Bayless Puts Up 29 in Loss
posted: 7/18/2008 at 8:41 AM
Jerryd Bayless continued to be the talk of the Las Vegas Summer League, as he put up 29 points, on 8 of 15 shooting, but the Trail Blazers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 88 to 78. Bayless continued to show the ability to get to the free-throw line, as he went 13 for 16 at the stripe.
If you're familiar at all with Portland's summer league team, you've no doubt realized the talent is in the backcourt, with Bayless and Petteri Koponen providing the offense in each of the first three games. But, last night, we saw Nicolas Batum start to get his rhythum, as he put up 12 points, on 5 of 7 shooting, and also grabbed 5 rebounds.
The thought going into Vegas was that the Blazers would sign Batum immediately following summer league, and that he wouldn't be heading back to Europe. Through the first two games, there were some who were starting to question that. But, Batum's athleticism and potential is obvious, and hopefully we'll continue to see improvement as the summer league continues. Last night was much more of an up-and-down game and that appeared to suit Batum much better.
Koponen continued to play well, as he scored 14 points.
The Trail Blazers will practice and scrimmage today, and then will play their fourth of five games tomorrow night against the Phoenix Suns.
We had our radio show, Trail Blazers Courtside last night, and many of you have asked already about the interviews from that show. Kevin Pritchard was a guest, as was assistant coach Dean Demopoulos, and shooting coach John Townsend, who's in Spain working with Sergio Rodriguez. He had great things to say about Sergio's progress and attitude this summer.
Click here, to listen to the interview with Townsend.
Pritchard came on the show as soon as we took the air, and we spend time talking about this Greg Oden news that some were talking about yesterday. Oden has made several comments lately about where he stands, as far as being ready to go by the start of training camp. Nothing has changed, even if his comments have been a touch inconsistent. We thought we'd get Kevin on to give us his thoughts. He also discussed the Darius Miles situation, and the fact that he is working out for teams hoping to get back into the league.
To hear the interview with Pritchard,
click here.
Kevin was great, as always, and talked at length about both Koponen and Bayless. The interesting point he brought up concerning Petteri, is the fact that they recently put him through the same testing that they did with every player in the pre-draft workouts. This is a very detailed test. Koponen would have finished second in the overall testing, and just missed having the best results. This doesn't take into account shooting ability, and we've all seen that he's certainly got that. These are more just tests on raw athletic skills, weight lifting, ball handling, and quickness. These tests aren't the end all, but I found it extremely interesting that he was so impressive.
I'd love to get your comments on both interviews. And, if you have a minute,
click here and vote for Bayless.
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Nice interview with Kevin. I hope we keep Pettri over here this year.
hey mike,
I think it's great that bayless is scoring quite a bit and it looks like koponen is really making some heads turn...I'm actually more excited about him as a prospect of the two players. Do you think that bayless is actually a scoring guard though. The mire if him i see, the more i am convinced that he is not a point-regardless of what kp says. As I watch the summer league games I see him really miss a lot of open men in the corners as he drives to the baseline and the thing that concerns me is his lack of "vision". He reminds me of Damon with a brandon body.
As it related to GO. It was and will always have been the right decision to take him over durant, but IF he isn't able to come back fully then there will be critics, I have a feeling though that this will be a non issue in five years. Not even going to address the miles situation. At least he has a dream still, I guess.
Petteri is a highly intriguing prospect at the 1. He really does seem to have a pretty well rounded game, doing a decent job of keeping his man in front of him, displaying good passing and court vision, and a nice outside shooting touch. His dribble is a little high and seems to have a little trouble beating pressure, but in a couple of years I can easily see him being a rotational player on this roster.
What a difficult decision KP has in front of him, carrying Blake, Sergio, Bayless, and even Roy to an extent at the one and having to weigh the pluses and minuses of adding him to the roster.
I smell a trade this summer, and the most likely to be gone seems to be Sergio who could probably use a change of scenery, despite the recent news that he's working on his shot.
Decisions, decisions.
Hey Mike,
As I look at Bayless play in summer league, I can't help but think that he's not really a point at all. He seems to be a two guard who can handle the ball. Reminds me a bit of a cross between Roy and Damon. I notice that he misses quite a few opportunities to hit the open man in the corner when he drives the baseline. He has a propensity to score but I wonder how much court "vision" he has. I am actually more impressed with Koponen as a prospect. His intangibles are clearly "European". In a game where the fundamentals are missing, it is a breath of fresh air. As far as GO goes, in five years I don't think that this will even be an issue, but IF he's unable to recover, then the clammers of durant will become louder and louder. It was the correct decision to take GO no matter the outcome however.
Not even going to address the miles ordeal. At least he keeps dreaming big. I actually am rooting for him but don't think that he will make it back.
