Looks like more Oden means less Outlaw

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KingSpeed

KingSpeed

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Last year, down the stretch, we would move LMA to center and play Outlaw at the PF. Now that Oden is playing more, LMA will stay at PF. I'll miss Outlaw being more of a force.
 
Outlaw also played pretty bad tonight. Nate gave him the quick hook after playing like an idiot.
 
Outlaw didn't play bad at all. He hit a big three, he grabbed a big rebound. He did well with his limited minutes.
 
Can't remember exactly what it was, but he did something stupid and he was right out early in the 2nd q.
 
Outlaw came back to earth after playing over his head the last few games. Time to trade him before his stock takes another dip.
 
Outlaw did not have a good game. He was OK - but he was not really in the flow of the offense.

I think we have seen the same happen at the start of the season - it takes him a bit of time to figure out how to play with a new player out there - so it took him 3 games to get used to Rudy. It iwll probably be the same to figure out playing next to Greg. It's nothing we have not seen before - and it proves again that if you do not play well - Nate will not give you the minutes.
 
craigehlo said:
Outlaw came back to earth after playing over his head the last few games. Time to trade him before his stock takes another dip.
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Back to earth? He played fine. He just had much less minutes. That game where he had about 20 points, he played FORTY ONE MINUTES. Tonight, he only played 14. Which is my point. His minutes are less now. Not his production.
 
The team was 15-5 last year in games of 5 points of less with Outlaw playing at the end.

They were 3-0 this year in the same situation. Tonight, no Outlaw at the end, and the first loss of 5 points of less of the season with LMA taking the crucial three.

Just saying...
 
You're absolutely right Papa G. That means Blake and Sergio must both be benched so that we can play Roy, Rudy, Outlaw, LMA, and Oden at the end of games.
 
It's very true, actually.

Rudy is now the 1st option off the bench and can score in bunches, too. Rudy's intangibles are extremely valuable. When Outlaw isn't shooting every time he touches the ball, he doesn't do anything else other than rebound.

Rudy > Travis
 
Fez said:
Rudy Fernandez makes Travis Outlaw irrelevant.
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Bold opinion considering the W/L stats I posted.

Nate benched Outlaw tonight and lost a game that the Blazers have won 18 out 23 times with Outlaw in the game.
 
I'd rather see Travis in there late than LMA. Oden, Outlaw, Fernandez, Roy and Rodriguez would be my choice. Let Sergio create and get the ball to the open man. And they'll be open or Greg will have dunk fest.
 
We're at our best when both Rudy AND Outlaw produce Fez. There was a game a couple games back where Rudy had 16 and Outlaw had 20. Rudy and Outlaw must BOTH produce, but Outlaw needs the minutes.
 
Besides, Rudy had a chance to tie one of the game earlier this season against either Utah or Phoenix and he missed it. Wide open. Cost us a W. So don't make it to be like he's some God. He's human. If Outlaw did that, you'd use it for your argument against him.
 
If LaMarcus is going to be in there at the end (which he should IMO) he should be on one side of the floor ready to post up. If Oden sees he is going to shoot, he should go to the hoop for the pass or rebound. IF LaMarcus gets doubled, pass out for the open three or move the ball and repost Oden on the other side.

Really simple.

LaMarcus WILL score on most anyone one on one, if he gets doubled someone will be open.

NOBODY IS GOING TO FUCKING DOUBLETEAM HIM IN THE CORNER SHOOTING THREES.
 
PapaG said:
Bold opinion considering the W/L stats I posted.

Nate benched Outlaw tonight and lost a game that the Blazers have won 18 out 23 times with Outlaw in the game.
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Exactly. Outlaw has proven himself throughout the whole season. But this is a stupid argument. We shouldn't have to choose between Rudy and Outlaw. They should both play. Rudy hardly makes Outlaw irrelevant.
 
KingSpeed said:
Besides, Rudy had a chance to tie one of the game earlier this season against either Utah or Phoenix and he missed it. Wide open. Cost us a W. So don't make it to be like he's some God. He's human. If Outlaw did that, you'd use it for your argument against him.
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So, my mom bought me a floating basketball hoop for my swimming pool 2 years ago. It had a little ball I can easily palm.

I set the hoop to one side of the pool, from the other side I did a somersault under the water and popped my arm up out of the pool and without looking swished the shot on the first try. My girlfriend was amazed. I wish I had it on video.

Then, I tried for about 20 minutes to do the same shot again. NO LUCK MAN.

LaMarcus Aldgridge should not be shooting these threes, Rudy or Travis is fine with me. Travis has played many more games for us to see a trend, I trust him in those situations. Rudy, I have a good feeling about just because of his form. And his attitude.
 
But LMA is making them over and over in practice, I assume. I'm all for him shooting threes if he makes 40% of them.
 
