Neither can Roy, and it's pitiful for someone who gets so much praise. Basic requirement for a SG, IMO.
I wonder how Bayless would eventually rate up against Derek Fisher? Now THERE's a pure PG if I ever saw one.
Detroit is actually a perfect team to start Bayless and Blake against because they have a small backcourt in Stuckey and AI. So there is no way Nate will do it
I disagree, clearly he's more combo guard than pure point guard, but just because AZ plugged him into the shooting guard role his lone year in college because of an injury to a teammate doesn't mean J-Bay isn't a point guard. The problem I see is Bayless trying to prove that he's a pass first point guard when he's probably more of a scoring point guard. I have a funny feeling that if he let his inner "Marbury" come out he'd look a helluva lot more comfortable on the court and would probably end up generating a lot more offense (on both drives, kick outs and getting his own shot). The kid just needs to calm down, let things slow down a little bit and try to let the game come to him; you almost get the feeling he's trying to think too much.
I don't think it's that terrible of an idea with Rudy struggling as a starter, just to see if it would jumpstart him off the bench. We need him right now, and can't afford him to be missing wide opens 3s and playing like he has lately. We seem to start games off well anyways.. it'd be worth a shot.
No, in fact I think that is a fairly stupid idea. Bayless has a lot of capabilities, just because he is a rookie and hasn't jumped out scoring 20 points a game from the get go does not mean D league.
I see a lot of folks thinking that Rudy will be more comfortable coming off the bench or whatever. Did anybody pause to think that maybe he just hit his rookie wall, and all of this conjecture, is just that?
In Oct. and Nov. he averaged 11.1 points, 1.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds, on 41.6 fg%. 25.8 minutes. In Dec. and Jan. he's averaged 10.7 points, 2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, on 41.9 fg%. 26.6 minutes. I'm not seeing a wall, unless he ran into after opening night. He's looked just as comfortable starting as he has coming off the bench. Shooting percentage wise, that's not necessarily saying a lot.
sure why not? The team has to be considering the prospects of a future 3 guard rotation of Rudy Bayless and Roy, so it might be a good idea to take the two newest of those three out for a test drive to see how they can blend with the other projected starters. I'd guess Blake would understand and be professional about a very likely temporary demotion until Roy comes back. Regardless, here's guessing Jerryd gets a good chunk of minutes vs Detroit's small athletic backcourt. STOMP
The one thing you have to look at with this, is Bayless has not really got a chance to play beside Roy much. When most of the moves were made to put this team together, I don't think that many folks envisioned Bayless off the bench as the 5th guard. They envisioned him playing with Roy, having that playmaker on the court, and allowing a smaller Bayless, to play more comfortably as a shooter. We haven't seen this yet, and in many ways, I doubt we will see success with Bayless until we do. IMO the pieces were drafted to fit together in a certain way, and that way is not being used by the team right now. Another interesting point is last night while watching the San Antonio game, they were talking about how Bowen is coming off the bench right now to save his legs for the end of the season/playoffs. They were starting Roger Mason Jr. When asked about it, Popovich talked about saving Bowen for the playoffs, but even more important he stated "We have to get Roger Mason Jr. used to playing with this team by playoff time, the only way he is going to do that is by getting time on the court". Right now, Nate could use a good stiff jolt of that type of attitude.
No. KP said he just needs to learn how to play with great players. He didn't forget how to play basketball between Summer League and now. Going to the D League and playing Fort Worth instead of Detroit won't (IMO) do much except get him used to playing with and against scrubs. He knows our system, knows how to play and needs to get work at NBA speed and with his teammates. Part of the problem (which I've been saying for a couple of weeks now) is that he just plays with the first team in practice. Hardly ever with Sergio or Rudy...it's almost 100% with Blake and Roy. And yet, when has he played with the first team in a game? I'd much rather see Blake and Bayless together (whether it's starting or off the bench) than Blake and Rudy or Sergio and JB. Nate, however, probably won't b/c he has a bias to "veterans" over "rookies", no matter how they're playing.
I think they should send Bayless to d-league and have him play PG the entire time. With Roy on the Blazers, Bayless usefulness will be as a PG and knocking down the outside shot. Apprently he's got the outside shot . . . have him work on his fast break skills and running the offense.
Bayless is too good to be sent to the dleague. He just needs to learn and he'll learn more just practicing with the team. Bayless did not play terrible the other night. I don't get all the commotion. He's fine.
I have a problem with this. It's Nate who has control of his players. It's Nate who tells them what to do. I think Bayless's actions on the court are a result of Nate's coaching. If he wanted Bayless to be more of a scorer, then he would assign that role to Bayless, and I'm sure we'd be able to see more Bayless penetration/layups/free throws. The fact that we haven't tells me that Nate doesn't want to make Bayless a scorer and wants to make him into a point, which is also why I don't think that Nate is utilizing Bayless properly.
And Greg has not played beside Joel much. And Channing has not played beside LaMarcus much. Only one at each position can be a starter. Bayless and Roy are both SG's, as is Rudy. Bayless is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down the food chain on this team.
Those are pretty astounding stats for a 4th option who is constantly denied the ball when he's wide open, and ends up getting the ball with little time on the clock and no plays run for him. Rudy's only problem is the way Blake and Roy freeze him out all the time. Guess they fear for their jobs.
