Yea I am sure that will come as he gets more confidence. He sure is attacking the rim more every game, and your right, you can't do that with your back turned to the basket. On the other side of the coin, I think the Blazers have not even tapped into his post up game yet, which is strong, because he is strong. That is where the back to the defender skills can be used. Down deep a few feet from the hoop.
I thought he looked great if what you want is someone to fill Roy's SG role in a half-court game, and don't mind looking like a 6th grade team on defense. The 4 players out there with him looked like maybe they would have liked for him to include them in the game at some point, and if he had we probably wouldn't have been outscored while he was in. Give him a year or 2 and he'll be fine, but probably not here as I don't see Rudy or Roy going anywhere.
I'll disagree with you and here is why: It is obvious that the Blazers have Roy carry a large amount of the load on many nights. It is also obvious that if Roy keeps carrying that load he will end up like Dwayne Wade when he was carrying too much of the load in Miami. Hurt, broken, and unable to compete at the level he wants to. Whereas with Bayless, who plays much in the same way, you can split posessions on taking the load at guard. He can split double teams(in fact I find it eerily similar to the way Roy does it). He can shoot. He can create his own shot. All the things Brandon does. All so Brandon doesn't have to do them, all the time. Secondly as to your comment about "sharing the ball". He wasn't brought out there to share the ball. He was brought out there to penetrate the soft Chicago interior and score. I can guarantee you Nate will never tell that kid to quit shooting. He is a natural scorer. You don't take away the strength of your player. Good coaches find a way to leverage it.
That's exactly what we need! And when he is more experienced (in a year or two) it will be like having two Roy's on the court at the same time.
Good point, and I agree. Maybe it's just that the game is slowing down for him already? Something is different, and perhaps it isn't the confidence he has in his game, but rather his confidence that he can play at this level. Either way, he's starting to blossom, and it's fun to watch. He could be a real difference maker for this team.
