NBA PM: Bayless Takes Stage
By: Jason Fleming Last Updated: 12/18/09 4:30 PM ET | 2035 times read
Adjust font size:vIn this edition of the NBA At 2: Jerryd Bayless may be Portland's answer at point guard…Brandon Jennings fined for tweeting…Shaq earns Community Assist…HOOPSWORLD chats.
Has Portland Found a Point Guard? All season long the Portland Trail Blazers have been a major topic of discussion because of their dilemma at the point guard position. Do they start Andre Miller, the player they deemed worthy of a three-year, $21 million contract in the offseason and should make them better if given the chance? Or do they stick with Steve Blake, the $4 million expiring contract who has the support of All-Star Brandon Roy?
As it turns out, perhaps we've been asking the wrong question all season long. Perhaps the correct answer was "neither." Instead, perhaps it's really sophomore Jerryd Bayless who is the best fit for this team alongside Roy.
With the team decimated with injuries but with three healthy point guards (roughly one-third of the healthy roster), Bayless has been getting more and more minutes of late. Initially it was behind Roy at shooting guard with Rudy Fernandez out because of back surgery, but in the past couple games he has spent more time in the backcourt with Roy.
It works well. Bayless is a point guard with scoring tendencies and Roy is a shooting guard with excellent court vision, so the two complement each other very well. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Bayless can simply take a game over, as he did last night in Portland's comeback 105-102 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
During the game as Bayless poured in 16 fourth-quarter points (of a career-high 29 total) the joy on his face at getting this shot – and the fact the coaching staff continued to trust him to produce and run the team in the last stanza of a tight game – was obvious. During timeouts he was smiling, excited, and exuberant. He told Joe Freeman of the Oregonian exactly how he felt.
"It felt great, I can't even lie," Bayless said. "The last year and a half has been tough for me. Coach is giving me an opportunity now and I'm trying to make the best of it so I don't have to go through that again."
Bayless has a bit of an edge to his game, a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and he's tough. Perhaps that's actually what this team needs. Instead of the shooting of Blake or the calm veteran leadership of Miller, perhaps the in your face drives, the palpable emotion, and deft passing is what will take this team to the next level.
Through it all that game had a feeling of Bayless finally getting a shot to really show what he can do, and that he can do it in pressure situations; sort of an I-told-you-so to everyone, but as polite as can be.
His energy also seemed to spread to his teammates. Roy looked better. LaMarcus Aldridge was running the floor, catching alley-oops. Martell Webster – a player who plays off the energy of teammates more than most – was jumping higher on rebounds. In short, Bayless was the missing piece, at least for one night.
This is the player Portland acquired when they traded Jarrett Jack during the 2008 NBA Draft: the slasher, the passer, the scorer, the shooter. This is what they have been waiting for.
In the end if Bayless grabs that starting job and makes either Blake or Miller expendable, that's the best possible outcome for Portland.
Who thought that could have been said about Bayless when the season started?
12/18/2009 1:48 PM
