The Forgottne Blazer: Martell

[Nikolokolus]

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/03/martell_webster_plans_his_come.html

Freeman with a 'non-update' update on Martell's status really got me to thinking about what kind of impact he would have had this year. I know there's not much in his first 3 years with the team that would suggest he was poised for a big breakout season, but lately as I've watched Rudy struggle with his shot and the fatigue of an 82 game season I can't help but wonder what could have been with a healthy Martell, able to play both the 2 and the 3.

Hopefully he really does get healthy in the next couple of weeks and is able to make a positive contribution.

 

[Tince]

Joe Freeman wrote this article, not Quick.

I thought it was a nice read, despite not giving us any insight on his return date.

 

[alex42083]

I'm pulling for Martell to be a long-term fixture on this team. I want him to succeed here, especially with Rudy kind of in and out on his three-point shooting like Nik said.

I'm not sure where Martell's minutes would come from on this team with Nicolas and Travis and everybody healthy, but hopefully he can find a role on this team. I don't really root on for specific players too much but for some reason, I really want Martell to come back and have an impact.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Joe Freeman wrote this article, not Quick.

I thought it was a nice read, despite not giving us any insight on his return date.

Yeah my bad, I just assumed it was Quick without reading the tagline since he's written all of the other stories about Martell throughout the year.

 

[STOMP]

Marwho?

I really like Joe Freeman's contributions... he utilizes plenty of quotes in context and doesn't pretend he's some integral part of the Blazers.

here's the most spot on take about what Martell's return would mean...

"Martell's a type of guy who doesn't come in and demand shots," All-Star guard Brandon Roy said. "I think the biggest thing is getting his legs and understanding he's coming into a tight situation. But Martell won't mess up anything. We can just fit him right in because of his style of play. I don't worry about Martell coming in at all."

MW is an okay complimentary player who can bury the corner shot at a decent rate and has 6 fouls on D. Portland doesn't really need him as they have decent options already, but his return probably wouldn't hurt.

STOMP

 

[blue32]

I would love to have Martell back..... his D is light years ahead of Rudy's IMO.

 

[ant]

With Martell back next year, I like Sergio leading the bench unit...lots of shooters to set up with Joel setting picks.

Sergio
Rudy
Martell
Outlaw
Joel

Maybe Bayless will blossom into the starting role and we let Blake walk with Frye. Or maybe we spend our free agent big money on a veteran PG. Either way, PG really seems like the position to deal with this summer.

 

[BlazerBeliever]

I have no doubt point guard is the position we need to go after this summer.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Bayless
Fernandez
Webster
Outlaw
Przybilla

I hope Webby can stay healthy as I see him as a very valuable bench player when we are making our title runs.

 

[e_blazer]

Yeah, if Webster comes back healthy and ready to contribute, I think we'll see Outlaw getting more time at the 4, which seems to be where Nate prefers to play him. I know that will be a real downer for the Channing Frye fans on the board.

 

[Wheels]

Man what are we gonna do... Webster, Outlaw, Batum all cant share minutes.. glad I dont have to make the decisions KP does.

 

[MIXUM]

outlaw will be our backup 4. sergio wont be back. blake will backup our new starting pg. bayless will star as joneal in the blazers 99 season.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Batum does everything better than Webster except hit open treys.

Outlaw can play both forward positions, and his ability to get his own shot, combine to make him a better bench option.

Webster's best chance to stick is if Blake leaves and/or Rudy flops. Then he might have a role as a designated shooter.

 

[hasoos]

Batum does everything better than Webster except hit open treys.

Outlaw can play both forward positions, and his ability to get his own shot, combine to make him a better bench option.

Webster's best chance to stick is if Blake leaves and/or Rudy flops. Then he might have a role as a designated shooter.

Sorry I can't agree with you there. Webster averaged nearly 11 points a game where Batum on most nights doesn't even score, or if he does it's only one or 2 points. You aren't just a "better 3 point shooter" when the scoring disparity is almost 10 points a game. Secondly you seem to forget that Webster has been the fastest guy on the team several years running. More team speed is a good thing. Lastly, while Batum is a pest defensivly, his lack of physicality is still a problem, as he has issues with physical players. Martell has a legit NBA body and can take the punishment. Batum will be good I am sure. But don't be crowning him now, he hasn't really done dick yet.

 

[handiman]

No way is Webster more physical (or physically capable) than Batum. And while Webster might post the best lap times on the conditioning test each year, I have no doubt that Batum gets down the court consistently faster in real game situations.