Thank you MB,
the stat I would like to see talked about more, is his rebounds.
The stat keepers for summer league seem to change their numbers each game, but didn't the kid have 6 rebounds in each of the last 2 games?
I love it !
Thank you KP !
MB,
Just curious who finished 1st in the pre-draft overall testing?
Bayless sure seems to have a strong edge to him when answering questions during interviews. Is he always this way? I appreciate his ability to drive and score, but am curious how well he leads the team as he plays more point in the next few games.
This is summer league, and if you haven't noticed that every time Bayless dimes to a big, they MISS! He will have great success in the NBA when Bayless has quality big's surrounding him!
Mike,
Is it just me, or what? Bayless is listed at 6'3", and Koponen is listed at 6'4", but everytime I see them standing next to each other I swear that Koponen is 3 or 4 inches taller than Bayless. What's up with that anyway? Thanks.
David
glide,
The player who finished first, when you average all the catagories of testing, was Joe Alexander, out of West Virginia. He was taken 8th by Milwaukee. He also finished first in the testing at the Orlando pre-draft camp, which involved a lot more players. From what I understand from KP, Koponen would have finished second, behind Alexander in both. I can't tell you how impressive that is to me. Don't forget, Petteri just turned 20.
davidhill,
Koponen is listed at 6-4, but is actually closer to 6-5, and with shoes, is a little bigger than that. Bayless is about 6-3, and that's with shoes. So, it's not surprising that you're noticing a difference.
nick,
I see where you're coming to your conclusions about Sergio, but the Blazers have invested a lot of time in him this summer, and if he was truly being ruled as the odd guy out, I don't think this would be the case. That's why I wanted to get shooting coach John Townsend on the show. He was sent for two weeks to Spain to see Sergio, and to work with him. According to JT, he's looked very, very good, and he's viewing this season as a fresh start.
And, several of you have talked about Bayless and have wondered what his true position will be. The NBA has changed a bit in recent years, and as we saw last season, it doesn't really matter who brings the ball up the floor as the actual "point." Brandon starts the offense on many occasions, and it's clear Bayless can do the same thing. Plus, his ability to defend is what will set him apart. Koponen has shown that as well, by the way. Behind all of the perimeter defenders this year, of course, will be #52, who will be swatting shots into the rafters.
MB
Thanks Mike!
It seems we get a lot of comments from old schoolers who think that a team isn't complete without a point who gets more assists in a game than he does points. If I'm game planning for a team, I'm a lot more worried if they have two guards who can attack or dish than I am with a passer and a scorer. I like the idea of having Bayless and Roy right next to each other cause if I'm the opposing team I have alot more to worry about. That's not even factoring in the big men. Can we please stop worrying so much about the pure point guard issue?!?
*** Summer League Thoughts ***
I would call this year's team as, "Two and a Half Men". Bayless, Koponen, and sometimes Batum are the only real threats so they have had to do a lot of freelancing and one-on-one moves. Bayless looks great in this style, but Petteri has really impressed me with being able to change his game to show his skills. Batum has struggled in this style, but is starting to find ways to help the team. I like his athletic potential a lot. Overall all three have shown enough to put them on the roster and will probably offer a lot more when they have much better talent to work around.
a touch inconsistent ?!?! I am the biggest oden fan in the world. With that said he has been very inconsistent! So has KP. Now kp said he is somewhere near 80% I heard him about a month ago on the fan say he's 90%?!?! and oden is all over the place with this. I will believe greg oden is going to start the season on time when I see it! It's always something with oden, tonsils last summer is a perfect example. So I am holding my breath and literally praying he will be healthy and ready to go.
allen35,
I never heard KP say Greg was 80 percent. Greg said he was in the 80s, one day after saying he was 95. I think Kevin's point was, the numbers are silly. The only thing that matters to me is that Greg said he's dying to go, feels great, and will be going full court in September. The reason we had Kevin on was to say that nothing has happened, nothing has changed, and everything is still ahead of schedule.
MB
I love the news about Sergio's commitment to improving especially his shot. When Oden passes out of that triple team defense, Sergio will need to knock down that 3.
I agree with Kevin's assesment that Greg is trying to minimize the expectations going into the new season but I wonder what the reaction would be if Greg said he was %100 percent? I hope he's working on his free throws - we can't let other teams use the Hack-A-Greg method to win games.
I agree with KP when he talks about Greg deflecting the pressure. Tell the fans who support him how he is feeling. Then to the ESPN media under rate yourself so there aren't the exceptions. I think Greg is staying really low key so there is not so much hype. I can't blame him for wanting to be just one of the guys.
Benny,
You just hit on a great point, your asking "what if" on Greg saying he's 100%. We've got another few months of this, so get used to it.
