Travis Outlaw's debut with the Clippers was emblematic of his career in Portland.

Only a few minutes after entering the game Monday night, the small forward made a 22-foot jumper. He followed with a pair of three-point baskets in the second quarter to give the Clippers a 13-point lead during an eventual 98-94 victory over Charlotte.

His final line: 10 points on four-for-six shooting and one rebound in 15 minutes.

"It felt pretty good," Outlaw said Tuesday. "There's a lot more tweaking to my game, and I'm hoping as the season goes on I can quickly make the adjustments."

Outlaw was a sparkplug with Portland, leading the Blazers' bench in scoring a team-high 38 times during the 2008-09 season. He got off to another strong start this season before suffering a stress fracture in his left foot Nov. 14.

The longest-tenured Trail Blazer was traded to the Clippers before he could play again, though Outlaw, 25, figured he would not finish his career in Portland because of the logjam of players at his position. "It was just so crowded," said Outlaw, the Blazers' first-round pick in 2003 out of high school.

Outlaw considers himself as more than just a scorer off the bench and expects to create more off the dribble than he did Monday, when he mostly took jumpers. Clippers interim Coach Kim Hughes said he also would like the 6-foot-9 forward to be a more productive rebounder.

"We expect all the guys to help rebound, even if he's playing the three position," Hughes said. "If he's playing 30 minutes, we expect him to get five rebounds."

February 24, 2010|By Ben Bolch