SA writer's take on last night's game

[PtldPlatypus]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_lose_a_real_head-scratcher.html

Some interesting comments in here.

Forget beating teams over .500, against whom the Spurs are now 2-10 this season. On Wednesday, they couldn't quite handle Portland's JV.

Apparently our "depth" is not highly renowned everywhere. Oh well--they'll learn.

The Spurs lost despite 24 points and 11 rebounds from Tim Duncan, an 18-point night from Richard Jefferson and 16 points off the bench from Mason. They lost despite shooting 51.4 percent from the field, and 94.1 percent from the foul line.

Wow--I didn't realize they shot such high percentages. How the hell did we win again?

But more interesting to me were some of the comments that followed:

Bayless did the same thing to the Spurs that Parker has been doing to teams for years. Yet when Parker is agressive, trying to score or create on every possesion some Spurs fan and some sports writers speak negatively and call him a ball hog or shoot first point guard. Point being: Every great point guard takes what the opposition gives him. Great point guards can score or create an opportunity to score on almost every possesion. That's what Bayless did, and that's what Parker used to do.

So this guy basically says that Bayless is another Tony Parker. But wait, there's more:

it seems that we are stuck in neutral or worse as a team with TP in there...Bayless did more than TP usually does because he was able to extend our defense with the 3, hit the mid-range jumper, finish at the rim, make his free throws when they counted, and rotate the ball at the right time. In fact, being right-handed is all they have in common. Enough about TP.

OK--Bayless is now better than Tony Parker? TP + 3s? And then there's this:

Wow. A loss to a team with their best player watching from the bench. Outplayed and outcoached. Where is the heart, drive, and urgency in this years team? Let me guess, Coach Pop prohibits players from expressing it? Fire the coach. If Pop can not coach wins against elite and second tier teams with this line up, time for him to go. Pop lovers, spare me the "Pop has four rings/you coach the team" bs.

And now Nate is a better coach than Popovich? Clearly, we're not the only fans that overreact to tough situations.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I found this very interesting as well:

Quote:
"Bayless did the same thing to the Spurs that Parker has been doing to teams for years. Yet when Parker is agressive, trying to score or create on every possesion some Spurs fan and some sports writers speak negatively and call him a ball hog or shoot first point guard. Point being: Every great point guard takes what the opposition gives him. Great point guards can score or create an opportunity to score on almost every possesion. That's what Bayless did, and that's what Parker used to do."

I was wondering last night why Parker was not attacking us like he did when Duncan was out early last season. (Or was it the year before?) That Tony Parker was a night mare to guard. I am sure some of our fans will call Bayless a ball hog as well and they may be right. But I have no problem with that. He and Roy can alternate being ball hogs all night long as long as they get their teammates shots too.

 

[Paxil]

They already have. "Bayless isn't a point guard'

 

[ABM]

Wow, what an enlightening article. Thanks for sharing it!

Brings back the classic question: Do the Blazers really need a "pure" PG?

 

[maxiep]

The difference between Tony Parker and Jerryd Bayless physically is--besides Jerryd likely being circumcised while Tony probably has his French turtle-neck--is that Bayless is not only quick, but powerful. He's strong enough to post up a PG as well as drive.

Of course Parker is still the far superior player. If Bayless can become 75% of the player TP is, he's going to be magnificient for this team.

 

[RR7]

Hopefully Miller works with Bayless on posting up PGs. If he was able to pass on his post up ability, his 14 million over the next two years would be worth it for that simple fact alone. Bayless has the strength to abuse people on the blocks, like Miller, Billups, etc. Combine that with his speed, and his ability to knock down the outside jumper?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Hopefully Miller works with Bayless on posting up PGs. If he was able to pass on his post up ability, his 14 million over the next two years would be worth it for that simple fact alone. Bayless has the strength to abuse people on the blocks, like Miller, Billups, etc. Combine that with his speed, and his ability to knock down the outside jumper?

This.

If Bayless can add this weapon to his aresenal it will open up a whole new world in terms of his ability to set people up. It's hard to say if he has the requisite court vision and touch on his passes to find cutters through the lane, but I'm sure wings would feast on threes from the ballside corner and wing at least.

 

[illmatic99]

Did you guys catch that one pick and roll play with Jerryd and Pendy, when Jeff got two free throws? Or that over the top pass to Aldridge for the lob late in the game? Both were simple setups, but I've never seen Bayless look so comfortable as PG.

Moreso than a post up game, if he can develop that pass off the dribble, or some courtvision, he'd work perfectly with not only Roy, but also Oden and Aldridge.

