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Hi, Blazers fan here I haven't seen any Nets games this season, but it seems that a former quality Blazer 6th man, Travis Outlaw is having a statistically terrible season for you guys. I am shocked by this as I though Outlaw would be able to average at least 15 ppg on a team with less scoring option... I don't mean to attack NJ in any way, I am just curious why this guy has sucked for you guys.

Anyone mind giving a little insight why Outlaw is playing like a scrub?

- Outlaw is not playing power forward anymore
- Outlaw is is more reluctant than ever to attack the basket
- Outlaw can't dribble. Which is a problem that is compounded by the fact that the Nets other starting swingman (Anthony Morrow), who HAS been earning his contract, isn't a very adept ball handler himself...

Oh and Avery's offense sucks... We have Devin Harris operating mostly in the half court, Brook Lopez on the perimeter pretending he's Dirk, and Jordan Farmar dribbling the ball for 22 seconds before passing the ball to the other team.

On offense... There is no game plan.

He sucks at everything he does, except his 1 half every 10 games where his shot is on.

even every 10 games sounds too often

And one half sound too long. More like a few minutes.

hondaaccord wrote:Hi, Blazers fan here I haven't seen any Nets games this season, but it seems that a former quality Blazer 6th man, Travis Outlaw is having a statistically terrible season for you guys. I am shocked by this as I though Outlaw would be able to average at least 15 ppg on a team with less scoring option... I don't mean to attack NJ in any way, I am just curious why this guy has sucked for you guys.

Anyone mind giving a little insight why Outlaw is playing like a scrub?

It's a problem with our system and coach. Portland needs to trade for Travis ASAP so he can show people what he's really about.

I honestly still believe that he's having a tough time coming back from injury and will have an impact on our season next year in a good way. He's having a tough time fitting in, etc.

I also expected Travis to be a lot better than he's shown this year for you guys.

Not playing him at PF is a big issue imo. He was so successful at PF because he could take advantage of the slower PF's in the league. At SF, he plays against faster players and since he doesn't have great handles, it negates whatever advantages he has.

Also, not trying to pile on, but I just cant for the life of me wrap my brain around the reason you guys paid Outlaw THAT much money. There is no way his market price was that high. I could have seen a MLE deal. I mean, he would still be looked at as a bit overpaid given his stats this year, but that would have been reasonable given his age and what he can potentially bring to the table. But 7 million a year!!!??? Who does that?

DusterBuster wrote:Also, not trying to pile on, but I just cant for the life of me wrap my brain around the reason you guys paid Outlaw THAT much money. There is no way his market price was that high. I could have seen a MLE deal. I mean, he would still be looked at as a bit overpaid given his stats this year, but that would have been reasonable given his age and what he can potentially bring to the table. But 7 million a year!!!??? Who does that?

You're preaching to the choir. I had my list of offseason targets last July, and TrOut did not make my top 10 in SFs. I had guys like Dorell Wright as potential value buys in case we missed out on Lebron and Gay, but I never in a million years did I think we'd pay above-MLE for anyone at that level. It's mind-numbing.

I read somewhere he has asthma and knowing this Nate McMillan gave him short stints off the bench.
He started the season as a starter but he's not well rounded enough to start. I think his niche is coming off the bench.

Also our coach wants him to concentrate on playing small forward only. Travis is shooting more threes than he has in past years at a bad percentage.

Isn't the asthma thing something Avery should know about He plays him for an insane amount of minutes... In fact he's averaging ~30 minutes pergame, the closest he's come to that was ~28 back in 08-09.

Ya, I remember him having asthma issues, but it never seemed to effect his game that bad in Portland.

It seems to me, as an outsider looking in, that a lot of Outlaw's problem is coaching. Avery isn't putting Outlaw in the position to succeed, he's trying to force him into something he's not. I'm not saying that with a new coach Outlaw is going to a totally different player, but if Avery used Travis more like McMillan did, the Nets would get a lot more out of him.

DusterBuster wrote:Ya, I remember him having asthma issues, but it never seemed to effect his game that bad in Portland.

It seems to me, as an outsider looking in, that a lot of Outlaw's problem is coaching. Avery isn't putting Outlaw in the position to succeed, he's trying to force him into something he's not. I'm not saying that with a new coach Outlaw is going to a totally different player, but if Avery used Travis more like McMillan did, the Nets would get a lot more out of him.

Problem is, there's really not minutes at PF (if that is indeed a solution to Outlaw's struggles). There's barely enough minutes out there for Humphries and Favors already. Although, they might be able to squeeze some minutes by playing small (Kris/Derrick at C to backup Lopez instead of Petro).

DusterBuster wrote:Ya, I remember him having asthma issues, but it never seemed to effect his game that bad in Portland.

It seems to me, as an outsider looking in, that a lot of Outlaw's problem is coaching. Avery isn't putting Outlaw in the position to succeed, he's trying to force him into something he's not. I'm not saying that with a new coach Outlaw is going to a totally different player, but if Avery used Travis more like McMillan did, the Nets would get a lot more out of him.

Avery likes to crack the whip and flex his authority, Nate McMillan is just a good coach.
That team had some unfortunate injuries to Oden, Camby, Pryzbilla, Roy but they roll with the punches.

Eh Nate had his own problems even when the Blazers were healthy.

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