Travis Outlaw Wants More Shots, Specifically, More Jumpshots

by Marcel Mutoni

Last week, I mentioned how Portland has so much talent and potential on its roster that it might be a problem. While most (myself included) see this as a good problem to have, it might not be long before this changes.

Travis Outlaw is looking to break out next season, but he knows that it won’t be easy to shine on the talent-deep Blazers (especially not as a sixth man).

From The Oregonian:

“I saw Bayless have a great Summer League,” Outlaw says. “And Rudy, he’s having a great Olympics, you know? Shots are going to go down somewhere, and I feel I’m the lowest guy on the totem pole, so it may be me.”

[…]

Outlaw averaged 11.8 shots per game last season — third highest on the Blazers behind Roy and Aldridge — and he was given free rein to create his own shot, particularly in the fourth quarter. But he says he would like to average 15 shots this season — the amount Roy and Aldridge averaged last season — and disputes the notion that he had the green light with the Blazers.

If he doesn’t come to the realization that if anything, his shot attempts are likely to diminish on this team, Travis Outlaw and his quote-of-the-century material – “I shoot jumpers like layups. Sometimes I get on a fast break and I want to pull up” – could soon be wearing a different uniform.