Full Court Press
by Ben Golliver on Jul 20, 2009 12:16 PM PDT
in News
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PrintLet's take a jaunt through cyberspace before the internet once again turns into a barren wasteland of Blazers content.
For you tweeters, Anne Peterson, the Blazers' Associated Press writer, is now on twitter. Follow Anne here. So is Matt Smith from Portland's Fox affiliate. Follow Matt here.
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First, here are quick links to all of BE's Summer League coverage.
Chad Buchanan Series... Dante Cunningham | Jeff Pendergraph | Jerryd Bayless | General Thoughts
Brief Chat with Monty Williams | Bayless Clears Up Bay-Gate | Cunningham Thoughts for True Hoop
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As Dave linked below, here's a great recap of everything that went down over the last 10 days in Las Vegas by Kevin Arnovitz.
It was great to finally meet the two brilliant minds behind Rip City Project. Here's Coup on the Bayless trials...
This is not the right situation for Bayless to be "learning" how to play point or "proving" how he can play point. This is a poorly constructed roster with no real center and no playmakers other than Bayless. There's nobody who can do an ounce of the things Brandon Roy can, or draw nearly the same amount of attention that Aldridge or Oden can. It's Bayless and everyone else, and you can see it in his frustrated expressions (not to be confused with his "I'm going to eat you" expressions). Even against the other crummy Summer League teams, the Blazers clearly have not only a lower level of talent, but a lower range of dynamic talents. Couple all that with the fact that Portland's offense has never really been constructed for high assist totals, and I'm willing to throw most of the numbers out the doggie door. I'm much more interested to hear if Bayless gets any time running the point with the USA Select Team and how he does there, and looking ahead how he fares in training camp in Fall.
The question I want to ask is, what exactly do we want from Bayless?
After watching Bayless this week, both on and off the court, I'm not sure anyone can answer that question right now. Whatever you decide you want from a point guard, you definitely DON'T want him constantly looking over his shoulder for approval from the bench or, worse yet, looking up to the stands for approval from management.
Unfortunately, that was the situation in Las Vegas this year. You won't find a bigger believer in Jerryd Bayless than myself but this could turn into a mess.
Speaking of Bayless, there have been a number of interesting conversations over at DwightJaynes.com.
Sometimes you wonder if the kid isn't a little too cocky for his own good - it could inhibit improvement.
And even though it's summer league, it's not too early to ask the question - who looks more like an NBA point guard right now: Bayless or Ty Lawson?
One final word about Bayless...
People have accused me in the comments of being down on Bayless and that's not the case. I'm just trying to objectively speak about him as this team's point guard of the future. I've thought since last season he just doesn't have that point guard mentality and it's something that's pretty difficult to instill at this point of a player's career.
There is no question in my mind a deal will be made for another point guard before the season opens.
Wendell Maxey on Steve Blake...
I believe Portland will use their veteran's minimum later this summer to bring in a veteran journeyman (Brevin Knight, Kevin Ollie, Jacque Vaughn) to support the starting tandem of Bayless and Steve Blake - with the starting role undetermined.
While Portland went a lowly 1-4 in Vegas, and with Bayless still working the kinks out at the point, Steve Blake has been busy with his offseason regiment back East.
He recently returned from Maryland, where he put in two sessions daily in the morning and afternoons working on his game at the University of Maryland's Comcast Center. Think we all know Blake is a gamer and he's been really pushing himself this offseason, maybe even harder than in summer's past because he has had time off.
Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen on the Blazers' offseason.
Actually, this is how the Blazers should spend the rest of this offseason: idling. Now that Utah has matched their four-year, $32 million offer sheet to restricted free agent Paul Millsap, the Blazers ought to stop recruiting and wait until next season. They will go into the midseason trading deadline with tons of cap space and newly weakened franchises to exploit. More players will surely be available and the Blazers will have the payroll room as well as the young assets necessary to pull off a blockbuster. I believe they'll look back on this summer and be grateful that Turkoglu turned them down.
Casey Holdahl with a feature on Dante Cunningham...
"I end up creating space with the defender on me," said Cunningham. "My ability to be able to shoot and raise up over taller defenders and also my quickness around taller defenders gives me an advantage.
"A lot of times it's just facing them up, giving them a jab step. I'm not that much larger than other players, but a lot of times they notice I'm a lot faster than them are so they're kind of leery of me being able to go around them, so they do tend to back up on the jab step and I'm able to raise up and shoot."
Don't miss Dave's post on what he's looking for from Greg Oden.
Here's Mike Barrett with more on Greg.
Oden is very excited to not only show how far he's come, but likely is wanting to test himself, to see what else he needs to do. Not only is he in better shape physically, but from everything we're hearing, is also in a very good place mentally. It's just part of the process. Of course, when you're the number-one pick in the draft, you normally don't get any slack in the learning-curve process, and Oden certainly didn't give himself any. Now, almost two years removed from microfracture surgery, when most players start to get back to full strength, he appears to be making leaps and bounds in his progress.
Brother Wendell also wrote this feature on David Padgett...
Padgett broke his kneecap in the season opener against Jackson State.
"I remember the play to this day. I probably will forever. At the time I didn't think it was that bad," Padgett said. "When Coach (Rick) Pitino initially told me I'd fractured my kneecap and was probably done for the season, it was like a truck had run over me. It caught me so off guard. That was a pretty devastating blow because it was my last year.
Bust A Bucket.com wrote a brief recap and put together a nice flickr photo album of their weekend in Vegas. One point of clarification in that recap, though: Pendergraph will make the team.
The big sports media story today is the New York Times' look at the next wave of ESPN Local coverage.
In less than three months, ESPN Chicago has become the city's top sports site, attracting about 590,000 unique visitors in June, according to data from comScore, an Internet measurement company. Second place went to The Tribune's online sports section with 455,000 unique visitors.
