Then look at what you just said. The route to the championship is by attacking the hoop and knocking down open jumpers. At what point with Steve Blake is the hoop ever attacked? Both of the other guards attack the rim. Both of them have shown that by being agressive to the rim, they get other people open looks from the 3 point line, players who are better shooters then they would be. I would much rather have Roy or Rudy taking 3's than any of the rest of our guards. The highest percentage shots are in the paint. Live by the 3, die by the 3, you will mostly die.
And at what point does Sergio knock down open jumpers? Both Sergio and Blake are flawed players. I don't think every player on the floor needs to be able to attack the hoop. It's helpful, though, for everyone to have a shot that the defense has to respect. I'm hardly advocating that Blake should be a top option on offense, so Blake being able to shoot threes doesn't in any way represent a "jump-shooting offense." The question is what do you want from your backup point guard? Since he'll always be on the floor with scorers and he'll be a backup on a team that expects to have a great starting unit, I think risk-aversion is a pretty good trait in the backup point guard. We'll be expecting our starting units to beat the other teams...a player who's more likely to keep things on an even keel when he's in makes a better backup to a great starting unit than a player who can as easily help blow a lead as build a lead. Blake is good at not making silly mistakes, getting the ball to better scorers and shooting open jumpers. That's not dynamic enough for a starter, but seems pretty useful out of the backup point guard.
The best players are the ones that can drive to the hoop, draw fouls, and make free throws. LeBron. Kobe. Pierce. Wade. Roy. Those are the elite swingmen in the game. Usually they are in the best position to finish at the rim due to their size and athleticism (not to mention their ability to shoot as well). Unless you can shoot as well as someone like Reggie Miller or Ray Allen, you need to be able to drive, which creates for yourself, makes the defense adjust, and thus creating opportunities for others to get open as well. If you have a DOMINATING big man, you can dump in inside and play inside outside, like how the Rockets won back in the 90's with the gunners like Maxwell on the outside. We're in a pretty good position. We have good shooters, multiple people who have shown or proven the ability to create and finish at the rim (Roy, Outlaw, Bayless), a bruising big man in training (Oden), and a finesse PF who can shoot the jumper, score on hte block and play solid defense. Add a few solid pieces like good shooters (Rudy, Webster) and a backup bigman as solid as they come (Pryzbilla). Pretty good core if you ask me.
Ultimately, I think the question is: who contributes the most, including defense? IMO, between Blake and Rodriguez, it's Blake. And I'm no great Blake fan. Sergio reminds me of Telfair...he can look so brilliant that you can envision him running an amazing offense for years, and then spends the next five games missing shots, turning the ball over and being exploited on defense. Blake is no great shakes, either, but he produces more and in steadier fashion.
You're making a lot of sense, hasoos, both in the above post and the one you made earlier. Getting to the rim, or to the free-throw line, is crucial to the team's success. That's why I love Bayless' aggressive style.
As you and all Bayless lovers claim +/- means NOTHING> Bayless sucked the 1st half, absolutely horrible, and therefore played in the 2nd half purely because Nate-loves-short-SG's-who remind him of him. He had an okay game, half of his lazy passes got tipped, 4 stupid fouls, and still can't shoot at all. Typical rookie trying hard but getting schooled by the competition. He was credited an assist for his woefully short shot, and also for a pass Joel threw to Rudy at the end of a quarter. But he'll improve eventually, with PT, which he will get from Nate despite not earning it yet. He'll never be a PG though. Sergio had a much better game, BTW, and the difference in poise, confidence, and execution is obvious. Every minute Sergio sits is a wasted minute in our quest for a dynasty.
Yes, but ultimately if Sergio can't hit a shot, teams won't let him get into the paint. It will be the same with Bayless. He needs to start hitting his shots or teams will sag off him and make him shoot. This is the reason why Sergio hasn't played as well as he did his rookie season. Teams figured him out.
I didn't catch the game . . . did Bayless get mor minutes because he deserved them? Just from looking at the box score, I would figure there were a lot of garbage minutes?????
Sergio came in for Blake as part of the regular rotation. When Blake aggravated his shoulder, Bayless came into play. He also was, iirc, part of the big run that the Blazers put on. There really weren't too many minutes of garbage time last night since the Blazers didn't run away with the game until late. Ed O.
lol...well on the court its different...lots of eye, forehead, and mouth movement...at least when I watched him
Wrong. There is no defense against Sergio. None at all. He is the PG to whom all future great PG's will aspire to be compared to. He is basketball incanate. Blake is hard to defend because he doesn't take chances, ever. And he always has Roy to bail him out if he can't set up a play in time. And he can drill the 3. And the refs absolutely love him. Right now, Bayless is the easiest to defend because he is a rookie and falls for every head fake, is confused by the simplest of picks, and after a short honeymoon with the refs he no longer is getting the calls when he drives ala Jarrett Jack hoping for a foul. In a couple years, he may be harder than Blake, but that remains to be seen. Eventually he will have to consistently make real shots, not just layups, stop the stupid fouls and turnovers, learn to run the pick and roll, and greatly improve his defense. His work ethic is obvious, so I have faith he will become a good, productive SG in a few years.
I have to take issue with this statement. In my experience, a player who drives aggressively is actually more dangerous when given space. Prime example was the broken play which led to the Bayless-Oden alley-oop (or Oden putback on Bayless airball, depending on your interpretation). Once Bayless had the ball and a head of steam, there was no stopping him. If teams "sag off him", they're just daring him to take a step back and then drive straight past them--not a good plan. You have to play a driver close if you want to keep him in front of you.
