Considering Batum barely played, Bayless was really the only unproven, young piece that played tonight. Nice to see a little hope in a blowout.
That shouldn't take away from what JB did. It's nice to see a potential piece of the future perform well on the big stage. Last year, Rudy was terrible in the playoffs. This year, Rudy is terrible in the playoffs. Hopefully, JB is showing he can bring it in big games. You can still evaluate individual talent and try and take something from the game.
bayless has stepped up this series. before it started the talk was him only getting like 3-4 minutes a half
Part of it is that he is playing at his natural position at SG and not PG. However, with that said, he can easily back up Roy, get 6th man minutes to replace Miller/Roy and slide over Roy to SF as well. He can play with Roy at the end of the games to IMO, especially if his shooting gets improved, which it seems to be getting better in this series.
Then Rudy can back up Bayless. Get the three guard lineup rolling. It seemed to work when we were actually moving the ball
NEWSFLASH -- PRITCHARD GOT ANOTHER JAILBLAZER At the U. of Arizona, Bayless punched a teammate in the mouth on the morning of a tourney game. All Wildcat fans remember it as possibly causing them to lose the playoff game. "Jerryd Bayless, you say? My lasting memory of him is punching teammate Zane Johnson in the kisser on the morning UA, 19-14, was eliminated from a first-round NCAA tournament game by West Virginia. It was a dysfunctional team." http://azstarnet.com/sports/basketb...cle_0419a307-8904-5888-b5b3-2fe79686199b.html
Michael Jordan punched Steve Kerr in the mouth. I think you're being a bit of a Bayless homer, comparing him to Michael Jordan so early in his career, but it's your prerogative.
Bayless probably punched him in the mouth because the kid only thought they might win, instead of knowing it for a fact.
Bayless brings effort and energy every night - that's one thing you can say about him (sometimes to his detriment when he lowers his shoulder going to the basket like a running back on 3rd and goal from the 1) In two years I've never seen him not bring 100% effort. I can't tell yet whether this is as good as it gets form him, or if he's going to develop a jumper and learn how to play under control.
Oh come on. This entire playoff series you've been all about taking the stance that you want to play against the Phoenix's best so you / we can judge our players by who steps up, and brings it for the playoffs when games matter. Now that it is becoming clear that Bayless is one of those players (the very few on our team) who steps up and plays hard every game, you change your tune to a "good for him, I guess". Lame.
No, no, no. It's all Nate's fault. All of those that see Frye "dominating" ALL season wanted him starting over Aldridge, getting 30 minutes a night, and the green light to shoot 5 3 pointers a game.
I like Bayless, but he struggles to get the ball to the right players at the right time, and his jump shot is about as reliable as Webster's. He makes up for his flaws with a lot of heart, but the game doesn't seem to come easy to him.
I have never been a Bayless fan. However I will say I have been impressed by his play in the playoffs. I'm not going to jump on his bandwagon yet though. If he can play this way all next season then I am jumping on.
Players need time to improve. Bayless is definitly in that boat. A lot of folks didn't watch Westbrook his rookie year. He stunk it up like no tomorrow, with the occasional flashy play to ooh and aah the fans. But after a year of being thrown into the fire, he is playing pretty well now. Bayless is one dependable job shot away from being a very tough player to guard. That, is what will open up the rest of his game if anything will.
I guess this is addressed to me? I said "good for him I guess" because I was still reeling a little bit from watching this team get run off the floor for the third time in five tries ... pardon me if I don't want to see any silver linings right now. Sheesh