A very knowledgeable take on all of this from Dan Shanoff.
What local newspaper sports editors don't get is that their reporting has become commoditized -- everyone gets the game recaps and the box scores. ESPN does a better job of presenting both, plus other kinds of stats, plus a better job of presenting the teams playing your teams.
...
Local newspapers' sports power was already under erosion on other fronts, besides ESPN: SB Nation has put together the best collection of team-based blogs found online, across every sport, in every market, with coverage that -- yes -- complements local news, but also goes a long way to displace it. Its distribution deal with Yahoo -- itself a traffic firehose -- amplified that power exponentially.
Just as soon as I went and praised Orlando's offseason the other day, Kevin Pelton feels the need to raise some questions.
A variety of adjectives have been attached to the Orlando Magic's offseason, but "passive" is not among them. After the Magic reached the NBA Finals, GM Otis Smith could have brought back the same core of players and called it a day. Instead, facing the challenge of free agency and the threat of the other Eastern Conference contenders loading up for another run at the title, Smith and company have acted boldly to tweak the Orlando lineup with an eye to returning to the Finals and winning this time around. Still, the nagging feeling I'm left with is that the Magic's moves don't quite fit together properly.
Please drop any other links you find in the comments. And, as always, do not overlook the fanshots.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)
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Comments
Pretty much, sorta like Summer League is a great predictor of success
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 12:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Success, no
But Bayless sure did have a piss poor attitude in pretty much every interview he did. Maybe before he blames his teammates for everything, he should look to the inferior player on his team (Pooh Jeter) who managed to run the point just fine with those same crappy teammates.
The Princess of Blazersedge
yeah that was low blaming his teammates yet pooh did ok.
bayless seems to think hes better than he is, and hasnt seemd to take responsibility for his non-pg skills
by HurricaneDayne on Jul 20, 2009 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions
He doesn't suck at PG...
But, even as one of B-Rex’s biggest supporters, I have to admit that he’s just NOT a point guard. At least not right now. He looks like a pure two. He looked like a pure two during the season, and he looks like one now.
Dwight is correct on this – I’ve hardly ever seen Bayless initiate a play with a plan to set someone else up. This is something playmakers do all the time – if I dribble here, defender X will have to pick me up, and teammate Y will be wide open. Bayless passes either to get rid of the ball, or as a back up plan.
Didn’t get to watch much summer league action this year – my take is based primarily on last season. I still don’t think it’s a problem having Bayless run the point for the second unit. Rudy will take on some of the playmaking responsibilities, I’m sure, and Bayless will help put some points on the board.
I’m still hoping he turns the corner a little bit and starts planning to set other guys up – just doesn’t seem to be in his DNA, though.
Q: Is Greg favoring his knee?
Frye: He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors.
hey corleone arent you totally contradicting yourself there?
“he doesnt suck at pg” yet you say " i have to admit he’s just not a pg" and “I’ve hardly ever seen Bayless initiate a play with a plan to set someone else up.” uh thats what good pg’s do man. so which is it?
by HurricaneDayne on Jul 20, 2009 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions
I did watch the three broadcast games and Bayless did focus on passing
It is not so easy to amass assists when you drive and dish and have no shooters. There were numerous occasions where a teammate either was not where the play called for them to be or Bayless fired errant passes. I don’t know how to judge which but the coaches do and that will serve as a learning tool for both.
That said I agree that Bayless is primarily a scoring guard. If he proves adept at defending the quick point guards and hitting the open 3’s he is still a nice complement to B-Roy. Listening to Nate on the broadcast affirmed that Nate thinks of him as a scoring guard.
Remember also he is still very young as point guards go. There are point guards who are naturals like Jason Kidd and Chris Paul and others who take much more time to develop. Chauncey Billups was 21 when he entered the league and did not shoot 40% FG% until he was 24 and on his 4th team. But he played right away. Bayless is learning and growing. I do not expect him to be a big-minutes player this year but maybe he will surprise.
Bassy Telfair gets traded along with Craig Smith and Mark Madsen for Quentin Richardson to the Clippers
Now I’m really sad Z-Bo is gone. Can the Wolves at least sign Darius to reunite him with Q-Rich?
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-clipstrade072009&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Remotely interesting news: Nicolas Batum was France’s top scorer in a test game against the Central African Republic with 15.
hahah Q-rich has now been shipped from NYK to MEM to LAC to MIN
He must be on a quest tour all of the celler dwellers of the NBA in record time
by HurricaneDayne on Jul 20, 2009 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Guess I didn't get the memo.
Norsktroll on vacation in America or some other english-speaking country might be Northtroll.
Kahn is cleaning house
and it looks like the ’Wolves have filled their SG position for the next few years…
/sarcasm
and there goes my “let’s deal Rudy for Rubio’s rights in a couple of years” idea right out the window
/sarcasm
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
rofl @ Dwight "Grumpy Old Man" Jaynes...is this the same as how he doesn't have a negative bias towards McMillan?
Dwight Jaynes: Tolerable 2% of the Time
Also I continue to lol @ all the Bayless hear-tearing-out. Is this more or less ridiculous than the Roy-Cotract-hear-tearing-out? I can’t decide.
Blazer Fan
PS. Jaynes bashing Bayless while filling in on Wheels at Work right now
also asking the age-old-yet-still-idiotic question ‘is golf a sport’ (I suppose intended to solict calls from a bunch of frustrated guys who can’t play golf whining about it)
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Sport: An athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature,
I don’t you how you can argue that Golf isn’t a sport. Sure, it’s a lot easier than most sports, but it’s still a sport.
Poker = Not a sport (looking at you ESPN)
Bowling, Golf, Cheerleading = Sports
The Princess of Blazersedge
Exactly, the argument should be "how athletic of a sport is golf that an old guy can almost win a huge tournament?"
