Martell Webster Is (Re)finding His Role In Portland
Martell Webster is finding himself in an unfamiliar position heading into the upcoming season. The former Seattle Prep star and Blazer starter from ’07-’08 is playing catch-up in Portland.
Webster’s foot injury, which kept him from seeing the floor for all but five minutes last season, is ready and cleared for action. Still, Webster is stuck in a logjam of small forwards vying for the starting nod. The edge has got to go to last year’s starter, second-year Frenchman Nicolas Batum. After Batum, the Blazers seem content with tagging Travis Outlaw as their main fire power for the second unit and Rudy Fernandez is a legitimate threat to push for more minutes.
As the Blazers continue to drive their now maturing youth movement and become more of a threat in the West, Webster’s role is as undefined as ever. Through three games this preseason, Webster is averaging a modest an 8.3 ppg and has only connected on 2-of-8 shots from three-point land.
For the fifth-year small forward, who has always been hyped for his stroke behind the arc, this is an important next couple of months in his re-emergence to the League. It is not hard to imagine Coach Nate McMillan awarding Webster with decent minutes right out of the gate, but there is too much talent at the small forward position to go without controversy.
Which begs the question: Is Webster Portland’s guy for the future at small forward?
Portland has not only invested a lottery pick and four years on developing Webster to let him go to a trade now, but the organization likes him. Webster is a Northwest guy, hailing from right up the I-5 highway in Seattle. Alongside Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden, Webster makes sense at the three being a spot-up shooter. Batum is their defensive small forward, while Fernandez and Outlaw are left to battle for another scorer’s spot off the bench.
McMillan has corralled his young team, which is itching to fast break, into running one of the more successful half-court offenses in the League. For the Blazers’ tempo, Martell absolutely fits the bill and will probably continue to bury himself in the corner for spot-up jumpers. I don’t know if Webster will be the long-term solution for Portland, but on paper, he does fit the Blazers’ needs on all cylinders.
Only Webster’s adaptability and health will decide his future and success with Portland this season. He may not have the same media storm or Rip City love backing him as he did before last season, but look out for Martell’s progress this season. His stats won’t turn any heads outside of Portland, but if he can improve on his 10.7 ppg and 39 percent from beyond the arc, he will find a more secure role on one of the top teams in the West.
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October 15th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Mellmeister says:
He’ll find his role in the bench… tappin’ B.Roy’s back! hahahahahahaha!
October 15th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Lucas says:
I love Webster’s game but Batum is a better fit in the starting lineup
October 15th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Jah says:
What’s wrong with this?
PG – Andre Miller
SG – Brandon Roy
SF – Nicolas Batum
PF – LaMarcus Aldridge
C – Greg Oden
PG – Steve Blake
SG – Rudy Fernandez
SF – Martell Webster
PF – Travis Outlaw
C – Joel Pryzbilla
October 15th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Jah says:
Oops, forgot about Jerryd Bayless.
October 15th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Steve A says:
I’ll tell you what’s wrong with those 2 lineups. This isn’t a video game and players don’t like limited minutes. Rudy has made it clear he wants more minutes, same with Outlaw.
October 15th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Nathan Mathews says:
I don’t think that Brandon Roy and Andre Miller fit together very well after reading all of the reports of their first couple of preseason games. Both need the ball to be successful. Roy fits better with Steve Blake spotting up for passes off of Brandon’s drives.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
doc says:
Yeah Outlaw will get his ass handed to him down low.@nathan-you’re exactly right.And all they had to do was read some old shit on here from me for that assesment.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Chaos says:
at some point their gonna have to get rid of some of these guys cuz they are all too talented to sit on the bench. jerryd bayless is a stud who gets no PT because he stuck behind fernandez and blake and he might be the most explosive player on the team. rudy wants tick and i am not sure where he can go in order to ensure that he gets it (maybe going back to spain). martell probably won be around long if he doesnt improve on his numbers
October 15th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
ldawg3323 says:
@Jah
You dont have enough shooters in the starting 5. If miller starts, then you want to start webster. Who cares if he’s not a great defender, or even good. He just funnels his man to 14ft of front court help. Miller is not a good shooter, and Batum hasnt gotten there yet, teams will pack it in against them, hurting Oden, and Aldridge, and limiting driving lanes for Roy
October 15th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
For some reason in the NBA I like having size. Martell can’t guard other smalls as good as Outlaw and Batum. I say ship him off. He would be better suited playing the 2 anyway. They have Rudy if they want a kick out shooter.
October 15th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Hambone says:
Good Piece.
Webster has plenty of athletic ability. He is one of the top 3 most explosive players on the Blazers. If the time and effort Webster has put in this off season towards the defensive side of the ball is any indication in his future in Portland, Then the horizon is bright.
I would look for Outlaw to be traded to free up time for Rudy and Webster. The value Outlaw has in a trade and his inconsistency provides to great of an opportunity to pass up.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Josh Tha roc says:
is t.outlaw better than t.ariza?
ifoutlaw was on that lakers team i think he would of looked real good. and if he was handed the keys on houstons team ala ariza i think he would be better.