c’mon guys, baseline shots kick butt.
All you got to do is envision an imaginary line straight up off the far rim and aim at that….
I don’t know if that makes sense anywhere outside my head, but maybe it will help someone.

(I keep thinking how far up does that line go? I don’t know but it makes sense when looking at the rim)

by pklym on Jan 14, 2009 8:48 PM PST reply actions

Same here.

The baseline jumper is pure and clean, with no backboard to distract you. Just you and the hoop. You’ve made that jumper many times before. Stop aiming and just let it fly. Your body knows what it takes.

by MiledAnimal on Jan 15, 2009 3:51 PM PST up reply actions