And Dwight knows better, he’s just bored. Probably irritable. Wants some conflict.
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions
He should find some new conflict, this one is dull
Clearly Bowling and Golf are among the easier sports to play, but that doesn’t really bring up an argument for them not being sports. Shoot, our “national past time” is one of the most pathetic sports out there.
Can you:
Sit for half the game?
Stand still for 45% of the game?
Run for 5% of the game?
If so, welcome to baseball! This excludes catchers, who actually have a tough job. I would say pitches do, but playing 20% of the games (10% for AL) is pretty lame.
The Princess of Blazersedge
whatever.
hit a round ball with a round bat squarely is still the most difficult challenge in modern sports.
(fell for it, didn’t I?)
by LicketyBrindle on Jul 20, 2009 1:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Doesn't matter if it's challenging, it's still not physical
I can argue that running the rack in a game of 9 ball takes a lot more skill than simply hitting a baseball. Also, if you screw up a pitch in baseball, it’s fine. If you screw up a single shot in 9 ball, you may have handed your opponent the win.
Either way, this is discussing the physical attributes of the game, not the “skill” attributes.
And there are many challenges more difficult than hitting a baseball. People hit that ball in what, 75-80% of their at bats?
The Princess of Blazersedge
the key word being
squarely.
and the best of them hit it squarely in just over 30% of their at bats.
by LicketyBrindle on Jul 24, 2009 9:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Just rubbed me the wrong way, overshadowing a neat/tragic story (Watson's contention/failure) with such a cheap uninspiring question
And not many golfers are going to strenously argue golf takes the same sort of athleticism as basketball, football, The Olympics, whatever. So what’s the point of the question other than to bash golf in general? I suspect Dwight is horrible at it.
But though you don’t have to be able to jump thirty feet in the air to play it, golf taxes the heck out of your mind and unlike team sports you don’t get to place the blame anywhere else.
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Sounds about right
A lot of people who plays sports like basketball and football feel the need to point out how much harder their sport is than other sports whenever they get the chance to. Not sure why, but it happens pretty often.
The Princess of Blazersedge
I think that it is just the same as how golfer's
continually feel the need to talk about how much skill is involved in their game.
And distance runner’s about how much endurance.
And baseball players, on how much they have to think (this last one is the most questionable in my opinion).
But yea, everyone likes to hype what they do well…
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
man you would not believe how many times that statement
has gotten me dragged into an argument…. haha… A LOT of people consider baseball the thinking man’s game.
I don’t… but i also don’t really want to get an argument about it….
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
Well you have to think...
But you have to think in EVERY sport, and in baseball you get A LOT more time to do it. All fielding situations and scenarios give you plenty of time to think.
Hitting requires some quick thinking. It’s a combination of pure reflex/reaction and “what is this ball going to do.”
Fielding requires some… “Do I go back or forward?” But come on, EVERY sport has this stuff.
The Princess of Blazersedge
different games take different skills
most of the world loves soccer, here probably a signficant % of the populace doesn’t even consider it a sport at all.
but i agree in general with what you said. still, i think its a ridiculous question and it dirtied up WaW which is one of the last decent sports shows on our local radio dial.
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 2:44 PM PDT up reply actions
totally agree
there’s no need to fight each other for whatever the best/hardest/most skilled sport is.
Its obviously basketball ;)
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
meanwhile, on the "other" sportstalk radio station
Dan Partick was interviewing Jack Nicklaus
(I’ll give you one guess re: which one I was listening to during lunch…)
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
golf is a muther like that
team sports you might be able to convince yourself it was the other guys fault. golf its like your standing naked alone in front a mirror and you’re either hung like a horse or a mayfly – no in-between and nobody to blame.
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 2:47 PM PDT up reply actions
John McEnroe was Jerryd Bayless with no teammates to blame.
by MiledAnimal on Jul 21, 2009 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions
Mac was great at doubles
his partner must’ve had the patience of Job
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
hear = hair (edit feature)
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 12:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Wendell Maxey on Steve Blake...
… to support the starting tandem of Bayless and Steve Blake – with the starting role undetermined.
The starting spot is undetermined? That’s just clueless.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Jul 20, 2009 12:51 PM PDT reply actions
maybe he meant the "point guard tandem" of Bayless and Steve Blake?
I’ve fallen into that trap before, myself
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
FWIW, the point guard tandem that I would "support"
would be Hinrich starting and Blake backing him up…with Bayless as the “do not break glass unless there’s an emergency” #5 guard (SG/PG)
but that’s just me…
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Jul 20, 2009 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
... and again
Big D from Blog-A-Bull - "Pritchard is such a genius that teams just give him players for free."
Greg Oden - The only other rookie with more than 500 points, 400 rebounds, and 65 blocks in under 1400 minutes played. Since 1946
by FiveOhThree-RipCity!! on Jul 20, 2009 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Actually...
Bayless’ comments to the press seem to indicate there’s an open competition for the starting PG spot. Hard to believe, and even harder to believe B-Rex REALLY has a legit shot at the job. But apparently somebody told him he kinda sorta does as a motivational tool.
Q: Is Greg favoring his knee?
Frye: He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors.
As long as we are doing the proof-reading police thingy
There was this in the same article:
Steve Blake has been busy with his offseason regiment back East.
I did not know Steve was in the National Guard!
regiment
2: a military unit consisting usually of a number of battalions
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009
More likely meant:
regimen
1 a: a systematic plan (as of diet, therapy, or medication) especially when designed to improve and maintain the health of a patient b: a regular course of action and especially of strenuous training
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009
(I am a big fan of Wendell Maxey so only poking a little fun!)
