We all know the weaknesses of the team at the backup power forward spot.  We can't get any offense out of it.  We can't get any defense out of it.  We can't get any rebounding.  It's just abysmal.  There's nothing there.  It's been pretty much agreed upon that the most important thing to gain in this position is someone who is a good defender and is a strong rebounder.

How about a guy that has a defensive rebounding percentage of over 20% during the last few years?

How about a guy who has the reputation of being one of the premier post defenders in the game?

How about a guy with years and years of experience in big games and a championship ring?

How about a guy who is familiar with Portland and likes the city?

How about a former All-Star?

Well, this player's contract is up, and he'll be a free agent this summer.  The only issue is that he earned over 13 million last year and may expect a similar pay day (wrongly).  Maybe with a little smooth talking though, he could be had.

Oh wait, I forgot to introduce this player; although I think some of you may know who I am talking about already:

HEY GUYS!

via mvn.com

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Listen, I know there are a ton of you out there that feel the way I do, so I wish to try to help Blazers Edge by just making a designated post for all the Travis Outlaw hate that will be coming out during the next few days.  Let's try to restrict it to one post, so we don't annoy those blind Travis backers.  We know that Travis is the biggest weakpoint on this team, and both the franchise and Travis himself would be better apart.

All I'm saying with this is, let's reduce the Fan Post population, and just vent our Travis feelings here.

I agree with some of the people below that the title may have been a little mean, and I didn't want to come off like that. For that reason, I changed the title to be a bit more in line with the site and with what this post was trying to accomplish.  I still want him gone though, for reasonable value, of course.

We all know that the +/- stat is one of the most easily manipulated ones in the league.  It can tell whatever story the person holding the stat sheet wants.  Often during games, I joke about how bad someone's +/- will probably be, and I'm usually quite right.  After last night's game, it seemed that my friends and I were all in agreement: Blake and Travis probably had horrible nights while Rudy probably led the team.

The stats told a different story.  Not only was Travis not the worst +/- player on the team, he was the best at an astounding +13.  Do you think Nate factored this stat into his decision to keep Trav on the floor?

Blake was still at a respectable +2, although no one can doubt that he choked on multiple levels despite his incredible stat line.

Then there's Rudy, the game's potential savior.  Surely he must be at +8 or +9 or something like that.  Wrong.  He was at a -4.

The center spot was the other big differential with Joel at a game-worst -18 and Greg at a great +8.

Strangely enough, the Rockets didn't have anyone with a +/- in double digits going either direction.  Blazers are a team of extremes, I suppose.

All these stats tell us is that +/- is conventional wisdom's worst possible enemy.  Whether that's a good thing is the real question.

I don't know how many of you noticed this during the game, but it seemed like the main vehicle for Yao Ming to rack up points wasn't from post play or even from traditional assists.  It was a slightly more complicated version of a kick-out that, judging from the number of times it was repeated, was intentional.

When Aaron Brooks got the ball at the top of the key, he would easily drive past Steve Blake and force the center to make a decision, be it Przybilla or Oden.  Unfortunately (somewhat), both centers love to block shots and a tiny guy like Brooks is like catnip slathered in maple syrup.  They fly over to try to make the big momentum-changing stop.

Here's where things get different, though.  Brooks goes up with the shot, but it's a wild one directed off the top of the glass, barely glancing the backboard.  It comes down on the other side to a now wide-open Yao Ming for the easy basket.  It seemed like Yao got about 6-10 points off of this move alone.

It surprises me how often it worked, and it really made me wonder if it was intentional.  If so, my respect for Aaron Brooks has been raised considerably.  Also, if so, the Blazers should really game plan for such a move, or the SFs need to fly in whenever they see Brooks doing a move like that.

You have totally made sense since the beginning, as you gave thanks to the lunchbox pail guys like Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden, as they need the recognition they deserve.  I mean, how are they going to know they did a good job unless their thank you post pulls in 17 recs, am I right?

Then, you went and started thanking the guys that obviously deserve thanks due to their stats, play, game-winning shots, etc.  I think Brandon Roy desperately needed to know that this fan base appreciates him, and the Thank You post really helped lift him out of a mini existential funk.

The Thank You for Paul Allen made even more sense, as the losses his company has taken over this economic downturn have really killed his spirit.  Thank you Thank You post for helping him to realize that there's a place to go where everyone knows his name (aside from anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest).

Basically, thank you Thank Yous, you've brought a lot of fun, gratitude, and variety to the fan post section.