Who is the most Over-Rated Blazer?

Voted Blake, specifically off the observations from the OregonLive piece. The word has been out for some time on Outlaw’s strengths and weaknesses, but you’d be surprised how many NBA fans outside the Pacific NW view Blake as this pseudo-Chauncey-esque game manager just waiting for a championship squad to pick him up so he can floor-general their way to a dynasty running the second unit or whatever, it’s a little silly.

Even though I love what he brings to the team and I have a tendency to over-rate him myself. I certainly don’t think Travis is over-rated by the fans. I’m surprised he’s leading the poll albeit with a small sampling. I’m tempted to vote for Travis for under-rated, although again I’m personally guilty of same.

I like him as a person and his potential and I know it’s not popular, but I have to see what he showed in one pre-season game (very good in combination with Rudy) consistently to anoint him part of any solution at small forward. Right now quite a lot of fans talk as if we’ll get some combination of Nic’s defense and Kevin Durants offense back once he is healthy. If he is healthy.

I hope this will come true. But you think Oden is moody? You have seen nothing yet. And foot injuries can be nagging (as we have started to see this season). He has never scored more than 30 points (and yes, I have seen the game of his one huge quarter over and over again). His shooting motion is super pretty, but his ball screen action is not. Neither is scoring in isolation and driving to the basket since he has (had) at least as many problems dribbling as Travis with both hands. He is not the most laterally quick either on defense. In several aspects of the game Travis was the better player so far.

There are worse players on the team, but after this season we have a pretty good idea of what they can do and thus they are pretty properly rated.

Because the guy is completely unpredictable, takes wild shots that he shouldn’t be taking, and everyone seems to love him.

Everyone always brings up the games where he made the winning shot. I ask everyone who says that to me this question: How many games did he lose for us by missing shots and taking shots he shouldn’t be taking? How many of us have stood up with our hands up in the air, for Travis’ WIDE OPEN three point attempt in the corner…only to have it go long or short?

After a few games this season, I just started cringing whenever he got the ball. I basically have a heart attack every time he puts the ball on the floor.

I will likely be the only one, but…

Seriously though, Batum’s emergance this season was merely circumstantial. His seasonal impact was OK, yet lots of fans think his 18 minutes per game and decent perimeter defense puts him up with the Shane Battier’s of the league. The reason I say circumstantial is because of the Martell Webster injury… That injury FORCED Nate to play the rookie Batum those minutes. MOST NBA players who get a great deal of consistent minutes, with not many options for the coach if they screw up, are going to have a decent to good showing.

If that injury to Webster would have taken Blake out ALL SEASON instead of Webster… people would be in LOVE with Jerryd Bayless and/or Sergio Rodriguez because coach Nate wouldn’t have been able to mind-screw them all season and wouldve been forced to play them lots of consistent minutes. That is how improvements happen. Same thing, what if that was Roy who was injured? Rudy would’ve been forced into so many more minutes that his numbers and rookie opportunity wouldve been tremendous like Nic’s.

I like Nic and think he is going to be an excellent role-player, but there are too many people out there who think Nic is gonna be Shane Battier’s Plus 1,000,0000. He is good and will be good, but guys who got less opportuntiy this season (Rudy and Jerryd) I think are going to be more to this franchise in the long run.

No big pop of a deal as expected before the deadline.

Other than Raef, I’m going to say Bayless. Just hasn’t had the opportunity yet. I love his work ethic though, and Nate seems to be hard on rooks.

He’s by far the player the fanbase overrates the most. Its not particularly close.

Rudy Fernandez was my second choice.

…having a most scandalous ex-President vote without including Bill Clinton.

What gives?

I’m not saying LMA is the most overrated current Blazer, but a guy who just got outplayed thoroughly by Luis Scola, and is about to possibly get a max deal, ABSOLUTELY HAS to be in the conversation.

Steve, Nic, Martell, Jeryyd, and Sergio are all overrated by various contingencies of the fan base, from time to time.

Steve is a mediocre starting point guard who, as Ben hilariously put it, can’t take the Blazer assistant coaches off the dribble in pregame warmups. He’s a tenacious competitor, a really good three point shooter, and a good lockerroom guy, but he almost got my vote.

I voted for Nic, though, since he was made untouchable at the trade deadline when a young, defensive-minded borderline all-star was apparently available at the three (Wallace). I’m not saying that was the wrong move, but… we’ll see.

I would say Travis has been trashed enough that he’s underrated, if anything, by most fans, especially considering his contract.

Greg has been trashed enough that he may be a little underrated, as far as present value is concerned, while still possibly overrated generally in terms of “can’t miss” potential.

I think he is great, but as far as the fan bases obsession with him goes, it’s still technically and overrating. Travis Outlaw shouldn’t even be considered because no one rates him that high, hes always on the trade block and has done more than Rudy and Oden but still gets the shaft. If anything trout is underrated, though not as good as he should be.

This is simply based on how the fans rate our players and how they perform. You can’t call someone overrated just for being bad, they have to be rated high in the first place, and trout certainley isn’t, especially after the playoffs.

Is this just Outlaw hate or something?

I think the majority of fans either rate him properly, or slightly underrate him at this point. You can’t read any recent Outlaw thread and think we overrate him, unless you really, really despise him (and that shouldn’t be the case).

Like someone else mentioned, if he is obviously the answer to our so-called pg woes, why can’t he get off the bench in front of Sergio?

Fans think that when he is in the game everybody is scared to drive to the middle. Thats not true. When Oden is in the game all PG just drive inside and make Oden foul them. Fans say that we dont need much from Oden, not cuz they dont hope or expect him to be great, but cuz if they would and he would not perform, it would look like he is a bust for a 1 pick.

Travis Outlaw

Who is the most Over-Rated Blazer?

Not going to name names, but I think we have more retired players than the Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, and Bulls combined.