I don't know why, but the overall quality of writing
among BEdgers seems to have risen this year. I’m proud of you geyes.
by MiledAnimal on Jul 21, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
reins vs reigns
one of my personal favorites
(but don’t listen to me, I don’t even know how to spell “calvalry” correctly)
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
My Thoughts and summer league grades
SummerLeague:
JBay is still one of my favs but he is a shooting guard type not a point guard type. As for his overall performance I give him a B.
Pooh should make the team as a 3rd string pg- the kid can play pg pretty well. Pooh I give an A.
Dante and Pendy should also make the team-Dante gets an A, Pendy gets a B.
Prunty gets a B+, not really his fault as we had one of the scrubbiest teams at the league.
Offseason-
Although I really thought we wouldve/shouldve made moves by now, I really am starting to feel like no move isnt BAD either. But since we have made no dramatic garaunteed improvement I only give us a B-. Regaurdless, we still have some positional issues that must be resolved. We are lucky enough to be overloaded with talent, so as I started with
no moves are bad—-we still have a 54 win core team, cap space and alot of options! As I see it, it could be alot worse! LOL!
Other Off Season thoughts:
Oden- glad to hear about the BIG GO and that hes pretty hungry.
BROY and LMA need to be signed asap.
Rudy and Batum playing in overseas leagues this summer is gonna be great for them and us!
I cant wait to get some updates on Thursday from the team USA mini camp.
by cavejunctionblazer on Jul 20, 2009 12:54 PM PDT reply actions
sorry misspelling
overloaded with talent, so as I started with
no moves are bad—-we still have a 54 win core team, cap space and alot of options! As I see it, it could be alot worse! LOL!
I meant to say no moves arent bad—-we still have a 54 win……
by cavejunctionblazer on Jul 20, 2009 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions
So, am I right to think that if we don't use the cap space now
It is, in effect, available through the trade deadline?
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
In theory until the 2010 draft day
Almost all of it, except that we will have to carry at least 13 players so at least one more minimum salary player has to be added in addition to Pendergraph and Cunningham, likely another one. And during the season, cap holds for unsigned draft picks Claver, Koponen, Freeland would come off the books as long as they have professional contracts outside of the NBA.
I know exactly what the Blazers want from Bayless
They need three things from him:
1. They need him to be able to bring the ball up court under pressure and get the team into the offense without turning it over. They do not need him to be creative, they do not require that he be a gifted passer (though he will need to pass).
2. They need him to defend opposing point guards without fouling them. He needs to be able to stay in front of them and cut off their passing angles, box them out on shots, and rebound in his area. He will need to be able to help double in the post and recover to his man on the pass out.
3. He needs to hit a high percentage of his open shots, and a fair number of shots under pressure (like 30% would probably be fine). He needs to be willing and able to exploit mismatches to take the ball to the basket and score, while keeping his head up to know if the help defender is coming and be prepared to make the pass if so.
If he can do those three things, he can play point guard for Portland. Let’s face it, the offense is going through Brandon, LaMarcus, and occasionally Greg, not Jerryd Bayless. If he can start the offense and hit his shots, while playing solid defense without defending, all while not turning the ball over, he will be a perfectly adequate backcourt companion for Brandon and Rudy. His ability to drive and score is useful, and he will figure out when it’ll work and when it won’t.
His summer league play demonstrated he could bring the ball up, and initiate the offense. His turnovers were mostly in the half court. He played acceptable defense without fouling. He shot the ball ok, not great. With a little improvement in all these areas, the Blazers may be able to play him.
by baduk on Jul 20, 2009 1:12 PM PDT reply actions 7 recs
He also needs to not panic
Last year, when he got in games he too often seemed so concerned about making mistakes that he froze. If he can got more confidence, he’ll be good.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
Well said
While the regualr season, especially for a winning team, is not the best time to play “trial by fire”, we won’t really know where Bayless is this year until we see him with the regulars. If he can do those three things, he will have a successful season
Team Bayless - The takeover begins in 2009
by blazeraddict on Jul 20, 2009 1:18 PM PDT up reply actions
And for sure
He’ll be an upgrade over Sergio, he already is.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
Yawns
Bayless was worse than Sergio last season. Period, get over it. It’s done. Sergio is now on another team so there really isn’t any reason for you to bring up Bayless vs Sergio anymore until we play the Kings.
Saying he “already is” would imply that Bayless has done something for us, which he hasn’t yet.
The Princess of Blazersedge
I'm actually kinda fascinated to see how ol Serg will do
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah might be fun
More free flowing offense, minutes without fear of being yanked after 30 seconds, no need to worry about silly things like winning!
Granted, Sergio could go 20/10 with 50/40/90 shooting and people would claim it was just because he was on a bad team, not because he is any good.
The Princess of Blazersedge
ill be scanning his box scores for sure
if nothing else it might answer the question of how much nate held him back compared to other coaches
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Paul Westphal should be the ideal coach for Sergio.
If Serge cannot show dramatic improvement playing for Westphal, he might as well pack his bags and return to Spain.
Sergio should be a serviceable backup in the NBA
Whether he chooses to stay and be that, or go back to Spain is up to him though.
The Princess of Blazersedge
It will be interesting to see how Westphal
Integrates Tyreke Evans at the PG position
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Call me crazy, but I feel Tyreke Evans most natural position is small forward.
Stupid people have stupid ideas.
I didn't want anything to do with Evans
after reading his scouting report prior to the draft…he sounded like the anti-Roy
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I, too, don't want anything to do with Tyreke Evans, which is weird ...
because I’m a guy who oftentimes believes that poor off-court character isn’t a matter of concern. Evans’ appalling case is a strong exception to my rule, though.
Regardless of Evans’ past indiscretions, however, I think he’d do best in Sacramento as a slashing 3 next to sharp-shooting wing Kevin Martin.
Yet, the Kings have already got Andres Nocioni, Omri Casspi, and Donte Greene on its roster at small forward, so Evans will therefore either sink or swim at the point.
