One of the biggest questions in this young Blazer season is: How will Martell Webster fit into the Blazer offense?  What should we expect from him at all?  We know he can catch and shoot from three, we know he's springy, active, and aggressive; which leads to highlight-reel plays on both ends of the floor.  He showed all of these things in the opener, but like the rest of the team he was sloppy and lost at times.   It could be chalked up to the general disarray exhibited by the whole team, but Martell is the player to look at initially.  He's the biggest wild card on the team right now, and in a night of confusion and turnovers he had a couple big plays.   

Joe Freeman delivers some quotes in his great article, among which are these from Martell regarding his big dunk in the third quarter:

“Nah, I really didn’t ever care about that dunk because of all the confusion that led to that,” he said.

“It was an isolation situation where I saw Aaron Brooks on Brandon (Roy), so I tried to clear out. And the whole time, I tried to clear out to the left and he’s telling me to clear out to the right, to the corner. So I clear out to the left and (Steve) Blake’s like, ‘Post up! Clear out!’ So I ran that way, and he was like, ‘No! Come back!’ So then he passed the ball to LaMarcus and I was just like, ‘Man, whatever.’ I didn’t even think anything about it.”

LaMarcus Aldridge then passed it to Martell, who sent the flashbulbs popping throughout the garden with his big finisher.  The thing that bothers me is the confusion.  Good things can be born out of confusion if you're lucky, but I'd rather they come from order.  Bad communication between Martell and his guards can cause spacing issues and fluidity problems for the Blazer offense, which will lead to offensive stagnation and turnovers. 

This play does represent another tenet: keep passing and good things will happen.  Despite the initial confusion on the isolation, halfway through the shot clock the Blazers flow smoothly into the second phase of their offense.  LaMarcus went to the top of the key, which solved any spacing problems by spreading four Blazers along the perimeter with Greg Oden moving towards the low block.  Luis Scola closes out the long-range J, leaving the paint completely open.  This is the point where Martell is "just like 'Man, whatever.'  A quick back door cut catches his man off guard, and the help side defense is late making for an easy dunk.  The key is that rather than forcing the isolation they swung the ball out, reversed it, and found the backdoor cutter in the second half of the clock. 

The Blazers did not always illustrate such patience and acumen on offense.  See "Exhibit A: Fourth Quarter" for proof of that.  Offensive stagnation and confusion let the Rockets back in the game.  If we play like that all the time we won't win many games.  The other three quarters were much better, but there was still a lot of confusion on the court.  It was evident on the defensive end as well.  There is another play in which I will pick on Martell Webster.

To be quite honest I do not remember when in the first half this occurred, but it stood out to me because I was watching Martell specifically during most of the game.  The Rockets ran a high pick and roll with Aaron Brooks , with Trevor Ariza on the opposite wing.  Martell should be on Ariza, but he gets caught on the wrong side of court in transition and follows Brooks.  Suddenly the Rockets have mismatches across the board.  Greg Oden is forced out of the paint to help on the high post, but luckily the pick and roll fizzles because of desperate help defense from the wing by Ariza's "man."  At this point Martell realizes who he should be guarding, and races across the court to the now-open Ariza.  He gets there far too late and can't contest the wide-open trey.  Fortunately the Blazers led a semi-charmed life throughout the first three quarters, and Ariza missed the shot.

Martell Webster had a great game last night, but he displayed moments of confusion the likes of which were seen throughout the roster.  Nicolas Batum's injury was a curveball to the Blazers, but the biggest impact from it is the sudden adjustments that must be made.  Webster is integral in making this a successful season, but the team must continue to function as a true five-man unit.  They must not force things.  Keep the ball moving, use the entire shot clock, be efficient.  It's what they do best, so hopefully they can get back to doing it consistently. 

They will begin to gel, but the question is how long will it take?  It could click as soon as Thursday night, and that would be good as they meet with the Nuggets on TNT.  I might have family in Denver, but that is one game where I'd love to see a Blazer Blowout. Let's hope it was all just opening night jitters, and that we'll see some beautiful team basketball.  Somewhere down there Topps has a photographer on the sideline with his lense trained on Martell, just waiting for a poster.