Bayless

[WJF]

I think people should temper their expectations regarding Bayless. He's definitely played well since being given the opportunity to start recently, but he's also had some long stretches this season where he's been terrible. I'm not ready to pronounce him as the point guard of the future after a handful of good games when the Raps (and a lot of their opponents as well) are merely playing out the schedule.

I don't think anyone can question Bayless' ability, but it's the maturity and mental apsects of the game that raise warning flags. He reacts poorly to being taken out of the game, doesn't play particularly well when asked to come off the bench and I can't count the times this season when Bayless has gotten into a glorified game of one on one with whoever was the opposing PG. Some people consider this a "competitive streak" but more often than not it's detrimental to his own play as well as the entire teams.

I don't think it's a coincidence that a player as talented as Bayless is already on his third team in three years. The kid can play but still needs to mature a lot before I'd trust him running the team on a night in/night out basis. If he can harness that competitiveness in a productive way instead of letting it escape in the form of moodiness or a poor attitude, he's got the potential to be a great player. But he's not there yet.

I wanted to bump this topic back up and let people read this post again.....it is the truth, Bayless is not a lock to be our PG going forward, he has shown some nice things with the minutes lately, but nothing mind blowing that makes we want to avoid looking at upgrading the position.

[Joey]

I think people should temper their expectations regarding Bayless. He's definitely played well since being given the opportunity to start recently,

But its actually "He's definitely played well if given the opportunity to start." Perdiod.
Put him in the starting lineup and he's a different player. Not just lately. Was the same when we first acquired him. Not sure why, but theres a serious desceprancy between his stats coming off the bench vs. Starting.

[Fully]

But its actually "He's definitely played well if given the opportunity to start." Perdiod.
Put him in the starting lineup and he's a different player. Not just lately. Was the same when we first acquired him. Not sure why, but theres a serious desceprancy between his stats coming off the bench vs. Starting.

I agree that there's a big difference in Bayless' contributions between the games that he starts and the games he's asked to come off the pine, but I don't necessarily think that it's a good enough reason to hand him the starting point guard spot for the next 4-5 years. Part of being a pro is being able to adapt.

In my humble opinion, if a young player has some major mental block about coming off the bench, then he's probably not mature enough to be handed the keys in a starters role either. Especially if we're talking about the foreseeable future.

I thought last night's performance against the Bucks was actually a good indication of where Bayless is at. He ended up with a decent statline (20 pts, 5 assts, 4 rebs), but he also turned it over six times and went 7-20 from the floor. There was also the three back breaking turnovers in succession that essentially sealed the Raps fate.