Stupid people have stupid ideas.
it wasn't the off-court stuff
it was the “he’s selfish and he likes to shoot jumpers that he has no business shooting” analysis that convinced me to back away and let him be someone else’s problem
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I should have made my Bayless post below a reply to this one
I didn’t fully read yours until now, so I missed the fact that you articulated much of what I wrote about below. Sorry about that.
His summer league play demonstrated he could bring the ball up
Jerryd wasn’t very good at avoiding the double-team “trap” He tended to pick up his dribble at inopportune moments
(as a point of reference, Nate said that team USA was unable to trap Patty Mills last summer…)
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Not sure I agree with KP2
Yeah, having Lewis at the 4 let Orlando go with their crazy go lucky 3 point shooting team, but I think they will be fine still. The starting 5 will have Lewis at the 4 and they will launch 3s all day. At times, mixed units will have Lewis at the 3, Bass at the 4, and either Gortat or Howard at the 5. This unit will still do just fine since Bass does have a mid range shot and Carter (if he is in) can create shots as well.
The Princess of Blazersedge
Vince Carter will assume Hedo Turkoglu's abdicated role as playmaker in Orlando, while Brandon ...
Bass will easily slide right into Tony Battie’s old job as the backup 4 with a mid-range game on offense.
Stupid people have stupid ideas.
Is there a reason
I’ve never heard Jameer Nelson or Rafer Alston’s names mentioned in our ongoing point guard hunt? Seems like Orlando has a problem that fits hand in hand with ours…
aw crap
should’ve read KP2’s whole article before posting. forgot alston wen to toronto in the carter deal.
wish there was an “unpost” button.
by LicketyBrindle on Jul 20, 2009 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions
That article about the edit feature is right though
You can bait someone, and then edit your comment when they reply. I wonder if it would be possible to add a feature that allows someone to edit their post UNTIL it has been responded to.
The Princess of Blazersedge
Nah I see the other side, still I hate it
Because I ninja-type from work I make a lot of little booboos that sometimes completely change what I meant to say. It’s like torture for the OCD-inclined.
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions
forgot alston wen to toronto in the carter deal
you mean “Skip to my Lou” went to Joisey, right?
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Hey Ben...
You probably read this already but it goes along with the idea of how MSM and Bloggers relate.
Deadspin’s surprisingly cogent take
I thought it was interesting how certain places have co-opted Blogs and hired the best writers, and brought them into their fold, increasing their own readership. The blog most prominently mentioned is TrueHoop (obviously).
But an even better point that they ignored is the fact that yahoo sports took over the top spot from espn recently, and I would have to say that Blogs are a big part of it. I mean Skeets, and Dwyer are generally spot on, and I am a big fan of The Basketball Jones with Skeets and Melas. I mean I subscribe in my google reader to TrueHoop, Ball Don’t Lie, FreeDarko (I would subscribe to The Baseline but it renders poorly on my phone), and Blazersedge, but when was the last time you headed to Sports Illustrated for something? I mean outside of the Stew Mandel, I don’t think I look for any writers like I do the ones already mentioned. And I mean its FREAKING SPORTS ILLUSTRATED! I mean they basically created the concept of a sports magazine, and its getting the bejeesus beat out of it because it is trying to further this idea that they are somehow different.
Just thought it was an interesting take on how these writers are getting viewership because they are great writers, and how bringing the blogs (full form) and letting them do exactly what they were doing before can help the sites themselves, and there is very little reason for actual competition. Good writers are good writers, and people will flock to them no matter the platform.
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
SI.com is the place to go if you want great tennis coverage and analysis.
Also not bad if you like supermodels in bikinis.
good stuff. thanks for linking that — hadn’t seen that yet. you make great points about yahoo!
by Ben Golliver on Jul 20, 2009 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
one thing that is often lost around here (and I am guilty of this also)...
… is that we have always known Bayless is not a pure PG. Everyone knew he was more of a scorer than a passer. Indeed, that’s why many of us thought he was a good fit in Portland— Jerryd could play PG on defense and SG on offense with Roy doing the opposite. Its still desirable for Bayless to have PG skills, so that Roy isn’t forced to be exhausted by playing PG all game, but its much more important for Bayless to be able to defend PGs and score the ball efficiently.
Since we already knew Rex could score efficiently in summer league, its nice that he was trying to work on his PG skills. The results weren’t particularly encouraging (I was discouraged for sure), but those skills aren’t what will make or break his NBA career.
If Bayless can defend PGs and score the ball efficiently, he’ll be an effective PG for the Blazers, despite not being a true PG or even close to it. The problem is that Rex appears a long way from adequately defending PGs— he’s still overly aggressive and not very smart about it. This, much more than the summer league turnovers, is the biggest question facing Bayless. The 2nd biggest question is his jump shot— if he can make a solid percentage of those, he’ll force the defense to respect it, thus opening up the best part of his game, the drive and getting to the foul line. His jumper looked better in Vegas, but given how bad it was last year, that’s still something that needs to be watched closely.
So, while I was as down on Rex’s Vegas performance as anyone— hated the TOs (and hated his failure to take responsibility even more) and was concerned that he struggled on D at times even against Vegas-level talent— the fact is that (as we hopefully all know), summer league is basically irrelevant. As we watch Bayless in the pre-season, all eyes (at least when they aren’t on Oden) should be on Rex’s defense and his perimeter jumper. The TOs are a bummer and a problem, but the kid was never drafted to be a pure PG anyway.
by jksnake99 on Jul 20, 2009 2:19 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
I think you nailed the issues on the head
Except I would disagree with the result. As far as his long term plans, it seems like a game of ‘would you rather’.
Would you rather him taking the ball and shooting or driving, or would you rather Brandon. Would you rather Brandon being the distributor or someone else?
