Postgame lifting gives Outlaw edge

On the NBA

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Mar 18, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

Added strength has allowed Travis Outlaw to bang around with power forwards. The fifth-year player is working on improving his consistency.

KATIE HARTLEY / TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

ADVERTISEMENTS

A half-hour after the Trail Blazers’ win over Minnesota last Saturday at the Rose Garden, Von Wafer was the only player left dressing in the locker room.

“Travis (Outlaw) is still lifting weights,” Wafer told an attendant. “That’s crazy.”

Then Martell Webster entered the locker room, his body glistening with sweat after completing his own workout.

Webster smiled at Wafer and explained that he had been getting in extra postgame work since last season, and Outlaw – who meanwhile wandered into the all-but-empty room – has been a regular this season.

“That’s dedication,” Wafer nodded approvingly.

The 6-9, 215-pound Outlaw feels the extra strength work helps him battle thicker bodies at power forward, the position he has played most this season.

“When you play the 4, the opponents kind of wear on your body,” the fifth-year pro says. “It makes me feel like I have an edge. So far, my numbers are showing it’s a lot better with me doing it.”

Outlaw is Portland’s No. 3 scorer at 13.2 points per game and is averaging 4.5 rebounds, up from his marks of 9.6 and 3.2 last season. That despite some of his poorest play of the season on the team’s recent five-game road trip, when he made only 15 of 49 shots from the field (.306) while averaging 7.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.

His season shooting percentages are solid – .442 from the field, .375 from 3-point range and .728 from the line.

“Travis is working on consistency,” coach Nate McMillan says. “There are periods where he may have a week of bad basketball, but he’ll find a way to get it back.”

Outlaw seemed to come out of his slump against the Timberwolves, knocking down 8 of 13 shots while collecting 17 points and three boards in 17 minutes. He hopes that continues tonight at the Garden against Phoenix, but he is one of those rare NBA players who is genuinely most concerned about the team’s welfare.

“I don’t know why I had the drop-off,” Outlaw says. “I was like, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ But the team has been doing well, and that’s the most important thing.”

McMillan envisions using Outlaw, 23, in the same capacity next season.

“We like him in that sixth-man role,” McMillan says. “He’s become a very important player for us. As far as the future, that’s where we see him – a guy who can come off the bench and provide some scoring. He can do that at both the 3 and 4 spots.”

“Whatever it takes for the team to win,” Outlaw says. “Wherever the organization feels they need me at, that’s where I’m going to be. As long as the minutes are there, I’m OK.”

• Tonight’s contest remains a red-letter game on the schedule for Portland center Joel Przybilla.

“Not only to face (Shaquille O’Neal), but the whole Phoenix team – (Amare) Stoudemire, (Steve) Nash … they’ve been one of the top teams in the league the past few years,” he says. “It’s always a good challenge.”

In their meeting here two weeks ago, Portland cut a 23-point third-quarter deficit to two before falling 97-92 to the Suns.

“We feel like we owe them one,” Przybilla says. “We thought we should have had that game.”

• The other Blazer big man, LaMarcus Aldridge, claims he doesn’t get psyched up for one opponent over another.

“Every game is the same,” he says.

1 | 2 Next Page >>