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Playing point guard 'no problem', says presumptive Blazers backup Jerryd
Bayless
Posted by Joe Freeman, The Oregonian July 20, 2009 09:40AM
Categories: Jerryd Bayless, Summer League
LAS VEGAS -- Jerryd Bayless left this town last year a summer league MVP,
brimming with confidence, wired with potential and eager to fulfill the lofty
expectations he created for himself.
He leaves town this year more mature, resilient and better prepared, but with
lingering questions:
Is he the Trail Blazers' point guard of the future? Is he even ready to be
the backup next season?
"Yeah," Bayless says, when asked if he's prepared to run the team when
training camp opens in the fall. "No question."
The past 12 days have been an experiment of sorts for Bayless, who entered
summer league camp determined to prove he could be a leader, distributor and
floor general. The Blazers insist their 2008 lottery pick has made progress.
He insists he is as confident and poised as ever, ready to push Steve Blake
for the team's starting point guard spot.
But a glance at summer league statistics and his four summer league games
shows Bayless clearly has work to do. The truth probably lies somewhere in
between.
"Is he there yet? No," said Joe Prunty, the Blazers' summer league coach.
"Has he improved? Yes."
Bayless enjoyed stretches of solid summer league play where he directed the
Blazers' offense with authority, played sturdy defense and revealed a perfect
blend of scoring and assist-making. He rarely dribbled aimlessly on the
perimeter before ducking his head and charging toward the basket, as he
regularly did a year ago.
He looked to pass more than he looked to shoot, studied his teammates'
strengths and tried to get them the ball where they would most likely
succeed. All the while, he was more composed and played at a better pace than
last season.
But Bayless also labored through eyebrow-raising stretches where he committed
turnovers at an alarming rate, forced plays and reverted to his
attack-the-basket-at-all-costs rookie form. He finished summer league
averaging 18.0points and 4.3 and shot 47.2percent from the field -- but he
committed 25turnovers and made just 1 of 5three-point attempts in four games.
But Prunty has said all along that Bayless' development cannot be measured by
statistics. By the time summer league ended, Prunty had hoped his point guard
would recommend plays and call on hot teammates as if he were sitting in
Prunty's courtside chair. And to that end, Prunty liked what he saw.
"There have been some situations where he and I were kind of on the same page
with the things we wanted to run and with reading who had the hot hand,"
Prunty said. "A few times (Saturday night) he came over and said, 'I'd like
to post this player.' And I think that was good recognition on his part. It
shows that he's grasping the concept of where guys are that can help us,
where the mismatch might be and who might have the hot hand."
More than anything, Bayless seems to be caught in transition, wavering
between being a scoring playmaker and a "true" point guard. There were times
when Bayless seemed to be thinking too much.
Bayless dismisses such criticism, saying he has played "free" the past 12
days. But coach Nate McMillan says Bayless still needs to work on trusting
his instincts and letting the game come naturally.
"I think he makes up his mind too early," McMillan said. "He comes off and
decides, 'I'm gonna pass' or ... 'I'm gonna go (to the basket).' And when you
come off, you have to make a read. If the pass is there, you take it. I think
the first option is to look to score. They take away that, then you need to
know where your options are and you have to make those reads. It's like a
quarterback. He can't come out that huddle and say I'm going to throw to the
right. Because the right may be taken away. You have to come out, look to
attack and then you have to make your reads."
Bayless left summer league pleased with his performance. He says if he had
been passing to the likes of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez
and Nicolas Batum, rather than a collection of NBA hopefuls, his statistics
would have been more impressive.
He knows he's in line to be the Blazers' backup next season, but he will
enter training camp with his eye on the starting spot.
"Obviously Steve is the starting point guard," Bayless said. "But ... I don't
think Steve would want it any other way. I don't think he wants me to come in
and mess around with him. I'm going to go out there and try to battle him.
You never know what can happen."
All the while, McMillan is lobbying for general manager Kevin Pritchard to
add another point guard so the team can carry three next season. McMillan
called Bayless after Sergio Rodriguez was traded last month to tell Bayless
his chance had arrived. But when asked this weekend if he was confident
entering camp with Bayless running the second unit, McMillan danced around
the question.
If anything, that should only add another layer of motivation for Bayless.
"I know what I can do," he said. "I've always been confident in myself. Just
give me the right opportunity in the right situation and I'm going to prove
it."
Notes: Bayless did not play Sunday night in the Blazers' summer league finale
because of a sprained left wrist. ... Pritchard said Sunday that the Blazers
will sign rookie forward Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph to contracts
before the season starts and give them roster spots. The Blazers' general
manager also said he was leaning toward extending a training camp invitation
to point guard Pooh Jeter, who has been a pleasant summer league surprise.
"We only want to (invite) him if he has a chance to make the team because
he's such a good kid and we want to be fair to him," Pritchard said. "But
he's earned (an invitation)." ... Owner Paul Allen watched the Blazers' game
courtside Sunday. ...
The Blazers blew a 20-point first-half lead in losing to the NBA D-League
Select team 74-73 Sunday night at Cox Pavilion. It was the Blazers' third
game in as many nights, and they ended summer league with a 1-4 record. ...
Cunningham rattled in two free throws to give the Blazers a 73-71 advantage
with 21.9 seconds left. The Blazers stopped the D-Leaguers on the ensuing
possession, but Kurt Looby stole Thomas Gardner's inbound pass with less than
two seconds left and passed down court to Marcus Hubbard, who drained a
three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game. ... Cunningham had 16 points and
seven rebounds for the Blazers.
-- Joe Freeman, The Oregonian; 503-294-5138; joefreeman@news.oregonian.com
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/07/
playing_point_guard_no_problem.html
Bayless永遠這麼積極向上
加油！！
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