That’s what it kind of comes down to for me, that I would much rather have Brandon play off the ball, then anyone else on our team. And if we have to push him around to fit a spot for Bayless, that’s not an optimal fit. (Except in the 4th quarter where I totally agree with you that Brandon should be the one dominating/facilitating the ball, at least in our current line-up)
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
The Blazers would be well served to have another player capable of getting his own shot, and doing so efficiently
if Bayless can learn to shoot, he could be that guy.
Roy’s going to have the ball— he’s better making plays for himself and others than he is playing off the ball, and he also seems to prefer that style— initiating the offense.
Offensively, Bayless would fit best if he’s able to become comfortable playing both on and off the ball, but if I had to pick one for him to excel at, I’d pick off the ball. Again, for him to succeed in that role, he’d need to be able to hit the outside J and defend PGs.
when the defense takes away Roy's penetration, by running a double-team at him
it would be nice to have a “2nd creator” who can break down the resulting 4 on 3. Hedo could’ve been that guy, but putting those eggs into the Bayless basket is…unsatisfactory
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
that's interesting.
I agree to a point. I think Rudy can fit the playing off the ball role better for this team better, but that’s definitely an opinion.
I don’t want to take away the man’s scoring ability, but I feel his passing and court vision, are pretty far below what this team needs. If he could become a Jack-style defender, and re-find his jump I could probably be convinced he doesn’t need the passing and court vision, nearly as much as I feel he needs it now.
So yea maybe there are two road for Bayless, become a big defender with a sweet jump shot. Or learn to pass and look at the court differently. At this point its hard to say which would be more beneficial to this team.
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
think of the road NJ game where Bayless took over-- he doesn't need to be a "real PG" to be effective
Bayless was effective in transition, and effective penetrating to the rim out of the halfcourt.
If he can consistently do that (which would require other teams respecting his jump shot), as well as adequately defend PGs, I don’t much care that he’s not a real PG.
The question, of course, is whether Bayless can really be that guy or whether his flashes of excellence were just a mirage.
Really?
See I totally buy into the fact that he can do that. Just not as effectively as Roy can. And those are possessions where I would prefer Roy to be doing that.
Its like it seems to be that we have that guy, heck we’ve got two of them (not in the same style) but the guys who can score for themselves in Travis. What we need (in scenario 2) is a guy who can create for our other players like LA, Rudy, and Marty who have a hard time creating for themselves.
In the jump-shot/defense scenario (1) we have a scoring 6/7th man, similar to the role Travis plays right now. Where he comes off the bench but is next to Roy in the final minutes taking over the Rudy/Steve role, where he plays not really off the ball but off-Roy.
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
the thing is that Travis is not very efficient and not a good defender
Bayless at full potential would be quite efficient (due to his ability to draw fouls) and a solid defender. I’m a long way from sold that Bayless will get there (he was far from efficient last year due to terrible shooting and not a solid defender due to overagressiveness) but I think the Blazers need a 2nd player who can get his own shot efficiently more than they need a pure PG— Roy and Rudy get enough assists that its not a big concern for me.
Alright well.
What I said was playing in his role. Coming off of the bench, and playing in the 4th quarter.
Bayless is also not 6’ 9" and doesn’t have the ability to get his shot off whenever. Getting Travis to elite efficiency would be a lot better project for the team to work on that getting Bayless there, he’s closer to that level, has better physical gifts, and is closer in age to Brandon and so will peak more closely to the same time, and doesn’t take up a spot where Brandon or Rudy would already be at.
If Bayless is going to play he has to be playing instead of Roy or Rudy, he can’t fit in the SF spot, so when he is on the court he’s going to be have to be able to create for other players at least to the level of the other shooting guards. That doesn’t mean he needs the court vision of a pure PG but that does mean he has to be able to create at least 3-4 assists a game, every game. Without that his skills are easily surpassed by other people on this team.
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
I think Travis has reached his potential
Outlaw just doesn’t have the ability or desire to get to the rim and get fouled, nor does he have the focus needed to be a good defender.
Obviously Outlaw and Bayless are not competing for playing time. Bayless and Rudy are, to some degree, though the Blazers may be able to play Bayless, Rudy and Roy together at times, as Roy was effective at the 3 last year.
Bayless has a ways to go before he cements a spot in the Blazers long term plans. However, I’m convinced that the picture of Bayless as a major Blazer contributor (if he ever gets there) is as PG on defense but primarily a scorer/penetrator on offense. He’s not a pure PG, he never will be.
Bayless was a lottery pick for a reason— his physical gifts greatly exceed those of Blake. Bayless has a will and ability to get to the FT line that no other Blazer has, which could be hugely valuable if he adds the defensive chops and outside shot that must go with it. The jury is very much still out on whether he can do so.
We’ll have a much better idea by mid-season next year.
Yea I agree will definitely have a better idea by mid-season
and remember efficiency is also gained at the three point line.
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
true
Bayless shot 40% from the 3 point line in college. If he can’t gain some semblance of accuracy from the NBA line, he’s in trouble.
True story
defense and a jump-shot would definitely alleviate a lot of my concerns, and a solid 3-point shot would probably get me to shut the heck up.
"The cake was a lie..." -blazeraddict
imo the most important thing is that he's a good player
which nobody knows yet because he hasn’t yet had much of a chance
Blazer Fan
by leeroyjenkins on Jul 20, 2009 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions
I think that's a good way of putting it.
The early returns aren’t very good, but he hasn’t had nearly enough minutes to draw conclusions.
His failure to take responsibility for TOs showed some immaturity...
He said something like, “guys are dropping my passes, and when it’s Brandon and Lamarcus and Travis, that won’t happen…”
Now, whether guys are making shots and making plays is one thing. But dropping passes? The guys on the summer league squad might not be world makers, and they might lay some bricks, but do they really have worse hands than a typical NBA player?
