I think it has to be that way just because somebody has to be a scorer off the bench for the Blazers. Rudy hasn't been hitting jack dick. At least if he is in with the starters, the rest of them can make up for his offensive void, and Camby is there to rebound his misses. It makes more sense for him to start right now with our current team makeup as is.
I'm not sure I want to start Bayless, but I definitely want to see Bayless and Miller playing together. When Bayless and Miller are playing together, the Suns they can't hide Nash. He will have to guard either Miller or Bayless, who can both take advantage of Nash's weak defense.
I actually thought the play where he blocked a shot and them jumped back inbounds to stop another attempt, as one of the biggest momentum changing plays of the game. I have to say that a certain piece of me yearns for Nate to play Nic and Webster together with Miller. Big lineups that cause defensive havoc are really tough to play against.
The key here is forcing Phoenix to put Nash on Miller. Keeping Rudy in the starting lineup is playing right into Phoenix's hands in terms of stashing Nash on a weaker player. Rudy hardly did anything last night on offense. He stands around on offense and waits for the ball. That's exactly the kind of thing that Phoenix wants. if Rudy ran off more screens and made Nash work it would be one thing, but he didn't. In the first quarter we had control because LMA was on fire. Phoenix adjusted and we started to lose control. We regained control in the second half because we kept Bayless in there with Miller. The playoffs are all about matchups. They took away Aldridge so we abused them with our guards. We need to keep this up. It's the key to the series.
They let more go in the playoffs. Plus the guy is named Dudley. Guys named Dudley don't get many calls.
Spot on. I'd like to see Rudy start one more game. This is a 7 game series, after all, and maybe he can give us something in game 2 he couldn't in game 1, which could be huge in the long run. But if he can't put pressure on Nash, he needs to see only about 15 minutes in game 2 (start of first and third quarters) and then move to the bench for game 3. I think you continue to bring Bayless off the bench at that point and start Webster. Go with defense to set the tone for the evening, leaving Bayless in the Microwave role. We'd have a size advantage at pretty much every position. If we do eventually start Webster, I think they put Nash on him. Webster isn't the kind of player who does a great job of exploiting mismatches. The big advantage will be on the other end--with Miller/Webster/Batum/Aldridge/Camby, you've just got a murderer's row of lanky defenders who can switch off repeatedly on whatever Phoenix throws at them. When Phoenix is at their best, Nash is slicing through the defense creating mismatches as defenses scramble to keep up with him. Mismatches create double teams, which create wide-open three pointers. With the Miller/Webster/Batum/Aldridge/Camby lineup, you can slice and dice it anyway you want, you just aren't going to get many overwhelming mismatches. So guys can stay at home on three point shooters. And the whole Phoenix offense grinds to a halt.
Rudy may continue starting, but Bayless, I imagine will see more minutes if Rudy keeps sucking. I imagine unless Rudy is doing well that game, we will finish games with Miller/ one of Bayless or Webster/Batum/Aldridge/Camby. Good combo of defense and offense.
For me it's because our bench has been practically non-existent recently, and if Bayless can bring 3/4 of what he did last night regularly, I think that's huge. If Rudy doesn't get a bunch of points on the first unit, you still have Miller, Aldridge, and hopefully Batum putting up numbers.
I started this thread last week: http://www.sportstwo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156748&highlight=start bayless
I'm good without Bayless starting. I like the spark he brings.. but his lack of size wouldnt be very ideal against Richardson. If anything I would be for Martell starting over Bayless.
