http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=11968 http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/03/aldridges_secret_gets_out.html
Go Bayless. It was time to make a choice which horse to ride. Splitting backup time and jerking those guys in and out of the lineup wasn't working.
give the kid some run but i can tell you how this is going to end....bayless not being effective as a point guard. i've seen it in college, in the summer league and in his minutes so far this season. forget about picking up a SF this offseason, this team needs a decent PG and a banger at b/u PF.
I like this decision, largely because I don't think Bayless can realistically be worse than Rodriguez (at minimum, I'd say they've been equally good/uninspiring), but Bayless is more likely to improve with more time, considering he's a rookie and Rodriguez has had time to adapt and change his game in his two plus seasons. Not lots of time, since he didn't play much last year, but more than Bayless. In addition, Bayless gets after it more on defense, even if he's not yet fully up to speed on team defensive schemes. Also, I assume McMillan did it because Bayless convinced him in practices that he's capable of taking care of the ball and distributing it.
This says it all: "We need some oomph, some fire, some scrappiness," McMillan said. "I want to see if (Bayless) can bring that." Bayless was shaky in 11 minutes, finishing with four points on 1 of 3 shooting with zero assists and three turnovers. So ends the Bayless experiment.
I still can't believe we are battling for home court advantage half way through March with 4 rookies in our rotation. Unreal.
I want Bayless to succeed. But, I aam kind of with Maris a bit on this. Aside from a couple of games when Blake was out, Bayless hasn't looked good at all. I watched the Memphis game and everytime he was in the game, I got scared. He looked pretty bad. Can he get better? Yes. But now is not really the time for him in my opinion. But, if not wants to experiment, that is his choice and not mine. He does know a little more about the game than I do.
Ask yourself, has Sergio played any better? Over the past month, each player has been absolutely worthless, but Bayless is a rookie, it's more likely he'll learn. Plus, he's got a higher upside. Nate had to make a choice, and I'm glad he chose the one that helps us in the long run.
In defense of all three PG's, Nate says he wants fire and scrappiness, but as Roy pointed out anyone taking a risk gets benched. So there's no way to please the guy with your play. Can't be done. I've no doubt Blake's and Sergio's worth to the team's success has been compromised by Nate's tight leash. Bayless's poor shooting, fouls and TO's are the only thing that has limited his time so far, but it's clear Nate is trying to do a Jarrett Jack on him, give him special leeway to be horrible until he gets it out of his system or whatever. Nate seems to always have to have a guy on the team who reminds him of himself when he was younger, and he has special rules for that guy, and it's a serious flaw in his coaching as it kills his credibility with the players. We wasted an entire year of PG development last year on JJ when if used properly to develop Sergio we would now be discussing if Bayless could beat out Blake for the backup spot. We'd have a devastating offense by now. We'd be ahead of the pack and pulling away.
Good points Maris. I understand your thinking, but I'm not sure if Sergio would have become what you wanted, but EITHER way we'd know for sure by now. It seems a decision has been made about Sergio and the coach is wanting to see what he has or doesn't have in Bayless.
I'd really like to see Nate play everybody about 24 minutes a game, every game, the rest of the way this season. Come playoff time our starters would be the healthiest and freshest in the league, and our bench would be the most confident bench by far. A solid formula to win the Title.