Bayless should be running playmaking drills every day – he should be playing games where he’s not allowed to score, and he HAS to try to win by setting other guys up.
Q: Is Greg favoring his knee?
Frye: He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors.
The guys on the summer league squad might not be world makers
Last night the SL team sans Jerryd had three (count ’em 3) turnovers in the entire first half
then they fumbled their way to 14 TOs in the 2nd half…including the last one that was most costly
a pretty mixed bag, and most of them will never play alongside Bayless again
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
As we watch Bayless in the pre-season, all eyes
should be on how Rudy and Rex interact, since Nate has said he wants to try Rudy at the “PG” in September
these two “combo guards” should be able to run a fast break, but will they be able to run a “set” offense (and will they get “abused” at the other end of the floor?)
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Wow, We Actually Agree. Bayless may become a very good combo guard, and that may be just what this team needs.
I think your analysis of the situation is quite good and quite fair.
The real debate isn’t between those who think Bayless can become a “pure point,” and those who think he “will never be a PG.”
The real debate is between those who think we need a pure point, and those who think we need a scorer who can defend the point.
Blake only averages 5 assists per game. Roy and Rudy do enough playmaking from the SG position that we don’t need much more than that. Blake’s usefulness comes from his low turnovers, and his ability to spread the floor for Roy. As Rudy assumes more responsibility, Martell returns with his beautiful stroke, and Nic gets more comfortable as a spot up shooter, Steve’s spot-up shooting becomes less essential to the teams success.
In order for Bayless to be a productive option for the starting five, he has to do the following:
1) Bring the ball up court and make basic competent passes to initiate plays.
2) Score with reasonable efficiency: meaning drawing enough fouls and finishing at the rim enough to make up for the fact that he is going to get stuffed occasionally. He has to remain aggressive without becoming a ball hog and taking shots from Roy and LMA. He has to hit a decent percentage of pull-up jumpers and spot up shots to keep his defender honest. He doesn’t have to shoot as well as Blake, because his ability to penetrate is his bread and butter.
3) He needs to be able to defend the point better than Blake. If he can learn to moderate his aggression, he has the strength and lateral quickness to be substantially better than Blake. He has the potential to become a pesky, annoying defender who makes it hard for opposing PGs to get where they want to go on the floor.
4) Over time, he needs to learn to use the threat of his ability to get into the paint to set up teammates. When the double comes he needs to swing the ball to Roy or the SF in the corner for the open jumper. He needs to be able to drop the ball off to LMA and Oden when the bigs come over to help.
Bayless is never going to become a “pure point.” He needs to become an effective combo guard who fits well next to Roy and Rudy. For me, the annoying part of SL was the fact that the team did not have decent shooters at the 2 and the 3. The SGs were a combined 3-23, or something like that in the first three games. The SF is primarily a defensive specialist. I feel like Bayless was set up to fail. That isn’t saying that he bears no responsibility for his very mixed play, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that he was going to struggle with the team he was given to work with.
A lot of posters have made a lot of the fact that Jeter did better as a distributor with this group than Bayless did. My response, “of course he did.” Jeter was a four year starter as a PG. Jeter has been a successful PG in Europe for two seasons. Given that background, Jeter better be a significantly better distributor than Bayless. Jeter is a very small guy who will never be able to defend the point the way that we can hope that Bayless one day will. Jeter is a decent scorer, but he will never be the scoring threat that Bayless will become.
I have been preaching patience and will continue to do so. Drawing definitive conclusions from four SL games with an unbalanced roster is just plain silly. Bayless confirmed three things that we already knew:
1) he can score when he wants to;
2) he is very coachable and willing to share the ball; and
3) he has a fair way to go to be a competent distributor.
No one should be the least bit surprised at any of these three items.
by upper left corner on Jul 20, 2009 7:47 PM PDT up reply actions
I should clarify.....
….. I certainly don’t mean to imply that I think Bayless is anywhere near being ready to start. I am just talking hypothetically about where he will need to be in order for that possibility to make some sense.
It will be interesting to see Bayless and Rudy in the backcourt together. Above all else, Bayless has to show he can become a quality defender.
by upper left corner on Jul 20, 2009 7:51 PM PDT up reply actions
yes, if JB can't defend and knock down open jumpers
then it won’t matter how many times he drives into the paint with reckless abandon, he won’t be playing for Nate
Oh and the turnovers? Those will definitely have to “go”
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I think Bayless' 3-point shot off the pass still sucks.
However, he can shoot the pull-up 2-point J nicely, go to along with a underrated “floater” and an ability to draw fouls.
For me, I like the fact that Bayless will take almost half his shots in the paint. Right now, Blake is as specialized as it gets – 96% of his shots are outside jumpers. I think the Blazer pace will increase if they have Bayless putting more transition pressure on the defense. That is how he was effective last year.
If you treasure (like Nate) having the highest offensive efficiency with the slowest pace, then Blake is a better fit, and always will be. Nash would be a good player in McMillan’s system because he can shoot the 3 ball so well, and find the rolling player with great efficiency. I wouldn’t put Bayless in the ‘efficient pick/roll point guard’ category.
by blacknoiseNW on Jul 20, 2009 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions
I like the fact that Bayless will take almost half his shots in the paint
Damon took a lot of shots in the paint, as well…and too many of those floaters rimmed off
Nash would be a defensive liabilty no matter who he’s guarding, I’m not saying Blake is “all that” on defense either, but at least he has some length and his back isn’t balky
I would like to see Steve run pick and dives with Greg and LMA though, just to show Brandon “how it’s done”
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
like to see Steve run pick and dives
meaning Nash, not Blake
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I'm an exhausted Blazer fan..
