What about the several previous games where the exact opposite happened. I think Bayless will be better than Sergio, in Nates game, but it takes more than one good game. Or even two.

than john mccain did during his campaign.

of the game but my impression of Bayless is – 2 guard yes. Point guard – no, at least not yet. Bayless still makes rookie mistakes like tonight with the pass to Aldridge in the post that was easily stolen. Plus a few others. Not the guy we want running the offense. No way does he see the floor like Sergio…

than Sergio, imo. Sergio needs to be in an uptempo system and, Warrior game to the contrary, that will not be Nate’s base offense. I think Sergio is a solid backup PG, but if he can be flipped for a strong backup PF, it needs to be looked at. Besides, he won’t be happy with spot minutes and unless the Blazers bounce Blake in his option year (not happening) this year’s mpg are probably his ceiling in Portland. Basically, if D’Antoni is in love with him to the point where he’ll send David Lee, that’s a deal I make yesterday.

While Sergio would be best in a more uptempo season, he’s still the right quarterback for our 2nd unit. Bayless is best as a scorer. He has shown no ability to play the point. Long term, as we’ve discussed ad nauseum, Bayless could be a great fit next to Roy with the 1st unit, but for now he’s just 20 and Blake is doing a solid job in that spot.

The 2nd unit’s ball movement is much much better with Sergio at PG than with Bayless. I am fine with Rex getting ~5 minutes per game as a 2 guard (at least on offense) but Sergio still should get 15-20 mpg in my opinion.

Rose used him just as much as Bayless used Rose. At least it was somewhat of a push.

Just saying…

It’s nice to see a PG who is quick enough to stay in front of smaller guards, but still long enough to defend guys like Roy. (which he did a fine job on BTW) It was his first game of the season and he didn’t get into a good rhythm offensively, but defensively he still looks dynamite.

Now the hordes of Sergio/Bayless partisans will descend upon me in a cloud of rage for my blasphemy.

Did you notice that once he got a few shots, he stopped looking to run the offense? It’s very dangerous to have your PG start thinking shoot first. Imagine Outlaw with the ball in his hands every possession. Okay, bad example tonight, but you get my drift. :)

different reasons. Rodriguez is neither an efficient shooter nor a capable enough defender to mask Brandon Roy’s deficiencies there, while Bayless lacks the necessary court vision and desire to distribute to ever be a competent floor general. Bayless isn’t that great of a defender, either, although my standards for outstanding defensive point guards includes guys like Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Devin Harris, and Kirk Hinrich.

Bayless looked good attacking the hoop, otherwise: meh.

Sergio ran the offense decently, otherwise: meh.

The blazers need better point guard play all around….

The bottom line is that Jerryd Bayless needs to play more. Oden and Batum have been playing all year and although they’ve had rough patches, things are getting better for each of those rookies. The question is how do we get Bayless more run? It starts by giving Sergio less time. I like Sergio, I think he is good for Rudy, but Sergio is one-dimensional and a liability on defense. Sergio’s shot is slightly better this year, but he still looks to pass even when he is point blank for a lay-in. There have been times this year where Steve Blake couldn’t keep up with his man, but Bayless most certainly would have. Most of the criticism abut Jerryd is his shoot first mentality on a team full of young stars. I think he’s well aware of his need to be a distributor and I’ve seen that happen at times when he does actually play.

The future I envision starts with Bayless and Roy in the backcourt. The great thing about those two together is that both should compliment each other so well. Bayless can handle point guard duties early on in games, while Roy will most certainly become the captain of the offense down the stretch. Bayless can guard the opposing point guard with no worries about saving energy for offense. The important part about this scenario is that it can happen a lot sooner then most are expecting.

For years we’ve waited for Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster to mature, but Bayless is much further along in his development then they ever were. Bayless, given the opportunity for more minutes this year, will be ready to contribute next year. I see him as our starter by the end of next year. Steve Blake becomes the second man off the bench and this would probably mean Sergio is gone. But at some point, someone’s gotta go and there is no way it’s Jerryd… he’s just too stacked with potential.

all of a sudden Jerryd has 2 decent games in spot duty and he’s supposed to supplant Sergio on the depth chart? Not bloody likely. Sergio has been good this season, and is the much better fit next to Rudy. If for some reason Blake goes down, Jerryd is the better fit next to Brandon, but aside from that scenario, Sergio should get all backup minutes that occur in tandem with Rudy Fernandez being on the court. No ifs ands or buts about it at this time. In the future, things may change, but Sergio has shown far too much improvement this year to be thrown aside for 14 good minutes in the backup backup role.

But it’s interesting — he’s starting to get his minutes, partly from the power forward spot. That is, Outlaw gets moved to the 4, leaving three guards in the game in various combinations. Sometimes those combinations include Bayless. I guess it depends on whether we can play a small frontcourt against the opponent on a given night.

