Three great signs from the Suns game

by conspirator5 on Dec 18, 2009 2:05 PM PST

Of there is a lot of excitement over Jerryd's performance last night, but most of what I've read centers around the things we already expected from him. Yes, he can be a scoring monster, driving the lane and getting the and1 almost seemingly at will when things are going well. But last night I saw four things from Jerryd that speak greatly to his development as an all around player in general:

1. In the first quarter, Channing Frye had posession of the ball with Dante Cunningham covering him very closely. Channing punished Dante for that by flailing his arms and getting a foul. Right after this, the cameras honed in on Dante, who was exchanging comments and sidelong glances with Jerryd. Less than a minute later, Jerryd was dribbling up at the top of the arc and Channing was near by. Jerryd moved to dribble past Channing, but instead cut the corner sharply and got "bumped" by Channing. Jerryd not only used his skills to foul somebody in a situation other than driving to the basket, he was clearly looking out for his teammate on the floor.

2. Early in the 2nd quarter, Bayless brought the ball down the court as the whole team was running back in transition. LaMarcus led the charge and Bayless threw an alley-oop pass on the run that was one of the most perfect throws I've seen from him yet. He's not supposed to be able to do that, right? [:31 second mark on the nba.com recap]

3. In the fourth quarter, we got to see Bayless work the corner spot like we've expected Blake to be able to do, but we got to see that in the King's game as well. It's awesome to see, but it's not a total surprise. His stepping around is defender and taking the long two in the fourth is something I don't think I've ever seen Blake do. But one of my very favorite moments in the 4th was Bayless's drive and kick out to Blake for HIS three. The reason is, that baseline run under the basket is, how can I say it, Sergio-esqe! Except that I don't remember ever seeing Sergio complete that move as well as Jerryd did last night.

Don't these things seem, oh I dunno... point-guardy?

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Pointyness?

He actually looks like he knows how to run a fast break. A second string backcourt of Bayless and Rudy would be fun to watch.

by raoulduke on Dec 18, 2009 2:10 PM PST reply actions

Interesting observations.

I didn’t see the No. 1 observation but that was a good one to pick up on. He does appear to have a bit of passing skills.

by Escrote on Dec 18, 2009 2:14 PM PST reply actions

Ah yes, the old is he or isn't he, will he or won't he, debate.

A lot of folks seem to have written off Bayless as a PG based on his performance last year. I think that was a mistake. He clearly struggled with PG decision making and that hurt both his scoring and his efforts as a distributor.

This season, there seems to be a great deal less hesitation and fewer bad decisions. His Assist % is up and his TO% is down. A lot of folks think he is “ball-hoggy” and “shoot first,” but if you go over to the Hollinger PER stats on the ESPN site you will find something odd. Bayless is 2nd in TS%, 5th in PER, but he is 18th in Utilization rate. Clearly, he is not a “ball hog” compared to other scoring PGs.

No doubt he has a way to go, but so do most young PGs. He is 21. He has only played for a total of about 800 minutes, less than half a season of good PT. I agree with you that he is showing a lot of improvement and a fair amount of savvy and control out on the court. He looks less like a rookie and more like a young star. He may never be enough of a “true” point to satisfy the naysayers, but he sure looks good out there with Roy.

by upper left corner on Dec 18, 2009 2:46 PM PST reply actions

Even his beard is pointy

by Jacksonville on Dec 18, 2009 2:46 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

+1 REC

"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal

by timbo on Dec 18, 2009 7:10 PM PST up reply actions

Agreed on all counts - it's a great point

Jerryd is progressing more quickly as a playmaker than anybody would’ve expected. He looked just as natural and fluid running the point against the Suns and Kings as he did attacking the rack – which is really the first time he’s done that for any significant stretch of gametime. The efficient scoring and unstoppable assaults on the rim are what a lot of us would’ve expected with consistent playing time, but the flashes of playmaking and traditional point guard play have to be a very encouraging surprise to most Blazer fans.

Q: Is Greg favoring his knee?
Frye: He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors.

by KP Corleone on Dec 18, 2009 3:19 PM PST reply actions

All good ( wait for it...........) points.

Oden fan for life

by dario argento on Dec 18, 2009 3:32 PM PST reply actions

So what is the point....

by The Thinker on Dec 18, 2009 3:47 PM PST reply actions

or who?

by The Thinker on Dec 18, 2009 3:47 PM PST up reply actions

How about Webster demanding the ball

He didnt get it but after the put back dunk and the sweet reverse layup Webster had a look in his eyes that said give me the ball I’m taking over.

by Kaanyr Vhok on Dec 18, 2009 5:18 PM PST reply actions

Yes,

dont overlook Webster. He was awesome at times in this game.

by lethaldose on Dec 18, 2009 8:52 PM PST up reply actions

Didn’t Webster have 2 reverse layups? I could be wrong. But the one I remember was definitely sweet.

I was impressed with the Bayless reverse as well.
He (Webster) was skying for those rebounds also.

Romance me with that Roy rainbow shot which took flight from way beyond the arc and sailed so high that before it came back down to earth sealing the victory, it kissed the rafters and said "You're mine baby."

by Blazer1342 on Dec 19, 2009 6:18 AM PST up reply actions

I was close to making this same topic

Bayless’ biggest critique is that he is a one-trick pony but he did EVERYTHING this game. I was amazed looking at the box score after the game to find he only had 4 assists. He wasn’t just putting his head down and driving, he was simply making plays. Offensively he did every thing we need at that position, made plays for others, drew fouls, hit the long two’s to open his inside game, and hit both catch and shoot 3’s he took. Someone mentioned his two turnovers but… so? Unless he goes 1 for 5 and 0 assists, I could care less about 2 turnovers. And even then, he’s still learning. Have to expect a few more “rookie” games.

Defensively, its too bad offensive fouls drawn isn’t tracked. He must have drawn 3-4 personally, thats basically the same as a steal right? Anyone notice that massive rebound he had as well? Some stats claim each defensive rebound avoids 2 points, whether thats true or not, that hustle certainly saved an easy put-back.

In my opinion, give Miller the 1st quarter for easy buckets, Bayless the second to continue the intensity, Miller the third to keep the offense smooth and Bayless the entire fourth when Roy takes over. Other then trading Juwan Howard for Chris Paul, our point guard dilemma couldnt be solved more completely.

Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.

by Batumshakalaka on Dec 19, 2009 5:14 AM PST reply actions

Good observations.

Everything he did, he did well in this game.
I think the one thing left to be seen is his overall court vision. He did get caught in a position with no place to go whatsoever with the ball, and he does this at times where you can see it coming, but he can’t. I think he has proven to me if he sees the pass he can make it. While the pass to LMA was pinpoint precision, and I’m glad he can make that pass, I want to see more of him in traffic. If he can do that, make those tough passes when things get congested, then we have ourselves a point guard.

At this point, that is really the one thing I’d like to observe as we see Bayless get some more playing time.

by Blazer1342 on Dec 19, 2009 6:30 AM PST reply actions