Does anyone else share that sentiment? Basically from the time Tuko-lose landed in Portland to today, I just feel exhausted. Part of me wants to keep checking ESPN and Blazer’s Edge for news. But I have an empty stomach and that’s just like drinking water right now. I mean, take your time KP. But please, don’t take too long. I’m dyin here.
;)
by halo_on on Jul 20, 2009 2:56 PM PDT reply actions 4 recs
I've been in that state-of-mind since December
with the RLEC non-event, leading to the playoffs, then hearing Nate/Roy asking for veteran help, then getting none and being told to “keep being patient”
Reminds me of the old Streisand movie “For Pete’s Sake” We’ll be cashing in those pork-belly futures any day now…
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I'm not exhausted by anything that has or hasn't happened with the team.
I’m exhausted trying to read thousands of BEdge fanposts and comments about it each day.
Nice. BEdge is interfering with my life......
…..or is that my life interfering with BEdge.
by upper left corner on Jul 21, 2009 7:19 AM PDT up reply actions
just wondering about our PG situation...
isn’t ramon sessions a free agent? i thought i read that the knicks were going to offer the MLE to him. does anyone here think he’s be a good addition to the blazers?
by where's billy ray on Jul 20, 2009 8:44 PM PDT reply actions
Bayless is not a PG
I think it is obvious. You have to have a better feel for how to find your teammates. Plus I think Nate wants his PG’s to be better passer’s, not better scorer’s
Now I don’t think Sessions is a PG either…but I do like him better than Bayless, he has a better understanding about what is going on out on the floor.
I get nervous whenever Bayless is handling the ball…
DJ was saying it is hard to learn the PG position if you haven’t really played it. I kinda agree with that…but in Bayless’s case I don’t think he wants to be a PG, nor does he really need to. With him and BROY playing together he will rarely have the ball in his hands…I would guess he would be the 2 if him and BROY are playing together….
Why?????????????????????????
The whole pure point thing makes no sense to me when we have two excellent playmaking SGs, and we need another scorer who can create their own shot.
We need an efficient combo guard who can play off of Roy, not Steve Nash.
We need someone who can defend the point effectively.
You may not like the way Bayless plays the position, but he is a point guard. You are what you can defend. Bayless is a young, scoring point who will likely develop into a decent if not great distributor given adequate reign and playing time on the floor.
by upper left corner on Jul 21, 2009 7:24 AM PDT up reply actions
So many arbitrary definitions of a point guard
so little accounting for the reality of the position. Those that believe Bayless isn’t a “true” point guard won’t change their mind until they change their definition of a point guard. Here is an attempt at persuasion:
Point guards are basketball players (not floor generals, Maginot lines, specialist first passes or decorated snipers). Point guards are guards who are points. Points are those that make reads and react accordingly. Those that do this more effectively are better points. Some points are forwards, some are centers, and a majority are guards.
A “guard” is traditionally one who plays above the key.
Bayless safely fits within the traditional definition of a “guard”. He is also a “point”, but the percentage of plays that a “point guard” runs on the Blazer squad is relatively small compared to, say, the New Orleans Hornets. For the Blazers, the “point” guard is defined by his ability to bring the ball up the court and defend the smallest, quickest player for the opponent.
Roy is the primary “point” guard for most of the set plays in the half court offense, with the traditional “point guards” (Blake and Bayless, currently) having “point” responsibilities in transition and until the half court set is “set up”.
Turkoglu was pursued because of his reputation as a superior “point” in the pick and roll.
Bayless is vilified because he is perceived as a shooting guard in a “point guards” body. “Point guards” are supposed to be the mythical floor general that whips everyone into shape in the half court set, lobs no-look alley-oops behind the back from 3/4, breaks Chris Paul’s ankles with lightning crossovers or shoots 75% from half court if any defender dares slide under the pick.
1) Point guards for the Blazers have a more narrow role than point guards for other teams. That helps mitigate some of Bayless’ alleged deficiencies.
2) Decisioneering is the most lamented Bayless “skill”, but for a team that runs a lot of sets, that is less of a deficiency (learning curve is shorter – making dynamic contributions less important)
3) Bayless still offers dynamic abilities that will help make his team better: a) transition point and finisher skills; b) ability to get into the lane when needed; c) shoot the pull-up J if that is how defenses want to play him
For those that think this isn’t enough, your standards are pretty dang high, and you probably severely underrate Bayless’ desire and ability to open teammates for spot up J’s, layins or dunks.
He has all the physical tools necessary to play this kind of game, right now, and his mental tools aren’t a major deficiency. This is where opinion will seriously diverge, of course, but his summer league play was an indicator that he can do good things, now. Is he a top 10 player at point guard? Nope. But then, neither are 20 other “starters” and 30 other “backups” in the league.
by blacknoiseNW on Jul 20, 2009 9:26 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I agree somewhat.
But I don’t even think we have seen Bayless against TRUE nba talent. He looks good in summer league, but honestly I don’t think he is blowing anyone away with his play. Hopefully he figures out that other players can help him more than he can help himself (confusing? he just seems like a me first guy).
Nitpicking, but when has Bayless shown any ability to shoot a pull up J
against NBA level competition? He shot 22% on twos that weren’t at the rim last year. That’s significantly worse than Sergio was, even (31%). I mean, the guy made 9 total twos from outside 15 feet all year. That doesn’t scream out to me an ability to hit a pull up.
maybe I'm reaching, but the pullup J was demonstrated nicely this summer league
getting that shot requires separation – which isn’t that difficult for any guard with penetration ability to get…
by blacknoiseNW on Jul 21, 2009 1:53 AM PDT up reply actions
I thought we all established that summer league was pretty meaningless
Are we really going to go column by column in the summer league stat boxes and say what’s meaningful and what isn’t?
Besides, I never said he was unable to get the shot, but there’s a whole world of difference between getting that shot and hitting it.
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