 

[Kaydow]

Interesting article. The Spurs shoot 51%, 94% from the line, only have 13 t/o's . . . and they lose to Portland's "JV"? The old Spurs didn't lose to anybody in past years with those kind of numbers. But these aren't the Spurs of old. They aren't a defensive stalwart anymore - they used to smother you into t/o's and forced shots, but last night we got good shots for most of the night. Juwan Howard was getting wide open looks from the FT line. Duncan has clearly lost a step, although he's still effective offensively he's no longer a guy you have to try and move your offense away from. And gone are guys like Bruce Bowen & Robert Horry who just played great team defense. The Spurs decided to get more offensive punch. Instead of Muhammed/Nesterovic, they have Matt Bonner. Instead of Bowen, they have Jefferson/Mason. Add those things together, and it's just not the same team defensively. They are still a pretty good team, hadn't they won 7/8 before last night?

But please, the Spurs fans that want to fire Pop . . . would you like to trade straight across for Mac? Geez. He's only the best or 2nd best coach in the league. That's just ridiculous.

 

[Pinwheel1]

There is no doubt in my mind that Bayless will have the occasional bad pass due to getting caught in the air with no where to go. But that is OK because it usually means that he is being aggressive and attacking the basket. I can live with a couple of those a game. But all in all he has shown the ability to make the tough pass. To me Bayless is a better version of Antonio Daniels. And Nate loved playing him at the Point.

 

[Kaydow]

Did you guys catch that one pick and roll play with Jerryd and Pendy, when Jeff got two free throws? Or that over the top pass to Aldridge for the lob late in the game? Both were simple setups, but I've never seen Bayless look so comfortable as PG.

Moreso than a post up game, if he can develop that pass off the dribble, or some courtvision, he'd work perfectly with not only Roy, but also Oden and Aldridge.

I like what they did with Jarryd last night. He played some PG, but more SG. They basically told him to go do what Brandon does. He did look more comfortable with the ball. Zero t/o's and 7 assists is more impressive than his 31 pts IMO. He played under control for most of the game, which was surprising - I was worried he'd be too jacked up in his 1st start. Just the opposite, it's like the fact that he knew he was going to play settled him down. And that dime he threw to LA was sick. I couldn't believe he threw it over the top in that situation. If they don't hit that play, everybody says "what was he thinking?" (including me)

 

[STOMP]

just remembering all the hand wringing over Jerryd's game in the Summer League

STOMP

 

[hasoos]

Wow, what an enlightening article. Thanks for sharing it!

Brings back the classic question: Do the Blazers really need a "pure" PG?

You know my line ABM. Roy, Bayless and Rudy should be our 3 guards. There is a ton of playmaking ability on the floor at all times, there is a ton of gifted offensive player on the floor at all times, and there is a ton of shooting on the floor at all times.

Would anybody care if we didn't have an 8+ assist per night guy if we got about 18 assist between all 3 guards?

How dangerous would it be to have 3 guys who are all shooting over 40% from the 3 point line on the court?

How efficient would it be to have 3 guys shooting in the over 45% from the field out on the floor?

Efficiency + outrebounding your opponent = wins.

That was how the 2000 team was built. They could beat any running team in the league easily. They could handle the others due to being used to executing. Built for playoff basketball where there are lots of outside influences causing game stops.

 

[Pinwheel1]

just remembering all the hand wringing over Jerryd's game in the Summer League

STOMP

Great point. The consensus was that he still was not ready. Well he ready now. The guys worked his ass off. And by all accounts from our "homer Blazer Media" he is the type of guy who will continue to be a gym rat and work his ass off.

 

[hasoos]

It seems to me after reading that article that certain folks in San Antonio are having a hard time coming to terms with the end of the positive play cycle for their team. Their frustrations is from not being used to this. What is sad, is that the writer, is willing to send Popovich up the river due to his frustrations. If there is anything I could impart to that guy, it is how if I could go back in time, and when the Blazers send Rick Adelman packing, is to take that back. All we needed to do was get in a new batch of good players and he would have been an awesome coach to keep for all those years.

Tim Duncan is in decline.
Bruce Bowen is gone and played a vital role on that team.
Manu Ginobili may never be the same player he was, again due to injury.
Tony Parker simply isn't as good as he was without weapons he used to be surrounded by.

The biggest mistake they could make is letting Popovich go over this. He just needs some fresh talent, and that, is the GM's job.

 

[Pinwheel1]

As much as I HATE Sean Elliott as a "color guy" on the TV broadcasts, I give him credit last night for pointing out that SA should not let the game clock run down to 2 seconds. He called it ahead of time that Portland could get the loose ball. And sure enough it happened. Not a wise move on "Pops" part.

 

[RR7]

I couldn't stand listening to Elliot. Luckily, I got a Portland feed after half time.

Was his thought to send it to the FT line the last 20 seconds?

 

[Nikolokolus]

just remembering all the hand wringing over Jerryd's game in the Summer League

STOMP

He looked like shit -- there's no sugar coating it.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I couldn't stand listening to Elliot. Luckily, I got a Portland feed after half time.

Was his thought to send it to the FT line the last 20 seconds?

Yes. There was actually 26 seconds left and his take was to stretch the game out by fouling. That 2 seconds was not enough time if you were not assured of getting the rebound.

