Jared's Blog

Apr 20

Jerryd Bayless should be starting for this team next year (or at least be getting 28 minutes a game). He will be ready. Let's compare what Bayless brings to the team and what Blake brings.

Blake brings a steady hand with a great assist to turnover ratio. He knocks down open jumpshots and shot great from three point land this year. He isn't great at driving and getting to the rim but he's had his moments. Good free throw shooter. Good steady ball handling. Decent defender but not great. He's never really a threat to take over a game (his season high was 22 which he hit 3 times). Not clutch (yes he had some clutch jumpshots this year but the missed free throws killed us), I guess this ones debatable. He brings some veteran leadership (but who says he has to be starting to do this), although he has only played in 6 seasons, not too long.

Onto Bayless. The thing that impresses me the most is his ability to blow by people and get to the rim with his quickness. He can not only draw fouls but finish for three point plays with his upper body strength. And when he does get to the line he shoots a good percentage (80% this year but 84 % at Arizona). He also shoots a good percentage from the field, 46% at Arizona (I'm not looking at his stats from this year due to inconsistent minutes and garbage time shots, we all saw how good he can be given consistent minutes), 40% from college 3, not sure how this will translate to the nba 3 though. He is a good ball handler, better than most people think. He's a good tough defender due to his strength, quickness, and work ethic. He's always working his hardest and gets in the gym a lot, they tried to get him to take it easier at certain points this season. To cap it all off he has a great vertical, this is more exciting for the fans but comes in handy for finishing at the rim and grabbing boards. Lastly he has heart and when he plays he leaves it all on the court and never lets up.

Bayless is not gonna shy away from the big moments, but we have B-Roy for those times anyway, so thats not really a concern for me. Him and Roy make a great backcourt. They both can play point or shooting guard depending on what were looking to do offensively. If Bayless ever feels uncomfortable (which I don't think will ever happen) he can just give the ball to "the natural".