What drives me crazy about folks on this forum is that there seems to be no recognition that players can actually evolve, and that with players new to the league, you should pay more attention to the good things they are doing, and be slower to make blanket condemnations because of play that is not yet up to par. This does not mean every player is going to improve enough to make a difference, but for some reason Baker has been a lightening rod for some around here, even after he became one of our pleasant surprises last year.

We got the same shyte with KP from certain posters, as if what we saw from him his first year could never be improved upon.

There should also be some recognition that we frequently have NO IDEA of what injuries players have and how they affect a particular player's game. An ankle injury is going to affect shooting, D, and the ability to perform as a ball handler. A bad shoulder, even an a non-shooting hand shoulder is going to affect jump shooting and defensive aggressiveness.

Baker will never be a star, but he can be a rotation player on a successful team, assuming that the jump shooting he's showing us now is not an aberration.

Nice problem to have when Hardaway comes back. We all know that Hornacek likes Baker, especially for his D and how he improves the flow of the offense, and if he continues with the improved shooting, I would think that Baker would have to be given some consistent minutes, especially if we go with a small lineup.

Baker plays defense and it takes him almost half a season to get his ball handling under control. He's had a string of games where he's been very effective. Let's build that up rather than in fight with each other.

Bye felicia

WaltLongmire wrote:

EnySpree wrote:Baker shoots the ball well one game and we get a manifesto post....

Baker plays defense and it takes him almost half a season to get his ball handling under control. He's had a string of games where he's been very effective. Let's build that up rather than in fight with each other.

Bye felicia

Were you a Baker basher?

And you completely missed the other points I was making, but hey welcome to the world of selective response and a rejection of "evidence based" reality.

I also qualified my comment on Baker indicating the importance his continuing to shoot well, but hey, no need to acknowledge this.

I don't post as much around here because of my political interests on Twitter, but also because it is tiring to hear guys make pronouncements and broad generalizations about players with minimal evidence.

We have a Frank vs Smith thread for goodness sakes...in deference to those who cried when they saw some highlight dunks from Smith.

Early in the year it did not take folks long to go after Baker while he was probably playing injured, but memories are short in the Trump era, I guess.

So it goes.

Your Twitter feed must be lit... only 140 characters or whatever it is. You wrote 2 posts with like 5-6 different points. You are a human AI

EnySpree wrote:Baker shoots the ball well one game and we get a manifesto post....

Baker plays defense and it takes him almost half a season to get his ball handling under control. He's had a string of games where he's been very effective. Let's build that up rather than in fight with each other.

Bye felicia

WaltLongmire wrote:Baker seems healthier than he was earlier in the season...he has clearly worked on his J...his D seems as good or better than last year, and he is continuing to show us that he is a much better passer than originally advertised when he came out of college.

What drives me crazy about folks on this forum is that there seems to be no recognition that players can actually evolve, and that with players new to the league, you should pay more attention to the good things they are doing, and be slower to make blanket condemnations because of play that is not yet up to par. This does not mean every player is going to improve enough to make a difference, but for some reason Baker has been a lightening rod for some around here, even after he became one of our pleasant surprises last year.

We got the same shyte with KP from certain posters, as if what we saw from him his first year could never be improved upon.

There should also be some recognition that we frequently have NO IDEA of what injuries players have and how they affect a particular player's game. An ankle injury is going to affect shooting, D, and the ability to perform as a ball handler. A bad shoulder, even an a non-shooting hand shoulder is going to affect jump shooting and defensive aggressiveness.

Baker will never be a star, but he can be a rotation player on a successful team, assuming that the jump shooting he's showing us now is not an aberration.

Nice problem to have when Hardaway comes back. We all know that Hornacek likes Baker, especially for his D and how he improves the flow of the offense, and if he continues with the improved shooting, I would think that Baker would have to be given some consistent minutes, especially if we go with a small lineup.

It's easy (and kinda weak) to start a thread like this after the great game he had. I hope this is the start of something great, but can we give it a little time before beating your chest with "I told you so" threads?