I’m pro-Bayless in the long run, but obviously he’s just getting a feel for the NBA now. He wasn’t necessarily ready after one year in college.

It’s good that Nate has been putting Bayless in situations where he will do well, i.e. playing defense and scoring the ball but he has a long way to go as far as being a facilitator. It’s hard to be a point guard in the NBA. You have to be a student of the game. Sergio is a better facilitator at this point, but Sergio isn’t a rookie either. Both of them will get better and it will be an interesting competition down the road. That is if they are both around.

Sergio would be a fantastic PG to have in case of an emergency, but I see no way that Sergio, Spain, Rudy and Sergiofan could deal with that.

Bayless has issues I know, but I’ve long since fallen for a tough PG who can finish. Kevin Johnson is one of my favorite players of all time and Bayless is the closest thing we’ve ever had to that.

Sergio has more experience and more poise and one super-skill — his passing. He’s a great match with Rudy, obviously…

I totally and completely agree with the observation of GUnit above that Rex needs MINUTES NOW and that means some of ‘em at least come out of Sergio’s hide… But this whole Rex >>>> Sergio thing is greatly overstated at this moment in time. In reality, they are apples and oranges and you can’t even legitimately compare them. Rex will NEVER see the court as well as Sergio or pass as well as Sergio, so don’t pretend that he can. What he CAN do is get to the rack and finish and draw fouls — like Tony Parker, Rondo, etc. He’s a quick, cutting , crasher and you’ve really got to be willingly blind not to see the GREAT POTENTIAL to his game.

Does this mean that Sergio should be riding pine the rest of the year? Of course not. But neither should Rex be racking up DNPs and then passing the ball to referees or getting called for 2 ticky-tack fouls in 45 seconds when he does come in because he’s so freaked out being on the big stage… He needs 5 or 6 minutes a night EVERY night…

Over the long haul, it’s pretty clear to me at least how this plays out. But it’s not a quick thing — Rex is still a baby.

BTW: I just watched the Chicago feed of the game and there was NOTHING Sergio did that was capital punishment worthy. Just like he was being overpraised earlier in the year by about 80% of those commenting on him, now he’s being overcriticized. He is what he is, warts and all, great skill and all, and has proven himself a serviceable backup to Blake NOW.

(Man, it’s weird for ME to be sticking up for Sergio, is it not?)

t

Yeah. I’m surprised New Orleans hasn’t called to trade Chris Paul for him.

Improved his shot in the off season and will the next off season as well. His one real issue now is his strength. Everything that people criticize him for is basically a strength issue.

1. His defense. He gets pushed around too easily and can’t fight through the screens.
2. His ability to finish. The guy gets fouled more often than is called (lol NBA refs), but he does need more strength to deal with the bumping that takes place down low.

Both these issues can be resolved with bulking up a little. That comes naturally with age, but I think the trainers need to work with him as well to speed up the process. Once he stops getting pushed around so much, watch out.

Anyone griping about turnovers is an uneducated tool. Sergio averages just over 4 turnovers per 48. Bayless averages almost 6. Before you jump on the “BAYLESS IS A ROOKIE” bandwagon, keep in mind that his rookie year Sergio averged just under 5 turnovers per 48, still a full turnover LESS than Bayless per 48.

Another note. When Steve Nash was Sergio’s age, he was averaging 3 points and 2 assists a game. I’m not saying that Sergio will turn into the freak that Nash did, but some point guards take longer to develop. Sergio clearly has the potential, but we’ll see.

Yet another note. Sergio can see everyone on the floor, not just Rudy. The problem is, no one else on the floor moves like Rudy does. Can you imagine what would happen if Outlaw stopped standing on the baseline and cut to the hoop? He’s taller than Rudy, has longer arms, and can probably jump higher.

A final sad note. Sergio might be a better fit with another team, one that moves around on offense more. Somewhere back East hopefully so that we don’t have to deal with him in the West in a couple of years. Miami maybe? (Although they’re big on their rookie PG I think.) Possibly 76ers, get that high powered, yet dead, offense of theirs moving.

I’m still all for trading Bayless for DJ straight up!

Every facilitator, i.e. Tracey McGrady, Michael Jordan, K*be Bryant, Lebron James, or Brandon Roy needs a point guard that can do three things.

1. Be a good spot up three point shooter.
2. Play good defense
3. Bring the ball up the court (good ball handling skills)
*get four or so assists or so a game

It is very difficult to find all three of those things in one point guard but Pritchard thought Bayless could eventually be that complement to Brandon. One of the reasons why Cleveland is doing much better this year is because Mo Williams is that guy to James. Blake plays this role now and does a pretty good job. I mean Steve Kerr wasn’t a superstar but he complemented Jordan well. Bayless isn’t there yet but give him time.