A couple of Blazer sophs make "all sleeper" team

[Nikolokolus]

http://boards.hoopsworld.com/blogs/two_cents/archive/2009/05/19/sleeper-sophs-for-2010.aspx

Looks like at least some people are high on Nic and Bayless.

PG: Jerryd Bayless. Summer League MVP, a highly touted member of the BabyBlazers, but stuck behind a savvy veteran in Steve Blake. He didn't get on the court for 28 regular season games, and only saw 12 minutes in the post season, but this guy has "it". Trust me. When he did get extended minutes, he was spectacular. December, in successive games (57 minutes), he shot 12-18, committed two turnovers and went 13-14 from the charity stripe. Don't get me wrong, he had some nightmare games (1-11 in a loss to Philadelphia) but this kid will, sooner rather than later, be the driver of the Portland juggernaut. It pained me to leave out George Hill. It really did.

SF: Nicolas Batum. A skinny kid from France who gets little or no recognition. Does the gritty work for the Blazers, so as the likes of Roy and Aldridge can do the glitzy part. Potentially an elite lockdown wing defender, he has guarded some of the top players already in his fledgling career. Needs to work on his three point shooting, but his 45% field goal and 80% free throw numbers are a welcome addition. His season high? Unquestionably his 7-8 20 point outburst against New Jersey, followed closely by his 6-6 (3-3 from deep) showing against LA in December. An unsung hero.

 

[<-=*PdX*=->]

This is what makes me believe Pritch when he says we are fine standing pat with what we have. The only players I could see us not needing are sergio and possibly Outlaw. I think for the most part we have the team we need. We are not supposed to be a title contender this soon and we all knew that last season, we were blessed with this season. Give this team one more season and we will see these players bloom.

 

[fumanchu]

Bayless is probably going to take 2 or 3 years to take off. In the meantime we should have him back up a veteran point guard (hopefully an improvement over Steve Blake).

Batum has major potential, but I would be happy with some moderate improvement on what he's done. Nice role player right now but could back up a vet for 2 or 3 years (Artest) while he develops.

 

[STOMP]

The 2008 draft has turned out to be truly remarkable. I mean, we have a kid nicknamed "Pooh", who was anything but, turn Chicago into a post-Jordan loveable team. We found a floor general for the Thunder. We got gifted the best white centre in the NBA not named Yao.

STOMP

 

[julius]

STOMP

You forgot about Yao Jorgenson, the guy from Norway. He's a pretty dang good big man.

 

[MAS RipCity]

I've been saying it for a long time, but if Westbrook and Bayless swapped roles, Bayless would have put up similar numbers. He does have "it".

 

[VanillaGorilla]

I've been saying it for a long time, but if Westbrook and Bayless swapped roles, Bayless would have put up similar numbers. He does have "it".

I don't believe that because there's no evidence to support it.

 

[Ed O]

I don't believe that because there's no evidence to support it.

Really?

How did they each do in the PAC 10 their last year there?

Bayless: 19.7 ppg, 45.8 FG%, 40.7 3%, 4.0 apg, 35.7 mpg
Westbrook: 12.7 ppg, 46.5 FG%, 33.8 3%, 4.3 apg, 33.8 mpg

There's no evidence that Bayless could have done similar things to Westbrook in the situation Westbrook was in?

Really?

Ed O.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Really?

How did they each do in the PAC 10 their last year there?

Bayless: 19.7 ppg, 45.8 FG%, 40.7 3%, 4.0 apg, 35.7 mpg
Westbrook: 12.7 ppg, 46.5 FG%, 33.8 3%, 4.3 apg, 33.8 mpg

There's no evidence that Bayless could have done similar things to Westbrook in the situation Westbrook was in?

Really?

Ed O.

Bayless was the absolute main guy in Arizona, Westbrook wasn't even close to that. I'm not saying I know Bayless couldn't average 15.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 4.9 RPG, but he hasn't shown that he can. There was probably a reason Westbrook went 4 instead of 11.

 

[Minstrel]

Bayless was the absolute main guy in Arizona, Westbrook wasn't even close to that. I'm not saying I know Bayless couldn't average 15.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 4.9 RPG, but he hasn't shown that he can. There was probably a reason Westbrook went 4 instead of 11.

There probably is a reason, but considering Bayless was considered a top-five talent up until a month or two before the draft, there probably isn't a dramatic split in their talent levels. Bayless sank a bit after the college season was over, so NBA teams in the top ten clearly weren't as sold on him but if the difference in talent were obvious, he would have been perceived lower earlier in the process.

 

[oldmangrouch]

There probably is a reason, but considering Bayless was considered a top-five talent up until a month or two before the draft, there probably isn't a dramatic split in their talent levels. Bayless sank a bit after the college season was over, so NBA teams in the top ten clearly weren't as sold on him but if the difference in talent were obvious, he would have been perceived lower earlier in the process.

I'd say there were 2 obvious reasons.

First, while both players have the potential to be quick, tenacious defenders, Westbrook has the edge physically because of his superior wingspan.

Second, while both lean towards being "combo" guards, Westbrook is ahead of Bayless as a playmaker.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Really?

How did they each do in the PAC 10 their last year there?

Bayless: 19.7 ppg, 45.8 FG%, 40.7 3%, 4.0 apg, 35.7 mpg
Westbrook: 12.7 ppg, 46.5 FG%, 33.8 3%, 4.3 apg, 33.8 mpg

There's no evidence that Bayless could have done similar things to Westbrook in the situation Westbrook was in?

Really?

Ed O.

The UCLA "system" didn't do Westbrook any favors. When he got to the stage of working out for teams, his stock rose big time. You will notice that the same thing is happening with Jrue Holliday.

 

[cloudydays]

again, this is why I think the Blazers will be content with trading up in the draft in a deal with Sergio, #24 and cash. nothing wrong with taking a solid PG Prospect now and seeing if he pans out

 

[Ed O]

Bayless was the absolute main guy in Arizona, Westbrook wasn't even close to that. I'm not saying I know Bayless couldn't average 15.3 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 4.9 RPG, but he hasn't shown that he can. There was probably a reason Westbrook went 4 instead of 11.

Why does being the main guy impact any of the stats that I posted? Other than ppg, of course, where Bayless outscored Westbrook by 50%.

Ed O.

 

[Nate Dogg]

I hope Bayless works on his off season and gets the chip off his shoulders. He still has the arrogant attitude thinking that hes a starting unit. Hes not. I hope he gets more basketball fundamentals down.

 

[LameR]

I hope Bayless works on his off season and gets the chip off his shoulders. He still has the arrogant attitude thinking that hes a starting unit. Hes not. I hope he gets more basketball fundamentals down.

I think he could be if he uses the motivation for the right purposes. I wouldn't call it arrogance. He's been a starter his whole life. He's adapting to a new role, and I think he's going to have a lot of drive to improve to get back to where he feels he belongs-starting. Whether he can do it in one off-season or not remains to be seen, but I wouldn't worry about his attitude.

 

[MARIS61]

This is what makes me believe Pritch when he says we are fine standing pat with what we have. The only players I could see us not needing are sergio and possibly Outlaw. I think for the most part we have the team we need. We are not supposed to be a title contender this soon and we all knew that last season, we were blessed with this season. Give this team one more season and we will see these players bloom.

Pretty funny, as Sergio and Travis are 2 of KP's favorite players and a huge part of why he thinks we can stand pat if need be.