KingSpeed said:
But LMA is making them over and over in practice, I assume. I'm all for him shooting threes if he makes 40% of them.
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I would bet you that Rudy can make 70 percent in practice when he gets hot. I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit nothing but net on 10-15 in a row if he is feeling it.

Here is the thing, you don't want your power forward shooting 40 percent on threes when you can have a guard shooting 40 percent. The other 60 percent of the time you will have guards trying to rebound if the power forward is shooting threes.

Each possession is about more than the actual shot.

If the guy can't post up and pass the ball if he doesn't get a good shot then something is wrong. If the coaching staff can't get him to move his game inside more then someone needs to go. I don't know why guys like Sheed and LaMarcus haven't utilized the pump fake more while facing the basket. Hook shots and fade aways are fine, but seeing a guy turn and face then get his man in the air and take two dribbles and dunk the damn ball are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more fun to me.
 
LMA is increasing his range but that three he took at a crucial time was horrible. Shoot 'em early, but not in crunch time.
 
Fez said:
LMA is increasing his range but that three he took at a crucial time was horrible. Shoot 'em early, but not in crunch time.
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I have a hard time deciding if I like this idea. I have thought about it a bit but can't decide. I know that the game is supposed to be fun for the guys, so part of me agrees. The other part thinks that crunch time is 48 minutes long. Kinda like saving for retirement, you shouldn't wait until you are 60 to start.

Every hoop counts....but I don't know. I would at least rather see him shoot from the top of the key instead of the corners. Doing so makes it easier to judge the rebound as well as make it easier for him to get back on D.

I mean, if people think he is going to shoot the ball, he can pump and drive...even from three. Take two dribbles and pull the defense from Oden and pass it to him and dunk city.
 
KingSpeed said:
You're absolutely right Papa G. That means Blake and Sergio must both be benched so that we can play Roy, Rudy, Outlaw, LMA, and Oden at the end of games.
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Not necessarily. It is situational. That is a great lineup but there are some PG's that require someone smaller and quicker to be able to stay with them. I don't know that Roy could stay with Paul but perhaps Rudy could.

With Oden getting more minutes, I think you'll see Frye and Outlaw both get fewer minutes.

Outlaw has played very well and has some good skills. However, he is not as complete a player as Rudy. Both have their strengths and I think that as Oden works his way into the lineup, there will be some experimentation by Nate to determine which lineups work best. In some cases it may include both Outlaw and Rudy and in others in may involve only one or the other.

Just because Oden is back doesn't make one or the other irrelevant, but it may mean fewer minutes for one or both.

Gramps...
 
How is his value dropping? He's having a great season and he's one of the top three point shooters in the league.
 
Outlaw has been playing very, very well. I'm certainly not going to hold one off game (and, yes, it was one his lesser efforts in the young season) against him.

If it didn't make sense to trade him yesterday, it makes no sense to trade him now. No GM in their right mind is going to look at THIS game and devalue him. Very few GMs, I would bet, will look at him as a lesser player if he starts to play fewer minutes just because Oden is back.

We should have our best players on the floor together at the end of the game, and I think we did tonight. That's not a slight on Outlaw, but with Rudy's emergence and the ability of Oden to both draw double teams AND hit free throws, Outlaw is going to get squeezed out of many end-game situations.

Ed O.
 
This is a bigger experimental stage for the team than we have seen so far in the season - Greg changes the complex of the game so much that it is a whole new ballgame for the coaching staff to figure out how to structure the rotation around him. I am willing to bet that they will not be set on the right way to solve it for another week or two - so you are going to see different uses for the different players as the time goes on.

Portland used to have 2 or 3 ball handlers at the end of a game - usually Roy / Jack / Blake / Travis / LMA last year or Roy / Jack / Jones / Travis / LMA: This year it was Roy / Rudy / Blake / Travis / LMA.

Having Oden in means that we are either going with one less scorer or one less ball handler and they experimented with Travis out. I suspect that this was a problem - since Travis can create a shot for himself at the end of the game no matter what - he should probably be in there at the end of the game - so the next question is - will Nate take Blake (a guy who can hit the long ball) or LMA out. I am willing to bet we will see some experimentation with these two out of the lineup for a little bit. Without Blake we are down to just Roy and Rudy handling the ball (not too bad against most teams, but could be a problem against teams that press the ball handlers well). Without LMA we are down a rebounder and a guy that can set a pick and pop for a face-up.

It is going to take a little bit for the team to figure out how they are doing it. Oden is a big adjustment for everyone, including us. But, once we get used to playing with him - the problem will be for the opposing team to adjust - and you will see the Blazers win more.

By the time the team figure it out - we might be getting JayBay into the rotation and they might have to rethink this thing again - probably not at the end of the games, however.
 
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