Oregon Sports Live

Although the Portland Trail Blazers were able to put away the Charlotte Bobcats tonight 80-74, securing their fourth straight win within their current road trip, it certainly came at a cost. In the first quarter, Travis Outlaw left the game with a foot injury which occurred as he made a sharp plant with his left foot while defending Gerald Wallace. X-rays later confirmed that Outlaw’s injury was a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot, not unlike Martell Webster’s injury which kept him out nearly all of last season. Outlaw is set to return to Portland immediately to have his injury evaluated.

This is certainly a disappointment for both Outlaw and the Blazers, as he was expected to anchor the scoring within Portland’s second unit. Outlaw had struggled with his shot throughout this young season, only shooting 37.6%, but Outlaw has always been an offensive threat for the Blazers as one of their few players who can effectively create shot opportunities for himself. It will be interesting to see what impact this injury may have on Outlaw’s future, as he was eager to bolster his stock in this final year of his current contract with the Blazers.

While we began the season wondering where all of Portland’s wing-players would find time to get on the floor, with the exit of Nicolas Batum and now Outlaw the Blazers will have to adjust their game plan. Now is when the Blazers’ “problem” of too much depth will pay the highest dividends. Outlaw’s departure will open up over 20 minutes a game to disperse amongst the current roster. The most obvious beneficiaries of Outlaw’s abandoned minutes should be from Rudy Fernandez and Martell Webster, both of whom have the ability to score in bunches when given the opportunity. Fernandez has more one-on-one scoring potential between the two, but both he and Webster are at their best when playing off of collapsing defenses — not breaking down defenses individually. Outlaw’s injury could also call for a bit more floor time for Brandon Roy (who is currently starting at the small forward spot), and potentially LaMarcus Aldridge as well given that Outlaw occasionally get spot minutes at power forward.

This loss stings for the Blazers, but ultimately I think they will be able to compensate for Outlaw’s (and Batum’s) injury. This is precisely why teams should stockpile talent and ignore potential logjams and the conflicts that these could provide.  Since the core of Roy, Aldridge and Greg Oden is still in tact, I’m confident that they’ll still be able to take care of business as usual.

Who do you think will be the biggest beneficiary given the loss of both Outlaw and Batum?

Leading up to the season, one of the greatest positional debates for the Blazers was at the point guard position, with fans everywhere arguing the merits of starting either Steve Blake or Andre Miller: Blake, the proven starter who helped lead the team to a 54-win season last year with a shooting touch that complements the game of Brandon Roy perfectly, and Miller, the prize acquisition of the offseason with a keen sense for running an offense and getting his teammates involved. However, given Miller’s limited shooting range, his style of play was often questioned as far as how it would be utilized alongside Roy.

Steve Blake began the season the starter, and while his play couldn’t be directly attributed to the team’s slow start, the team has clearly been trying to track down its collective identity. Coming off the bench, Miller struggled with his shot in Portland’s stagnant offense, but has effectively managed the pace of the game and has been successfully getting his teammates involved.

Needing a change in the on-court dynamic, Nate McMillan tweaked the starting lineup yesterday against the Spurs in a highly unexpected way. He started Miller at point guard…and Blake as well. While a two point-guard backcourt is somewhat unorthodox, it addressed McMillan’s desire to get more ball-movement and speed on the floor. The new-lineup worked to perfection as the Blazers launched out to a 29-14 lead. Although the move seemed to address some of the glaring weaknesses of the early season, this change has deeper implications for the rest of the year.

I think the Blazers know what they have in Miller, and they also know that they haven’t been getting the most out of his talents. I think they know how deadly they could be if they could figure out how to find the best way to utilize Miller and Roy on the floor together (a pairing that has been nothing short of awkward thus far). I think that Miller has yet to find his comfort level within this team, and it is having an adverse effect on his shooting touch.

It seems as though Miller still doesn’t quite know where he fits in, what his role is, or what he has to do to put the team in the best position to win. Miller has always been the starter, the play-maker and the initiator. We saw McMillan preaching to his squad to play fast and push the ball up the floor, something that Miller can and will do if given more freedom within the offense. I would imagine that the Miller-Blake tandem start is likely a short-term adjustments to increase the comfort level of Miller and buffer his eventual transition to the sole starting point guard on this team. Blake is still there as a beacon of consistency, an outside shooting threat, and a familiar face for Roy to defer to when he gets caught in a jam. Miller can mentally approach the game as a starter and have an immediate impact on the game’s tempo from the opening tip. I think you will see that as Miller’s minutes increase, so will his shooting percentages. We’ll also begin to see more of those crafty moves and creative finishes in the paint.

I’ve always believed that Blake is the perfect back-up point guard in this league. That isn’t to say that he hasn’t been a good starter for the Blazers or that he isn’t a good fit in the lineup. He’s a great team player who knocks down the shots he’s supposed to, always plays hard and can direct the offense seamlessly.  Blake is also the type of player who will accept his role and will make the most of it whether that is in the starting lineup or coming off of the bench. However it ends up, Blake will play an incredibly important role for the Blazers this season. Still, I think the Blazers owe it to themselves to give Miller a real chance at being successful – and take this team to another level.

It will be interesting to see how long Blake and Miller continue to start alongside one another. It could even come to a stop tomorrow against the Minnesota Timberwolves who start the 6′9″ Corey Brewer at shooting guard. Regardless, don’t be surprised to see the Blazers continue to put these two point guards on the floor together when the situation allows. The sooner the Blazers can define their players’ roles and decide how they want to play this year, the sooner they can return to their winning ways.