 

[LittleAlex]

With Martell back next year, I like Sergio leading the bench unit...lots of shooters to set up with Joel setting picks.

Sergio
Rudy
Martell
Outlaw
Joel

Maybe Bayless will blossom into the starting role and we let Blake walk with Frye. Or maybe we spend our free agent big money on a veteran PG. Either way, PG really seems like the position to deal with this summer.

I am really, really hoping that after this season I never see Sergio in a Blazer uniform again.

 

[Minstrel]

Sorry I can't agree with you there. Webster averaged nearly 11 points a game where Batum on most nights doesn't even score, or if he does it's only one or 2 points. You aren't just a "better 3 point shooter" when the scoring disparity is almost 10 points a game.

Webster last year averaged 10.7 PPG, Batum this year averages 5.3 PPG. So, it's not "almost 10 points per game difference." It's more like 5 points per game. In addition, Webster played more minutes per game. Evening minutes narrows the difference further...13.3 points per-36 for Webster, 10.3 points per-36 for Batum.

Finally, they have the same scoring efficiency. Webster scores more purely because he shoots more. He's not more effective, he just takes more shots.

Batum is a much better defensive player than Webster, who is simply not a very good defender. Considering there's virtually no scoring ability difference between them (and we're comparing a rookie to a three-year player...whom do you think will improve more by next season?), the defensive difference easily puts Batum ahead.

 

[handiman]

Batum is a much better defensive player than Webster, who is simply not a very good defender.

Yeah, I don't know where this commonly held notion that Martell is a good defender comes from. Is it because he's a good athlete with good size and a solid head on his shoulders? Simply put, he's average at best, defensively.

 

[Minstrel]

Yeah, I don't know where this commonly held notion that Martell is a good defender comes from. Is it because he's a good athlete with good size and a solid head on his shoulders? Simply put, he's average at best, defensively.

Yeah, I think it must be due to how he looks. He looks like a classic NBA athlete and has the tools. He's just not all that effective.

 

[SpamKing99]

I'm not big on Webs... I rarely saw the defense for which he is often lauded (and I have pretty good seats!), and he's really pretty passive on the offensive end of the court. He doesn't have good enough ball-handling skills to play much time at offguard, and the other stuff he does can be easily duplicated by Rudy, Nic, or Travis.

If I were GM (and I'm sure y'all are happy that I'm not), I'd package the guy for a real ball-distributing PG and let Blake fulfill his ideal role as a backup...

 

[Pontius]

It has been my opinion that far too much had been expected from Martell during his first three seasons. With his age being the prime reason my expectations weren't so lofty, I was able to be satisfied with the glimpses of great ability that he has shown. I believe that he will prove a lot of you fools when he ends up putting it all together on a more consistent basis - of which I have very little doubt that he has the talent and drive to accomplish said feat. He is a perfect fit on this team and will provide much needed scoring on either the first or second unit when he does come back. His defense is better than either Rudy's or Travis' and we will all come to realize what exactly this team has missed going into next year. His impact will be so positive that I do not believe anything other than perhaps bringing over Freeland(Or another strong back-up PF) will be necessary to bring this team to championship level contention starting next year. He's that good and he fits that well.

 

[STOMP]

It has been my opinion that far too much had been expected from Martell during his first three seasons. With his age being the prime reason my expectations weren't so lofty, I was able to be satisfied with the glimpses of great ability that he has shown. I believe that he will prove a lot of you fools when he ends up putting it all together on a more consistent basis - of which I have very little doubt that he has the talent and drive to accomplish said feat. He is a perfect fit on this team and will provide much needed scoring on either the first or second unit when he does come back. His defense is better than either Rudy's or Travis' and we will all come to realize what exactly this team has missed going into next year. His impact will be so positive that I do not believe anything other than perhaps bringing over Freeland(Or another strong back-up PF) will be necessary to bring this team to championship level contention starting next year. He's that good and he fits that well.

I wouldn't call attention to his drive... it wasn't until his 3rd season that he finally shed the baby fat and he's yet to add a noticeable wrinkle/skill to his game.

According to the expectations thread, many posters already feel the club is going to be at contender level next year. I very much doubt these opinions hinge on Martell taking quantum steps forward as most here also project Batum as the guy at SF. Though younger and less experienced then MW, he's already enjoying more statistical success and opinions aren't very divided on the quality of his D. Hell, without MW and with 3 rookies in the rotation, Portland is on pace for 50+ wins and in contention for home court advantage... and next year one would expect continued improvement from such a young roster.

Heres hoping he proves all of us "fools" wrong and that he steps up all facets of his game, but I won't be giving him credit for putting Portland over the top if he comes back on the same old mediocre productivity plateau he's been on.