Welpee wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:Baker seems healthier than he was earlier in the season...he has clearly worked on his J...his D seems as good or better than last year, and he is continuing to show us that he is a much better passer than originally advertised when he came out of college.

What drives me crazy about folks on this forum is that there seems to be no recognition that players can actually evolve, and that with players new to the league, you should pay more attention to the good things they are doing, and be slower to make blanket condemnations because of play that is not yet up to par. This does not mean every player is going to improve enough to make a difference, but for some reason Baker has been a lightening rod for some around here, even after he became one of our pleasant surprises last year.

We got the same shyte with KP from certain posters, as if what we saw from him his first year could never be improved upon.

There should also be some recognition that we frequently have NO IDEA of what injuries players have and how they affect a particular player's game. An ankle injury is going to affect shooting, D, and the ability to perform as a ball handler. A bad shoulder, even an a non-shooting hand shoulder is going to affect jump shooting and defensive aggressiveness.

Baker will never be a star, but he can be a rotation player on a successful team, assuming that the jump shooting he's showing us now is not an aberration.

Nice problem to have when Hardaway comes back. We all know that Hornacek likes Baker, especially for his D and how he improves the flow of the offense, and if he continues with the improved shooting, I would think that Baker would have to be given some consistent minutes, especially if we go with a small lineup.

This thread is exactly what the so-called bashers were probably talking about. People have this bro-mance with Baker and overreact to every good thing he does and conveniently look away from his short comings. Baker played his butt off last night, but lets hold off on hanging his number in the rafters.

It's easy (and kinda weak) to start a thread like this after the great game he had. I hope this is the start of something great, but can we give it a little time before beating your chest with "I told you so" threads?

Maybe if there wasn't so many Baker bashing threads/posts then there would be no reason to make threads/posts to talk about how well he's playing.......Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

WaltLongmire wrote:Baker seems healthier than he was earlier in the season...he has clearly worked on his J...his D seems as good or better than last year, and he is continuing to show us that he is a much better passer than originally advertised when he came out of college.

What drives me crazy about folks on this forum is that there seems to be no recognition that players can actually evolve, and that with players new to the league, you should pay more attention to the good things they are doing, and be slower to make blanket condemnations because of play that is not yet up to par. This does not mean every player is going to improve enough to make a difference, but for some reason Baker has been a lightening rod for some around here, even after he became one of our pleasant surprises last year.

We got the same shyte with KP from certain posters, as if what we saw from him his first year could never be improved upon.

There should also be some recognition that we frequently have NO IDEA of what injuries players have and how they affect a particular player's game. An ankle injury is going to affect shooting, D, and the ability to perform as a ball handler. A bad shoulder, even an a non-shooting hand shoulder is going to affect jump shooting and defensive aggressiveness.

Baker will never be a star, but he can be a rotation player on a successful team, assuming that the jump shooting he's showing us now is not an aberration.

Nice problem to have when Hardaway comes back. We all know that Hornacek likes Baker, especially for his D and how he improves the flow of the offense, and if he continues with the improved shooting, I would think that Baker would have to be given some consistent minutes, especially if we go with a small lineup.

Maybe i'm missing something. I like Baker and i know he works really hard and brings some defensive toughness. But he is a complete liability on offense still. If he can hit shots, great, but he needs to be a very good shooter, not just passable, and do a little more on offense to be a quality rotation player. Otherwise he is just a good 5th guard and good combo guard to have on the roster in case of injury or when a spark is needed.

BigDaddyG wrote:

Welpee wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I doubt there is any Baker bashers
But rather people who want him to play better or sit

Since your post three games have past where he played 60 minutes and went 1-8
Some good d a few decent passes but he has to step up in his consistency and especially make open shota

That's why folks need to be careful starting threads after one good game patting themselves on the back. It's not like he's another Allen Crabbe.

What's up with this Allen Crabbe talk...Nate Wolters is out there on the waiver wire.