| 24 April 2010
It’s been a long five years in Portland for Martell Webster.
Not long enough for him to forget everything he’s been through.
Gone are the days of being a first round selection and the expectations that came with the territory. Gone are the days of fluctuating between a reserve and a starter and the frustration from trimmed minutes along the way. Gone are the images of Webster in a walking boot last season - a year where he essentially missed the entire year with a stress fracture in his left foot.
Now with his first postseason experience perhaps drawing to a close against the Phoenix Suns, Webster can’t believe how far he's come.
Years ago, he wondered about giving it all up.
“I felt like, ‘maybe this isn’t the sport for me’,” Webster said, remembering back to his rookie season in 2005 and the journey he’ll never forget.
The sixth overall pick that year out of Seattle Prep, Webster was assigned to the upstart Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League in mid-January after appearing in 61 games for Portland. Then first-year head coach Nate McMillan thought a trip down to the farm would bode well for the 6’7 swingman and felt Webster needed consistent floor time to grow. At that point, Martell was shooting just 32 percent (39 for 124) from the field and 33 percent (23 for 70) from 3-point range in 28 games.
He couldn’t do anything about it. The decision was already made.
“Nate called me into his office and told me they were doing it,” Webster recalled of the meeting.
“You work so hard to get to this level and then to be thrown back a little bit, it feels demeaning. It feels like a demotion. I hated it. I didn’t feel like I was the one that needed to go down.”
At the time, Webster and fellow small forward Sergei Monia spent two months with the Flyers, while other NBA novices like Sebastian Telfair, Viktor Khryapa, Travis Outlaw and Ha Seung-Jin remained in Portland. It was then that Martell learned to fuel his drive to return and stick in this league. That’s where Webster first met and worked with Blazers’ assistant coach Bill Bayno, who formerly coached with the now defunct Flyers.
“I used that to get better and kept my poise.”
The D-League stint was an obstacle Webster had to overcome, a precursor to making a different kind of adjustment this season and last. After appearing in all 82 games in 2006-07, Webster posted his best numbers as a pro in 2007-08 when he averaged 10.7 points per game and started 70 games for Portland. This year, Martell saw his minutes cut back as a reserve playing behind both Outlaw and Nicolas Batum who battled injuries. Webster knows all about that.
Last year was the absolute worst. After injuring his left foot in the preseason against Sacramento and undergoing surgery in early October, Webster returned for five whole minutes of play in Toronto in December. That’s when Martell re-aggravated the injury.
His season was over.
“It’s tough. People expect you out there and to be playing, but when your body is telling you something else, it’s hard to accept at first. Even if my foot was healed I wouldn’t have played (at the end of the season and the Playoffs). I wasn’t in shape and I was a little overweight. I probably would have ended up re-injuring it again.”
Even hobbled, Webster kept his shooting form in check.
Sporting a walking boot, it was common to see him at the practice facility or at the Rose Garden early sitting in a black folding chair and working on his release from various spots on the floor with shooting coach John Townsend. Webster – who received a four-year contract extension last October - watched and learned as Portland reached the postseason with 54 wins before falling to the Houston Rockets in the first round.
“It was real tough watching them go out there and play. I felt that I could have contributed. It’s a lot tougher to observe than it is to actually go out there and experience it. The main thing that I saw is that you have to go out there and hit first. You can’t wait to take the first lick.”
Through it all – missing the season and not being able to step on the floor for the Playoffs – Webster never dropped his head. While it was easy for guys to get lost in the shadows of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden last year, Martell didn’t hide in the dark. He knew it wasn’t his time to shine.
“Other guys would junk the locker room up a little bit over things like that,” said Roy of Webster.
“To go to the Playoffs, he felt like he missed it. That was tough for him. He was a big part of the organization turning around on and off the court. To see him come back this year and play a full season and get the opportunity to play in the Playoffs, I’m excited for him.”
In a season where nearly every player on Portland spent some time or considerable months on injured reserve, Webster and Andre Miller were the only two players to appear in every game for the Blazers. Knowing what Martell endured last year with his left foot, that accomplishment alone means the world to Webster.
“It’s definitely surreal with all the things that have happened. I feel relieved to be a part of that,” Webster added.
“That’s what fueled me through it. I had a break already. This year was about me going out there and doing everything in my power to make sure my body is healthy and my mind is right.”
During the regular season, Webster averaged 9.4 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game and started 49 games for McMillan. Both Martell’s scoring (11.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.7) numbers are up in the first round series against the Suns, but he has struggled considerably from beyond the arc.
He is shooting just 22% from deep in the postseason. It’s gone from pop and drop to plain painful.
That’s only one of many woes for Portland versus the forceful Suns who have posted back-to-back blowouts over the Blazers in Game 2 and Game 3.
Webster knew what to expect in the Playoffs now, but no one expected this.
“The whole culture changes in the Playoffs. It’s a different level – the intensity, the sense of urgency is amped up. Then you go out there and you don’t know what to expect. You can’t wait for that to happen. You have to give your all right away.”
There remains a chance Webster could receive his first playoff start against Phoenix in Game 4 on Saturday. With Rudy Fernandez still lost on the floor, McMillan hinted Friday at making a change at shooting guard with either Martell or Jerryd Bayless getting the nod. Also, if Batum nurses his injured shoulder, Webster would likely start in his absence. Those will be game time decision.
Until then, Webster waits his turn while wondering where all the time and another season have gone.
“I can remember coming into this league like it was yesterday,” said Webster, hesitating with a smile at the thought.
When told that he and Joel Pryzbilla are now the longest tenured Blazers on the roster, Martell paused again, looked around the locker room and shook his head.
“It goes by in the blink of an eye.”
photo: zurbuck.com
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