In addition to his 7 points tonight, Bayless dished out 6 assists in only 22 minutes to lead the team in that category. This is a very good sign. The Clippers' announcers were saying they envision Bayless as a point guard down the road, and so do I. Once he gets his outside shot going, he will be very hard to deal with.
I noticed tonight he wasn't just being a guard out there, he was running the offense. He was up top, telling people when to move, and looking for cutters, which he found several times with some nifty bounce passes. I still say the assist he got to Oden was a shot though. It doesn't matter though, the nba definition of an assist is having a player catch the ball from you and not take a dribble before shooting...so it is still an assist.
I love it about Bayless. The guy just wants to be out there playing and helping the team win. He hasn't given me the impression that he cares how many shots he gets. He's always supporting his teammates no matter what. Love it Jerryd
He's learning. I would like to see him make fewer risky passes. He threw away the ball twice tonight while trying to thread an impossible needle, but he'll get better. He's got the quickness and aggressiveness to be a very good point guard, in the Derrick Rose mold.
Agreed. But just for comparison's sake Serg Rodriquez played only 17 minutes and had 5 assists, 7 points. Unlike many others I like his game but you can start to tell who Nate is favoring... But how could you not!?
Bayless played more minutes because he EARNED more minutes with his play. Where's MARIS now? Sergio +7 Bayless +25 Checkmate. Learn the game, then post.
Sergio had a good game, too. I loved that backward, no-look tap to Oden for the dunk. Priceless! By the way, love your moniker.
Man I still feel in my gut that Blake is the odd guy out. I feel both of the young guys coming on, and we are starting to reap the rewards of them getting minutes. The reason why I think it works is both Sergio and Bayless are penetrating, attacking guards, Sergio has always been able to drive and dish, Bayless is showing signs he is picking it up. Tonight, both of them were finding an open shooter..who happened to be Brandon Roy because they had penetrated and broke down the defense. Lets face it. Roy is a pretty good 3 point shooter, especially when wide open. You just don't get a lot of those looks when Blake is the point. In 258 minutes of playing time, Bayless has shot 57 free throws. In 650 minutes of playing time, Sergio Rodriguez has shot 40 free throws. In 1,175 minutes of playing time, Steve Blake has shot 49 free throws. Now you look at those numbers, and tell me which guards are attacking the lane with penetration, putting pressure on the defense? Sergio is getting to the line twice as much as Blake. Bayless is almost 5 times as much. You win the game in the paint. Not on the perimeter.
Blake is strictly a 3 point shooting point guard, so you can't blame him on that. Let's not expect Blake to penetrate and shoot.
Yes, Eric, because we know your game is so legendary, you have every right to pass judgement on Sergio. Hell, they should put you out there so you can drop 25 dimes a game on any team in the league. I bow to your greatness.
I wasn't expecting anything of him.. I was saying he is the odd man out because of the fact he doesn't attack the paint, and IMO is actually fairly incapable of it due to lack of foot speed and or body strength.
But Blake is capable of shooting from the perimeter, which Sergio isn't, and Blake plays better defense. Even when it comes to play-making, Blake makes up for his lesser passing skill by being less mistake- and turnover-prone than Sergio. Ultimately, I think Sergio is the odd man out. Bayless seems pretty certain to me to be the inevitable long-term starter for the team and Blake seems like the perfect backup. A decent, steady player who can lead the second unit and distribute to second unit scorers like Rudy and Outlaw. If Sergio does play well, he increases his trade value, which would be great.
Hereis how I would put it. Would you rather have Blake taking a 3 pointer, or Sergio throwing it to Greg Oden in the paint? The route through the paint is the route to the future. The route to Blake at the 3 point line, is the route back to the team that was here 2 years ago, that lost a lot of games.
Another way to put it is, when Oden is double-teamed and kicks out to an open shooter, would you rather have Blake taking that shot, or Sergio? As with all championship-level teams, the route on offense is attacking the hoop and knocking down open jumpers.
When did I claim to be a good basketball player? When did I claim to be better than another basketball player? Never. Learn the game, then post.
If our PG is left wide open, he should shoot the three. And once he proves he can hit that three (something Blake can do), it then gives more room for Oden to operate.
