I think Bayless is a PG. Because he was asked to play some 2 in college doesn't mean he is not a PG. There were some games this year when I think Bay less would have been a better fit than Blake or Sergio.
Bayless looks like a point guard in the way Gil Arenas and Dwyane Wade are/were...what Damon Stoudamire termed (for himself) a "lead guard." He's more of a scorer's mentality, but has the passing skills to create for others. He'll probably never be a great pure point guard (as far as running an offense and creating for others), but he doesn't need to be alongside Roy. He can create for others via drive-and-dish and he can knock down shots created by Roy or Oden. And, of paramount importance, he can defend opposing point guards.
I've put this comparison forward before, but I really think Bayless' game resembles Tony Parker's. Bayless probably isn't a great distributor yet, but he doesn't need to be Sergio to drive and dish, especially given that he can actually finish. It'd take the finished product (Parker or Devin Harris) to make me consider trading him.
I think Bayless has an excellent chance of becoming our starting PG for many years as soon as next year. The only problem (if you can call it that) is that Blake and Rodriquez have played extremely well so far this season.
I'm not sure where everyone is getting the idea Bayless will be a good PG . . . summer league? During the draft, it seemed as though GMs favored pure PGs to Bayless as many who were projected lower were picked before Bayless . . . making me believe that GMs weren't convinced of Bayless' ability to be a PG. I will say that Bayless has got to be one of the best, if not the best, 11th or 12th man off the bench.
could someone please explain to me what a PG is supposed to do, and what exactly it is that makes it so difficult?
Bayless starts and plays really good in NBA2k9. I simulated the first game and scored 19 in the first quarter. He's legit.
Get the offense flowing. I think it is difficult because you need both physical and mental skills (and maybe leadership qualities) . . . coaches talk about the PGs duty to dictate the flow of the game.
but what does "get the offense flowing" mean? I mean, the Blazer offense consists of feeding the ball to Aldridge in the post, pick and roll, or Roy iso. What's so hard about that?
I don't think it is that easy. Remember all the complaints about Damon taking forever to get the offense going? There are some players who have a hard time surveying the situation and making a quick decision . . . I agree with the thread today (about GMs and Oden) in that most GMs will say the hardest positions to fill are the PG and Center position. I think it is because it is hard to find true centers that have size and the game to go with it and PGs becuase it's hard to find a player with the quickness and smarts to play PG. But that is just a guess . . . the idea that GMs find the PG (and center) position the hardest to fill, I think, is common knowledge . . . it's a tough position to play in the NBA
JB walked right into Garnett's chest without the slightest hesitation and KG backed down... why would he need someone to stand up for him when he did it himself? STOMP
Damon took forever to get the offense going because he was old and too lazy to push it up the court quickly, and he was playing for an incompetent coach. I guess in the end I just watch Blake play the "PG," and I don't see anything that makes playing the 1 more difficult than playing any other position, except maybe the 3, who in Nate's system does a lot of standing in corners.
Game managing isn't too hard, I agree. A point guard who simply brings the ball down the court and passes the ball to the first option and then spaces the perimeter isn't very difficult to find. It's akin to a shooting guard or small forward like Martell Webster: just finds an open spot and waits to get the ball swung to him and fires. It's the basic role and you can win with players filling the basic role at certain positions, if you have exceptional production from other positions. What is rare is a point guard who doesn't simply start the offense by passing the ball to the first option but, rather, consistently gets his teammates better scoring chances then they could have created for themselves. This can be done two ways (or a combination of both): drawing other defenders to him and great passes that get the ball to a player in a position that the defense will have trouble preventing a score. Blake can't do either one...collapse the defense or make exceptional passes (which come from court vision, decision making and actual passing ability). So he's not really an asset in creating better opportunities to score. He leaves it to Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Fernandez and Outlaw to create for themselves. His role is purely to bring the ball up, get it to one of them and then be ready to shoot open shots. Ironically, he gets shots created for him by others, rather than vice versa. So, what you see out of Blake isn't really the point guard play that is hard to find. It's game management, which beats point guards like Damon Stoudamire who (due to bad decision making and a scoring mentality minus efficient scoring ability) can't even manage an offense.
Who are the pure PGs that were picked ahead of Bayless? Remember that Bayless only "slipped" to #11. Rose, Augustin and Westbrook were the only PGs selected ahead of him, and I think it's hard to argue that Westbook is a pure PG. Watching Augustin play, I doubt Augustin will be, either. I'm not quite sure why you DON'T have the idea he'll be a good PG. He was one of the top recruits at the position coming out of high school and was set to play there until injury struck Arizona. Ed O.
I'd also argue that as much as any other factor that makes PG such a tough to fill position is how good the guys who play the position are. I'd like to see some statistics, but I bet the % of guys 5'11-6'3 is significantly higher then the rest of those who make up the 4 bigger positions combined. A player has to have a pretty tremendous combination of skill and athleticism to overcome the odds. There are some really special PG talents in the league. STOMP
who are all these pgs projected to go lower than bayless who were selected ahead of him? there was only one. dj augustin. please don't mention russell westbrook. he's less of a pg than bayless and a joke offensively. people feel like bayless will be a good pg because of the talent and skills that he has and the way he performed in college and summer league. he just hasn't gotten a chance to prove it in a real nba game yet. eventually his chance will come and i'm still very confident that he'll succeed when given the opportunity.
Westbrook did score 30 a couple of games ago. He also just turned 20 a couple of weeks ago. Calling him a joke offensively would be akin to calling a toddler a joke for not enunciating every word. But do as you do.
he shoots 37% from the field, 27% from 3 yet he still takes 12 shots a game in only 28 minutes. he also is very good at turning the ball over(3 per game).
