It's apparent to me that either of those players will be the 8th man in the playoff rotation. I've always been a Bayless guy, but, man, his game appears to have gone a bit south on him. Meanwhile, about the only thing consistent with Martell is his inconsistency. What say you?
they both suck and will be traded this summer. bayless is at the point where i think will be benched in big games/playoffs. hes so bad on defense.
of the 2.. Bayless. Webster has just making mistakes that have frustrated me like no other since Channing Frye last year.
Bayless still has more upside, so I voted for him. I was going to argue that while we have Batum for guarding SF's, we don't really have anyone who can play defense against quality PG's. And Bayless at least has some potential to eventually be that guy. Then it occurred to me that Batum guards PG's pretty well too. So really that's a wash. So yeah, it's all about who is more likely to improve: the guy who nearly doubled his PER in his second season, or the guy who's been the same player for four seasons?
While Bayless is more consistent on offense, Webster is a better defender and is more versatile. I pick Webster. Long-term, I side with Bayless.
Bayless is not a bad defender, I don't know what the fuck you are watching. There have been many games this year we would not have been in if it had not been for stretches where Bayless put the clamps on an opposing PG, Tony Parker comes to mind, and rather quickly. He doesn't always get it done. But poor? A reach at best. It's more about matchups. Some players are better matchups, some not so much. The playoff lineup will purely depend on matchups. Nate is a matchup coach. If they put more size on the floor, Webster will get the minutes. If not, Bayless will. Chances are, they will only get spot minutes and Rudy will get most of them. Just like last night.
Yep. Truly, the big question I've got about our lineup going into the playoffs isn't whether Bayless or Webster should be getting more backup minutes. It's whether Nate should start allocating more minutes to Batum. Nic has only played 5 games out of 27 since coming back where he played more than 30 minutes. He's averaging only 23 mpg (although that is trending up lately). Who would you rather see: a) Batum play 11 more mpg b) Webster get those minutes c) Bayless get those minutes d) Fernandez get those minutes For me, going into the playoffs, it's clearly a). Like last night--Batum didn't put up great stats, but he was very effective in teaming with Camby to just lock down the defense at times. His two blocks were huge layup-savers. He was just Mr. Intangible last night. Yet only 23 minutes? It's not like he looks like he's getting tired. I've noticed no real difference in energy. If I could ask Nate one question right now, it'd be, "What do Bayless/Webster/Fernandez give you with those 11 minutes that Batum doesn't?" I just don't see it.
Between the two, I'd go with Bayless simply for his ability to get into the lane and draw fouls. The ability to get opposing bigs into foul trouble is important one come playoff time. Not that it isn't all the time, it's just magnified in the playoffs.
I voted about the same. Right now, we need Bayless more, because Roy plays the SF a lot of minutes. Long term, both are NBA traveling vagabonds.
QFT I think the best answer is the one not listed; "Neither". Give the minutes Bayless and Webster waste to Rudy and Batum. Shorten the lineup to an eight man rotation for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
For the season, Rudy has been "wasting" the minutes just as much. There's this odd perception that Rudy has been tremendous but under-utilized and much more consistent than Bayless (or Webster). He hasn't. And it's not like he's been surging lately...his PER has changed substantially in weeks. I agree with giving Batum as many minutes as possible. He's inconsistent too, but his highs are better and he always plays good defense. After that, give Bayless and Fernandez spot minutes...more to whichever is hot that game. Webster can have garbage time minutes.
I think Bayless has more upside and longterm potential but right now I'd say they're both about the same -- neither is doing much to 'earn' their minutes
I never said Rudy wasn't inconsistent. However, I do believe that Rudy helps the team more then Bayless does just by being a smarter, more unselfish player. Rudy knows how to play and he knows what needs to be done for the team. Unfortunately for all concerned he sometimes doesn't manage to succeed with what he tries to do. In contrast, Bayless doesn't really understand what the team needs at any given time. As long as they need someone to play decent man-to-man defense and drive to the hoop then he does fine. Otherwise he is a liability. Given the choice between the two I prefer Rudy.
Some of us who are high on Rudy believe his back surgery and other injuries have hurt his performance this year. He was better as a rookie last season whereas most players usually see significant improvements in their second season. To the original question I would say Webster just because I think he provides better defense then Bayless and can fit in better as a fourth or fifth option during the playoffs. Roy, Aldridge and Miller will be scoring more in the playoffs than they have been in the regular season so the team will need the role players to play off the ball and provide spacing for our offense.
I voted for the same. Not impressed with either. I loved it last night when Nate took Bayless right out of the games as soon as he turned the ball over for stepping in bounds with the ball after Dallas scored. I have never been a Martell fan. After I lost a bet to MGB and had to buy him a T-bone steak dinner from the roadhouse I hated him even more. He is a nice guy but that's all the credit I can give him.