 

[SheedSoNasty]

You know my line ABM. Roy, Bayless and Rudy should be our 3 guards. There is a ton of playmaking ability on the floor at all times, there is a ton of gifted offensive player on the floor at all times, and there is a ton of shooting on the floor at all times.

Would anybody care if we didn't have an 8+ assist per night guy if we got about 18 assist between all 3 guards?

How dangerous would it be to have 3 guys who are all shooting over 40% from the 3 point line on the court?

How efficient would it be to have 3 guys shooting in the over 45% from the field out on the floor?

Efficiency + outrebounding your opponent = wins.

That was how the 2000 team was built. They could beat any running team in the league easily. They could handle the others due to being used to executing. Built for playoff basketball where there are lots of outside influences causing game stops.

Love it. We could even have Mills be our insurance guard in case of injury or if he develops, could turn into a decent rotation player.

Bayless has been showing that he's a definite keeper. It would be foolish to think otherwise with the way he's been playing lately.

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

Jerryd likely being circumcised while Tony probably has his French turtle-neck

I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

 

[Pontius]

He looked like shit -- there's no sugar coating it.

Can the blind eye see shit?

 

[Nikolokolus]

Can the blind eye see shit?

Right, cause Jerryd tore it up in SL with his 4.3 assists and 6.25 turnovers -- a thing of beauty. Give me a fucking break.

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/players/index.jsp?player=jerryd_bayless

 

[Pontius]

Right, cause Jerryd tore it up in SL with his 4.3 assists and 6.25 turnovers -- a thing of beauty. Give me a fucking break.

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/players/index.jsp?player=jerryd_bayless

Context. I didn't jump off the Jerryd bandwagon because I put this performance into context. Now the proof is out there that Bayless is the real deal and people are backtracking so conveniently, as if to say it all came out of nowhere. Perhaps it'd be nice if some of the people on here would admit to their gross misjudgment of his ability.

 

[EGame]

Right, cause Jerryd tore it up in SL with his 4.3 assists and 6.25 turnovers -- a thing of beauty. Give me a fucking break.

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/players/index.jsp?player=jerryd_bayless

It is Summer League afterall. Not saying it is totally useless, but, and granted the turnovers are pretty high, it is is still one sloppy mess of basketball games where people probably also try and do to much to try and prove there ability whether they were drafted or come from the streets. Now obviously Jerryd will have games where he turns it over, and maybe even some games when it is a high amount, but I feel pretty good with him as he esentially took the place of Roy and dominated the ball for most of the time and made no turnovers, that is impressive.

 

[mgb]

Context. I didn't jump off the Jerryd bandwagon because I put this performance into context. Now the proof is out there that Bayless is the real deal and people are backtracking so conveniently, as if to say it all came out of nowhere. Perhaps it'd be nice if some of the people on here would admit to their gross misjudgment of his ability.

I didn't jump off the Bayless bandwagon, but I didn't think he was ready either. Not that I didn't think he'd do well just not so quickly.

 

[yakbladder]

Context. I didn't jump off the Jerryd bandwagon because I put this performance into context. Now the proof is out there that Bayless is the real deal and people are backtracking so conveniently, as if to say it all came out of nowhere. Perhaps it'd be nice if some of the people on here would admit to their gross misjudgment of his ability.

So because you get 1 out of 1000 right you want us all to bow down and admit your greatness?

Jerryd wasn't ready last year. There are very few homers who would argue otherwise. Those are the same people who thought every draft pick was Jermaine ONeal, spoiling on the vine. Good lord, we could've won 99 consecutive championships with the "guaranteed All-Stars" that people were claiming existed. (re: see Telfair).

His summer league play sucked too. Was it better than last year in terms of assists? Sure, but he sure as hell didn't look ready to play. Whatever it is he's needed he has seemed to discover as of late, but a whole season is a lot different from three games (and mind you in one of those games he shot much like our earlier starting PG).

I'm sure everyone is excited over his progress but I also know it's only a matter of time before some moron starts screaming for us to trade Roy because he's hindering Bayless' rise to Kobe status.

 

[oldguy]

It is Summer League afterall. Not saying it is totally useless, but, and granted the turnovers are pretty high, it is is still one sloppy mess of basketball games where people probably also try and do to much to try and prove there ability whether they were drafted or come from the streets. Now obviously Jerryd will have games where he turns it over, and maybe even some games when it is a high amount, but I feel pretty good with him as he esentially took the place of Roy and dominated the ball for most of the time and made no turnovers, that is impressive.

This.

Go Blazers

 

[jlprk]

Right, cause Jerryd tore it up in SL with his 4.3 assists and 6.25 turnovers -- a thing of beauty. Give me a fucking break.

http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/players/index.jsp?player=jerryd_bayless

I don't get it. The top says Bayless averaged 8.5 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists. The bottom, backed up by a game log, says he averaged 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.

 

[oldguy]

The top are his current numbers.

Go Blazers