Merged: Travis Outlaw - back after the All Star break

[LittleAlex]

I don't understand how this isn't anything but good for us. We DESPERATELY need some offense in the 2nd unit. And Travis plays PF much better than SF. It means we can move Batum back to the starting lineup and run this rotation

PG - Miller, Bayless, Blake

SG - Roy, Rudy, Bayless

SF - Batum, Webster

PF - Aldridge, Outlaw

C - Howard, Aldridge

Cunningham and Pendergraph play only a few minutes when we need some fouls.

I think Portland would miss Cunningham's toughness on the second unit along with his rebounding/defense. Outlaw is a good offensive player that doesn't really do much else.


Honestly, I think Outlaw coming back will be the straw that breaks Nate's back. He showed earlier in the season that he had no idea how to handle a deep talented roster. I see no reason to believe he has somehow figured it out in the last 2 months. I expect Outlaw's return to have a short term negative impact on the team. Long term I haven't a clue.

I do know that the negative impact will be attributed to Outlaw when it really doesn't have much to do with him. The same thing would happen if you switched the return times of Outlaw and Batum. Too much of a good thing has been a real problem for Nate and the team as a whole.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

The risk with keeping Blake is that Nate will play him ahead of Bayless or Miller.

And his contract is pretty lucrative to other teams, so he could help us bring a big back.

If he has trade value, then I'm with you, he should be traded.

If people believe this board, that Nate is clueless for playing Blake, then he should be traded.

If people believe that Nate knows what he is doing using Blake is certain situations (it not like he is getting tons of minutes now), and he has little trade value . . . Blake isn't the one that should be traded.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I've resigned myself to the notion that we do, in fact, need Outlaw on the bench, if for no other reason than to have another guy who's both willing and able to hit the big shot. I've also come to the regrettable conclusion that with Batum back and better than anyone expected, Webster will need to go elsewhere to be effective, because I don't see him contributing much as a reserve.

I think Blake, Rudy, and Webster could combine together to make an excellent trade package for some team seeking backcourt depth and/or outside shooting. If those three can be exchanged for a legit post player, I think that's the direction we need to go.

 

[hasoos]

Travis can still do one thing better than Batum (and indeed, anyone on the team other than Roy), and that is create his own offense. He's also proven to be clutch. Is there anything Webster does that Batum can't do better?

I am not so sure of that anymore. Batum has brought a lot of offense to his game this year.

 

[handiman]

Jason Quick is reporting on The Game that Outlaw will be back shortly after the All Star break.

Good to hear they're sticking close to the proven timeline of Martell's rehab from the same injury.

 

[hasoos]

Well this brings up another question. Can we get Oden back in time for the playoffs? Everybody on this team is young except for a few geezers, and one pattern has been repeating itself so far this year, and that holds with a young team: Young players heal faster than old players. Rudy came back early. Batum came back early. Outlaw is coming back early.

Can Oden come back and can we get some semblence of jello before the playoffs?