Unless Portland signs another free agent, before more-than-likely trading LaFrentz a trade deadline for a veteran, I see only 4 new players on this roster from last year. With the departure of McRoberts, Jack, Jones, and more than likely Wafer, that leaves 4 slots: Oden, Bayless, Fernandez, and my pick: Koponen! He is way better than Batum. Make Batum sit overseas a year. Koponen is ready now. Stuff him into the Developmental League. Then you can pull him in when you need him. He will just be inactive, as was McRoberts, whom swapped out back and forth with Taurean Green, before trading him for Wafer. Koponen can swap out with that wannabe pointguard: Rodriquez. I am currently as I type on this laptop, watchng in the foreground, a 1990 Blazers vs. Celtics. The last GREAT team. Watching Drexler slam home, gliding to the hoop, Poter nailing 3's, Kersey just manhandling the defense, Williams rebounding prowess. I MISS THIS TEAM! They up 4 in the middle of the 3rd. haha.
I wish that I could tell you how the players look in summer leauge, however I CAN'T!!!!!!!!! enough is enough, someone in the Blazer orginization please step up for the fans!!!!! Paul Allen could step in and just write a check for the difference and make everything right in Rip City!!! Please get this fixed before the regular season!!!!!!!!!!
Mike,
I've been giving this alot of thought and if the Blazers were to sign both Koponen and Batum, with a little shuffling the roster could look something like this:
PG - Steve Blake, Sergio Rodriguez, Petteri Koponen
SG - Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless
SF - Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw, Nicolas Batum
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge, Channing Frye, Ike Diougu
C - Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla, Raef LaFrentz
This team woul be 15 players deep with endless possibilities of roation and match ups. Need to go smaller quicker? A Sergio/Bayless, Roy, Rudy, Outlaw, Aldridge line might be in order. Getting out muscled and need a little size. Just throw Koponen, Roy, Outlaw, Aldridge, Oden on the floor. I can just immagine the coaches comming up with multiple color/units. White, Black, Red, Blue, Olive, Maze.... lol
All I am saying is that we should give the new guys their shot to make it into our rotation, in my estimation they've earned it. Those that stick will fill those roles of bench scoring/defense, depth in case of injury, or become key starters in our line up. Those that don't send the way of trade with LaFrentz for that key veteran Nate has been wanting so bad. With a little patientce we may all get what we want.
Thats just my 2 cents
Mike;
You and the bloggers has said all that I've been wondering about, therefore I will mainly say I thank you all
I read comments in Ore-live that Sergio waits until he is threatened to decide to improve. That may or may not be true, but if that what the motivation is who cares as long as he is motivated to be better. I am glad he is not standing behind his fan base and saying see how much I am liked over here. The NBA is not about winning a popularity contest. Charles Barkley would not have made it through his first year. Also, staying with the coach just doesn't like me is too much self-pity. From being in the blue color working class, I have had several bosses that didn't like me. If I did my job, I still got my share of promotions just like Sergio would if he improves. All that being said, I don't care what motivates him, as long as he takes the problem by the horns. That is being a better shooter.
I really think Kevin will sign PetKo Pete. He just doesn't like showing his hand ahead of time.
Nate has said that #1 and #2 are mostly interchangeable anyway so which guard position you play is not that important. You have said that men times before also, Mike, so I will take your word for it. As Mace put it, the combination of players is endless, so why classify a player as just #1,2,3 when they can play various positions. That to me is really important.
Like I stated (LOL), everything has been said, now let the players do their jobs and
LET THE GAMES BEGIN.
hg
Bayless is a great player, but still too over-rated. I don't think he can get so much freethrows in the "real" NBA season, 'cause he will be guarded by better, faster and stronger defenders than in the summerleague.
And Bayless isn't a pointguard! I think we all have seen it already.
I prefer Koponen...
FYI- the link to the Oregon Live Blazer blog (blazers.blogs.oregonlive.com) seems to be broken.
you people are all losers. i once too used to be a worthless bobble head blazer fanatic in the days when drexler whined on arsenio hall about how if only they had sabonis they would've actually won titles.
plus, the franchise heads themselves should've alienated you all forever when they kicked that kid out for bringing the trade whitsitt sign to the game. how humiliating to have brought in scared or too high to care about success players like wallace or pippen. i was at that game 7 when the entire 4th quarter all the portland team did was shoot fadeaway jump shots. i know life on the crowded highways w/ohp making you go drive but 55 mph in the rain sucks and all but don't care about these athletes to such a degree, because they and management don't care about you. and oh yeah, don't think the product isn't tainted by the referees. just go back to game tape when steve javie was ejecting portland's commentator a few years back for being overheard complaining about a call. also, look at the dallas-miami series. funny, those end of game phantom calls for d-wade never received replays on the telecast. jordan didn't need those kind of calls for him to win.
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