STOMP

 

[Pontius]

I wouldn't call attention to his drive... it wasn't until his 3rd season that he finally shed the baby fat and he's yet to add a noticeable wrinkle/skill to his game.

According to the expectations thread, many posters already feel the club is going to be at contender level next year. I very much doubt these opinions hinge on Martell taking quantum steps forward as most here also project Batum as the guy at SF. Though younger and less experienced then MW, he's already enjoying more statistical success and opinions aren't very divided on the quality of his D. Hell, without MW and with 3 rookies in the rotation, Portland is on pace for 50+ wins and in contention for home court advantage... and next year one would expect continued improvement from such a young roster.

Heres hoping he proves all of us "fools" wrong and that he steps up all facets of his game, but I won't be giving him credit for putting Portland over the top if he comes back on the same old mediocre productivity plateau he's been on.

STOMP

Ahhhh, good ol' expectations again. This drive you acknowledge came at a time when Martell was exactly 20-years-old; after a life of much hardship, which to me exemplifies a man of strong character and fortitude. A little silly to belittle this fact. Most kids that age do not have the where with all or the hubris to seek out professional treatment in order to get their thoughts and feelings back on track. I can only applaud him for recognizing this necessity for help far sooner than the average person would've.


My main point was not about next year, it was about what Martell would've brought to the team this year. This team is wholly deficient in its perimeter shot defense, much due to the lack of ability by our wings to properly rotate to find the open man. I believe Martell would've only helped in this area with regard to his defense and this fact alone would've made this team a legit contender this year, saying nothing of what he would've offered as another viable scoring option.

My point about the "fools" was about expectation. You decide to see him as an individual without really understanding what his affect would've been on the team level. This team, this year would've been that much better had Martell played up to his supposed improvement. I tend to believe that at the start of the year he was that much improved as any 21-22 year old can that much improve(a lot).

This team will not be great next year without Martell. Just as the team is not great this year without Martell. Failing to see that is what I would call foolish. That's just my opinion of course.

 

[oldmangrouch]

So, we should not judge Webster based on the fact he was the #6 pick in the draft.

We should not judge him based on the fact the Blazers wanted him over Paul/Williams.

We should not judge him based on the fact that Outlaw and Batum, both drafted much later, are more valuable to the team.

Just what standard SHOULD we use to judge his performance - or lack thereof?

 

[STOMP]

Ahhhh, good ol' expectations again.

the expectations thread... it's spot where posters (besides you) have been posting that Portland will be a contender next year which you claimed would happen because Martell would be back making the difference... even a fool should be able to follow that.

This drive you acknowledge came at a time when Martell was exactly 20-years-old; after a life of much hardship, which to me exemplifies a man of strong character and fortitude. A little silly to belittle this fact. Most kids that age do not have the where with all or the hubris to seek out professional treatment in order to get their thoughts and feelings back on track. I can only applaud him for recognizing this necessity for help far sooner than the average person would've.

silly me for expecting a pro athlete to be in top shape before his 3rd year in the league.

My main point was not about next year, it was about what Martell would've brought to the team this year. This team is wholly deficient in its perimeter shot defense, much due to the lack of ability by our wings to properly rotate to find the open man. I believe Martell would've only helped in this area with regard to his defense and this fact alone would've made this team a legit contender this year, saying nothing of what he would've offered as another viable scoring option.

yet like many others I think his D is mediocre at best... and I'm fine with disagreeing without calling anyone an idiot.There is no question that Martel's rebounding, steals, and block rates all trail the other two guys.

On the other end he's pretty much been 3 point shooter and little else. He doesn't dribble much, doesn't get assists, and doesn't get to the line. And it's a fact that Portland is shooting both a higher percentage and making more 3's then they did last year. Even without Martell's contributions they are an elite team in this regard.

about the "fools" was about expectation. You decide to see him as an individual without really understanding what his affect would've been on the team level. This team, this year would've been that much better had Martell played up to his supposed improvement. I tend to believe that at the start of the year he was that much improved as any 21-22 year old can that much improve(a lot). .

I've watched him plenty in forming my opinion, and it's always been in a team context... why you're making up silly BS about how I'm comprehending the game and belittling the many that you disagree with is a mystery to me... have I been rude to you ever? And again, my reference to "expectation" was to a recent thread with expectation in the title that was relevant to what you were talking about. I tend to believe more in MW's body of work then half a single preseason blowout game against the worst team in the league who was missing it's two best players... and I'm foolish

STOMP