Discuss the backup PG decision

We might see him picking up some minutes in that rotation also.

I only get league pass, and I got the memphis feed. Any more info about why?

I too love Sergio, but I don’t think he can fit into our system. He’d be great for a running team like New York or Golden State.

I think this is a great move right now. Not that Sergio is garbage, it is that I just feel that Sergio isn’t the right fit in this team. Granted, Sergio is a “natural” point guard, that pass first player that many are saying we need. Sergio isn’t amazing right now, but as it is known that PG is one of the hardest positions to learn and Sergio has had his ups and downs, and I think he will be a solid to good pro…. Just, not with the Blazers long term. I guess what I am saying is that the “natural” point guard thing really isn’t what I see these B-Roy Blazers needing… and for this current move, I back it BIG TIME.

Sergio has decent trade value, especially when you look at his age and contract. That contract with his abilities in these economic times allow Sergio to be a high value player if he is to be on the market….

With Bayless getting extended playing time over the next 15 games, JB has his SECOND shot at showing what he can do over a certain period of time where he will be in the mind set that he is going to be getting those extended minutes. In his first shot, when Blake went down with the shoulder, Bayless showed a lot. JB was spectacular in the open court and got to the free throw line, but we knew that. JB wasn’t bad at defense, but he will need to show some improvement there in this last 15 games. I do believe Jerryd Bayless IS OUR ANSWER to one of guards in the big plan to have our key 8-man rotation… but that is not yet here.

The biggest reason that I like this move is because I really really really like Jerryd Bayless’ competitive fire. NOW, in the home stretch of the season, is the best time to unleash a player like Jerryd Bayless into the mix. Last time he played extended minutes he was a fire bomb in the lineup many nights… helping to ignite the rest of his unit out of his competitive fire. Hopefully this ATTITUDE that JB brings will help Portland max out thier wins in this last 15 games.

The other aspect to this decision that is great for the Blazers is that Jerryd Bayless will get to play a lot of his minutes with Greg Oden. This will give Nate and the brass a chance to evaluate JB on the basis of how he plays with the marquee yet young big man. We all can agree that Oden is meant to be the centerpiece of this roster and players whose games work with or compliment big Oden’s is a good decision making tool when deciding who to keep and who to move. So Jerryd playing time with Oden is likely to mean a lot for the future of these two young studs and IF they are going to be teamed for the long-haul here in Portland…..

hopefully the next fifteen games help him get enough film to refine his game over the summer.

Myth

Bayless did little tonight to justify Nate’s decision. Still, I think Bayless has shown that he plays better with regular, predictable minutes. Or, at least he forces things less. We just need some capable PG minutes out of him to give Blakey a rest, really. And no turnovers.

But honestly, we all knew Nate was going to settle on Bayless, so why did we have to wait until March of 2009 to make this decision?

It is way premature to just label Bayless as selfish. Just because he is a scorer doesn’t mean he is selfish.

First, this is the reason why Blake is so valuable to the Blazers. Blake is steady enough, for all his faults and for his limited upside, but the one key element that he has is THE TRUST OF NATE.

Nate’s achilles heel may be the development of point guards, even though Brandon Roy’s game has flourished. Not that B-Roy is a point guard, but he sure controls the ball a ton. It is clear that steady time is ESSENTIAL for any players to develop. We say tonight that Conely jr. finally is looking good, thanks to being coined “The Man” in Memphis.

Sergio hasn’t been handled great, but I still believe his skills and upside will likely still make him a solid NBA point guard, just not with the Blazers.

If this move that Nate made IS in fact for the remainder of the season and JB CAN INDEED prove himself to Nate, so Nate buys into JB’s place on this team, that would be the best case scenario for JB and us Blazers fans… hopefully solidifying a tighter rotation in the guards next season. JB’s 15 game try-out should have a lot of bearing on this roster going into the off-season.

I will say this… I HAVE A LOT OF FAITH that Jerryd Bayless is going to have a great showing to close out this season. GO JB!!!!

I have a hard time agreeing that Jack was “demonstrably worse” in his third season. He had a very different role as a back up combo guard and put up similar numbers.

