Designated scapegoat?

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oldmangrouch

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We all know there is a segment of Blazer "fans", who demand a scapegoat. Somebody on the team must be the antichrist and take the blame for everything that goes wrong.

It used to be Sheed, then Zach. Last season, Jack auditioned for the part - but he was traded. So who is the new victim? Will it be Nate, or a player? If a player, which one do you think it will be?

My prediction is Bayless. On the one hand, he is one of the more talented players on the team, and he will likely get significant playing time. OTOH, he is young and adjusting to a new role....which means there are bound to be rough patches. I would say the next most likely is LMA. I can easily see people resurrecting the Sheed argument - ie "He could be as good as Duncan or KG if he just worked harder!" :biglaugh:
 
Hmm... this is a tough question. Team expectations are still reasonably low and all of the guys are so well-liked now. Of course, that didn't stop the Jack Attacks.

Frye is a natural choice: soft and very inconsistent... but he blogs well and seems articulate, so that reduces the chances.

I vote for Martell Webster. People will forget he's 21. They will see him as a veteran and expect this to be a "break-out" year, and if it doesn't happen then some fans will be blaming him for all that ails us.

Ed O.
 
it's going to be bayless.

a lot of blazer fans seem to be in love with rudy and when bayless is better(though i can see them both being very good role players this year) they will try to make up reasons bayless is hurting the team to justify pretending that rudy is better(why they'll do it though, i'll never know).

aldridge is another decent bet though. expect the word "soft" to come up a lot from those people.
 
rocketeer said:
it's going to be bayless.

a lot of blazer fans seem to be in love with rudy and when bayless is better(though i can see them both being very good role players this year) they will try to make up reasons bayless is hurting the team to justify pretending that rudy is better(why they'll do it though, i'll never know).

aldridge is another decent bet though. expect the word "soft" to come up a lot from those people.
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It's the unknown that Rudy represents. People are infatuated with the unknown.
 
I think it's going to be Outlaw.

I don't think he's going to be relied on as much for scoring this year as he was last, and it'll seem that he's "regressing" even if it's not true.
 
Me!

I take the blame for everything bad anyway :)
 
No one. we're gonna dominate. critics and random bandwagoners will put the blame on Jerryd Bayless for not passing the ball
 
Out on a limb prediction: Oden. If he struggles in his rookie year, there will be a growing faction of fans quick to label him a bust.
 
So many candidates, but we must channel the hate! Who wants to be a scapegoat? We'll soon see.

I would not rule out Roy.

barfo
 
* Martell Webster

Webster may never live up to his 6th overall selection but he has to at least be consistent this year. He'll look great in one game and the next you wont even notice him on the court.
 
Steve Blake

I think he is going to be the glue for this team, but if he doesn't, posters are going to calling for his head . . . and then to trade him after that.
 
I have to go with Nate. We all know there are going to be choruses ringing out to the hills demanding [flavor-of-the-week player] gets his minutes, and bitching about why [villified player X] is getting more run.
 
Outlaw.

In spite of his sometimes scintillating performances, to me he is a [to a degree] a more athletic version of Zbo.

Strengths:
* Offense
* Athleticism
* Current Trade Value

Weaknesses:
* Offensive black hole
* Defense (not as bad as Zach but not great)
* Rebounding
* BBall IQ

Granted, I am obviously not a great Travis fan so my vote is tainted.

Second choice - Raef. If he only he were healthy.....:biglaugh:

Gramps...
 
I don't think it will be Bayless and I think all the rookies will get a pass for a while. I could see Webster being the scapegoat if the team is struggling after 4-5 weeks though.
 
Pritchard, he put the team together.

I also like to blame Microsoft for everything, but I happen to like Paul Allen as an owner.

Okay, probably Nate.
 
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With so many talented and exciting young players, we're going to have a problem defining roles. There are just too many players and not enough minutes.

I'm very afraid that Nate is going to tinker at PG and SF. Or play reserves too many minutes at the expense of having Roy, Aldridge, Oden on the court.

He's going to be the scapegoat if things don't get off to a great start.
 
My thoughts on this are primarily based on BBF discussions, but Outlaw seems to be the most likely "scapegoat" for a few reasons.

1) There are some hardcore Webster fans who have their vision of Outlaw colored by a bit of negative bias toward him.

2) Travis' game lends itself to criticism. I've had many debates about Outlaw, and his "lack of passing" is always used as a criticism against him. The problem for Travis is that he is not asked to pass, or at least he wasn't last year. He was to be the primary scorer off of the bench, and that's what he was.

3) The third reason does fall on Travis. Will he be able to adjust his game with the addition of offensive players Fernandez and Bayless off of the bench? The simple fact is that there won't be as many shots available for him on the second unit, so can he defend better, rebound better, and can he run the floor with consistency?

4) Finally, somewhat tied to #3, the fan response to Outlaw averaging less ppg will be used as an argument against him if the team struggles. That one is probably the most obvious reason of the four.

I'll admit that I am an Outlaw fan, but the reality is that he may be better off used as a piece in a trade (for someone other than Kyle Lowry, lol) in order to get a more experienced SF option for the next 4 years. The only reason to keep him is if the team feels he can be that SF for the next four or five years, and I'm not even close to being sold on that point.
 
I think medicore man will be the scapegoat . . . oh you're talking the Blazer team. Never mind.
 
No one. Unless someone does something stupid (like all other scapegoats have).
 
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say either Oden or Pritchard if he gets hurt.

If not I say Nate. He is an obvious choice because if the team isn't doing well people will say he should be starting someone else since so many of our players are interchangable
 
I sort of agree with some who said Oden might be the scapegoat. I remember Walton was the scapegoat the first couple years with the Blazers. I had season tickets and there were people(season tickets) in front of me that didn't even want Walton to play. I got mad at them one time and told them to basically shut up in the nicest way I could. I told them if we ever want to win a championship they have to play Walton and the fans need to get behind him. It is funny when we won the championship and the following year the same people that didn't want Walton to play were his biggest fans.:crazy:
 
Jay Jensen. Why can't he keep our guys healthy?
 
I think Outlaw for sure. For the reasons mentioned, and for his semi-goofy/overconfident sounding "I'm should be a starter" routine a few weeks ago. That kind of stuff gets old quick unless it's backed up in a major way on the court.
 
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