I love Bayless for what he is, a relentlessly aggressive SG with speed. My issue is with posters who think he's our answer at PG, a position he'll clearly never master, nor even be acceptable at. I'm open to persuasion by facts, so if anyone has any factual, measureable statistics that shows Bayless has shown he is a competent NBA PG in any sense of the word, please post them here. I am particularly intrigued by those who claim he is somehow "good" at defending PG's. Not looking for your impressions, or what you think his potential is, just the facts. What specifically has he done to impress you as a PG?
I think Bayless is a combo guard. What Bayless does really well is attack the basket and he can defend quicker guards as well. This whole PG or SG thing is a bit overblown IMO. Brandon Roy is a better PG than most other teams have on their roster, but in reality he is a SG (combo guard) It's also impossible to say how Bayless would do as a "PG" because he hasn't been given any kind of consistant minutes with anyone.
Bayless was a PG in HS and would have been the PG for the Arizona but he switched to SG when they had a PG they needed to play. Even with Bayless mostly playing SG but some PG he averaged 4 apg. Bayless is the perfect PG next to Roy no matter how hard to try to bash him. You at least need to give him a chance before you start bashing Bayless. He really hasn't had a chance to play consistent PT. I do agree Sergio played better and worked hard this off season and won the backup PG but now or soon Bayless will win the battle and be at least the backup PG if not the starter.
The criteria you have for being a PG are flawed. Not everybody is Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, or Chris Paul. I believe that if you look at a Chauncy Billups (who, by the way took years to hit his stride as a PG) or a Gary Payton (who again, took years to really hit his stride as a PG) you will see the type of PG a Bayless can bring to the table. Chauncy and Gary are not necessarily all about passing. They are about defense, team ball, and they carry a bit of the scoring load themselves. I am not saying Bayless will be a perennial all star or glove level player, but that is the style of player he is. His defense is solid, IMO he is the best Blazer guard defender out on the floor already. He is a scorer. He is athletic. The passing will come with playing time. I don't believe many would throw GP or Billups off their team for taking a couple of shots, and it definitly doesn't make them "Not point guards." because they took those shots.
Ask and ye shall receive: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jerryd_bayless/career_stats.html I know, I know...Jerryd is so special that his stats should be ignored. He's so much better than a 28% shooter. Really. Trust me. Overall, his stats are horrific so far, but obviously (like Sergio) he doesn't get enough regular PT to really show what he can do. But I am looking for any specific instances where he has looked remotely like he could lead and direct a 5-man offense. Sergio and Steve have each had games where they were phenomenal at it, but Bayless has only been noticeable when he's in full SG mode, going 1-on-1. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Why does Bayless have to have pure PG instincts? What's so bad about a 6-3 guy playing the 1 that plays good defense and plays a little like a SG with some PG mixed in? I think he's absolutely fine. I'll take what he offers the team over Sergio every single time.
Of course not, the only current Blazer who league GM's have compared to those guys is Sergio, but if you had one of them would you play Bayless at PG instead? I doubt it, but if so then why?
Several posters have presented defense as a plus for their arguement. From what I've seen, he is clueless on defense. Other than a couple of steals he seemingly can't even pester his opponent at all. He gets picked constantly, and faked out of his socks repeatedly. Any examples where I'm wrong about that?
Porter most certainly was team-first. He rarely started scoring until he got the other players involved by setting them up. He often spoke about that as his primary role, getting the whole team involved in the offense.
So your basing your opinion on the whopping 144 minutes Bayless has played in the NBA? Set the rules before you ask the question, like I don't want opinions just my own, no looking at circumstances in college and getting burnt by the ROY twice in the same game means you're no better defensively than Sergio.
TOTALLY agree. During last night's 4th Quarter, the real Bayless began to emerge. More pt will only serve to prove him out as such. Hey, there's nothing inherently wrong with combo guards, is there???? Oh, and last I checked, you can still be a Derek Fisher-type and still be successful. "Oh, but he's playing for the mightly Lakers" you say? Sure, but Portland is headed in that same direction. No doubt in my mind.
You have your mind made up already and I doubt even if he had stats the same a C.Paul you would think he is better then Sergio. If I were you I would at least wait until we get more PT from Bayless before writing him off.
Magic and Nash are good examples. They run the show. They direct players actions on the court. They do a multitude of things to set up teammates for easy, high-percentage shots, whether it's drawing double-teams, setting screens, making the pass at the perfect time, angle and placement to match the shooters movement. They confuse and mis-direct the defense by their movements and actions. They include and combine with 4 guys to become 1 weapon.