I think Sergio’s problems have been his own and not Nate’s. He looked great for the first maybe 3/5ths of his rookie season and has never really adjusted to how team’s have played him since. he has some great skills but his weaknesses keep him from using those skills effectively on a consistent basis.

And Bayless is still a rookie finding his way. He was never going to get to play with the big boys the way he did in summer league. At least not this year.

I guess if Sergio goes to another team and thrives, Bayless falls flat on his face next year, and Jack usurps TJ Ford in Indiana, we will know the answer.

And even then, why do people think that fouling someone every 5 minutes makes Bayless an awesome on the ball defender?

Did he not work hard? did he not attempt to do everything that Nate wanted him to do? heck you might be right in the sense that since Nate tried to ween all Sergio’s true gifts and tried to form him into a different kind of point guard that Sergio actually was, Sergio should have, in retrospect, told Nate to go jump in a lake a long time ago.

Nate’s “development” of points guards has been and continues to be an absolute joke.

I will say that Sergio has played a lot more minutes than Bayless over his career and has not shown much (if any) improvement from his rookie year. With Bayless, there is a lot more upside.

You have a 3rd year player who is a modest upgrade over a rookie. There is a certain logic to playing the rookie— we’re pretty sure Sergio is not a long term answer whereas with Bayless we don’t know yet.

I am with you that Sergio makes Rudy and Travis better more than Bayless does. I would keep Sergio as the backup, but I do think there is a logic to playing Bayless— if the difference between the two isn’t great, it makes some sense to let the high upside rookie get some experience.

Early in our season, when our 2nd unit was clicking and providing an advantage for this team, it was with Sergio at the helm. I have never scene Bayless effectively run an offense. We have seen the one man show, we have seen some nice drive and kicks, but really have not seen an effective team attack with the carnivorous one. Oh well, I have wasted too much of my life wondering why Sergio continues to lose confidence and continues to get shafted by his own coach. Its Bayless or bust now, even if it feels like a trainwreck waiting to happen….

Again, him and Rudy lead the team in opponent FG%. Is it because they come off the bench? If so, why aren’t Frye, Trout, and Bayless on this list?

Here’s one possibility. Because defense is more than on the ball and going through picks. Getting into passing lanes, staying on guys without the ball, and other issues all come into play. Either the Euro guys do this better, or there has been a 60+ game fluke.

oh… and nay sayer….

Nate is afraid to run, afraid of turnovers, afraid to trust his players, afraid to develop them. I like Nate’s first unit half court offense but that’s all he knows. If he could release the second unit to do what it does best, attack and attack some more, than we could do damage to the opposing teams 2nd unit by simply out scoring them.

as long as both those guys are on the same team plus blake, no one could develop them like “normal players.”

there would still be basically 0% chance Nate gets fired this summer.

The goal for this young team was playoffs, and especially considering the injuries, they’re exceeding expectations in a Western Conference that’s even tougher than expected.

2 games ago Sergio plays 5 minutes in the first half
1-1 shooting, 2 assists, 0 turnovers

Sergio didn’t see a second in the second half.

but pulls him after one error and 3 minutes of PT, REPEATEDLY. Dear Nate, this is a way to remove confidence from a player, not instill it. PGs make errors, they have to be allowed to play through them.

Nate always says players earn PT, but this is clearly a time where that is not true. Nate picks Bayless for the future, and is apparently choosing to give him the chance he never gave Sergio (minutes based on potential not performance, not punishing for mistakes and poor performances).

that it happened right now. Bayless has never played worse and Sergio has actually had some good games recently, and Bayless has not. In the first half of the lakers game, he was excellent, and he had excellent games against the spurs both away and at home. yet somehow everyone just talks about how horrible he is. btw, i have no idea what Nate was thinking putting Serg back in the Lakers game after Rudy went down. Obviously his head wasn’t in it, and as it was a blow out, Bayless would have been a much better idea.

Who knows, if Bayless gains his confidence as a scorer, he could be a great weapon come the playoffs.