I'm a little surprised how much time Bayless is getting considering there is a shortage of minutes in the first place. Wondering if they are trying to get him minutes this year knowing Blake won't be resigned or that Rudy will be traded....?
We don't know how well he's doing in practice. Hopefully he's forcing his way into the lineup, rather than Nate feeling like he's sacrificing the present for the future. Not that I wouldn't be willing to sacrifice some present for the future, but I just would rather all players earn their PT. Ed O.
...Rudy is one of the best players in the WORLD, he needs the most minutes as possible, Bayless and TO are being showcased for an upcoming trade
Bayless outplayed Blake and Rudy in preseason (Rudy was injured) I am guessing he is simply playing better in practice
This^^^^^ Bayless' problem is the inverse of Oden's last year. Oden would get all down before the game even started and kind of Eeyore his way across the court moping about. Bayless gets so excited thinking about playing that he starts fouling Cunningham while they're still on the bench. I mean this guy is AMPED UP. Once he calms down and plays a bit better he will get more time. Bayless may still be just what the doctor ordered next to Roy. He's young and he hasn't gotten enough minutes to develop. Flynn and Evans wouldn't look nearly as good if they got 1/20th the playing time they do. They'd probably get nervous about getting yanked and try too hard...just like Bayless does. I still think Bayless might be the answer next to Roy. It's always best if you can groom your own talent rather then trade for it.
I'm really not worried about point guards who fit next to Roy. I'm more worried about point guards who work well with Oden. Unless Roy becomes infinitely better at getting Oden the ball, then I think we need a point who can distribute and control the flow. This team is playing so much better with Miller at the point. It's obvious when Oden is on his game, we win. Period. Roy is a shooting guard. It shouldn't matter who the point guard is.
I'm a big Rudy homer and believe he needs as much playing time as possible. The problem is Nate is a big Blake homer and now Bayless is stealing minutes from Rudy. I just think the writing is on the wall Rudy won't be happy playing backup forever and certainly isn't going to be happy with decreased minutes this year. I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that Rudy is going to be traded.
Trust me this is the last thing I want to see happen but I can't see Rudy being happy playing 20 minutes a night. He'd be a starter on over half the teams in the NBA and likely be a 20 ppg scorer and earn a nice contract. Sucks we aren't going to be able to keep all this talent together forever. Eventually we'll have to consolidate maybe sooner rather than later (trade deadline or this summer at the latest)
maybe not.. but I could see Rudy very happy with a 28 mpg future here. with a 3 guard rotation of Bayless, Roy and Rudy that is.
