Compared to Brandon Roy’s historical night, Travis Outlaw will be back page news come Friday morning. But he should at least get a sidebar mention in the win over Phoenix on national television.
As Roy stood with the game ball under his arm after finishing with a career-high 52 points, Outlaw slowly slipped into the tunnel towards the Blazers locker room. Portland sure needed this one. But Outlaw needed it even more.
He hasn’t been himself lately, even before the sore tailbone which has hampered Travis since Utah. Heck, even the trade rumors probably took their toll. No newsflash here: last year’s “Mr. 4th Quarter” has been – shall we say – a bit M.I. A.
On Thursday night though, Outlaw inched back towards outstanding. Not only did he provide the only scoring spark (14 points) in the second unit, but he remained aggressive throughout (6 rebounds). Then there was “the play.”
Outlaws ability to battle Jason Richardson for a rebound with 12.2 seconds left and Portland up by three points could have been the play of the game. Blazers ball. After fourth quarter collapses to Orlando and the Los Angeles Clippers last week, it certainly was the Blazers saving grace.
Portland has shown they can beat the dregs of the league like Sacramento. The way the Blazers make noise in the NBA though is by beating upper echelon teams like the Suns. Okay, so it’s not those Phoenix Suns, but nevertheless a difficult match-up coming off three days rest against a young team like Portland who has endured some growing pains of late.
Luckily along with Roy, Steve Blake (22 points and 10 assists) and LaMarcus Aldridge (16 points on 8 for 12), Travis Outlaw came to play.
pic via: daylife
Exhilarating. The NBA…Where Brandon Roy happens. Wow, I got my X-mas present a little early.
Everything was gravy until TNT showed those shirtless Rose Garden fans bumpin’ ‘n’ grindin’. I was watching the game down here in Los Angeles at some friends’ house and everyone was cracking up. It was hilarious, but I was utterly embarrassed at the same time. I was like, “Please, that is not indicative of all Portland fans!!! Damn, people already think my hometown is redneck. This is so wrong!”
So funny!
B-Roy; it feels so good to root for that dude.
that was just wrong on so many levels….the dancing, not brandon’s performance.
what was there not to appreciate about that?
Even Chuck was laughing. I guess Raider fans are migrating north. Good call on Travis. He reminds me of GO in a way. Sometimes these guys need to remember that they are playing a game, and games are supposed to be fun. A little Mr. Baseball quote. I know that expectations get heavy at times but just play. This was a throwback to the good old days. Best game I have ever seen was at the MC. A friend had extra tickets and asked if we wanted to go. November 5th 1976, Bill Walton’s 24th birthday and the Doctor with his Sixers making a house call. Bill’s 26-14-6 led the Blazers to a 146-102 victory. He then showered the Shonz with Rainier at Center Court
actually, i thought that was chuck for a second…..
hard to beat a good shonz getting showered with rainer story. that’s classic riles.
i like the GO and TO comparison. the one difference is travis has been around for a minute now and knows he can deliver in the fourth – or any other quarter. he just hasn’t been aggressively consistent thus far.
but greg…..he’s still feeling his way around out there. travis gets fired up after a clutch play. you can see it on his face. oden however, he needs that fire lit under him.
Greg also needs to quit bullying Shaq’s elbows with his face and chest. That would keep him out of foul trouble.
ouch….
poor shaq. he’s been getting that his whole career.
i’m sure shaq will soon include “greg ate my elbow” on his “twitter”:
http://twitter.com/THE_REAL_SHAQ