February 8th - Milwaukee Bucks

[mcHAPPY]

Soo you disagree with him?

Despite the shooting, Bayless had a great game and would have certainly helped us, in my opinion.
But I guess you just won't give Bayless any props at all. Even when they're kinda warranted.
He made some GREAT passes tonight. Not just the 'simple' one that Leo pointed out.

I think having Bayless down the stretch would have been exactly what we needed.

Sure if he takes enough shots.

The guy is shooting .396 for the year and .358 for the last 5 games.

Getting your shot off is not difficult when you aren't worrying about making it.

[Joey]

Sure if he takes enough shots.

The guy is shooting .396 for the year and .358 for the last 5 games.

Getting your shot off is not difficult when you aren't worrying about making it.

I wasn't just talking about Bayless shot being what could benefit us ... and I thought I made that pretty clear by mentioning his great passing last night.

But when all you do is keep talking about his poor shooting (which, despite what you may think, kept us in the game against Washington), well, its hard to make a point when you ignore them.

[MangoKid]

If anything, the injury to Bayless gives Barbosa a chance to prop up his value a bit more. Bayless is one of those guys that would be great to have coming off of the bench for instant offense..kinda like Lou Williams or Jason Terry. But at 4 mil plus as a qualifying offer next season, it's a somewhat steep price to pay. I'd be comfortable extending the guy at 3 mil a season for the next 3 seasons. I mean, at that price, it doesn't kill the cap and we have a young guy to add to this core that could fit a need going forward.

[Bendit]

Yes the defense was not crisp but I will be kinder here and put it down to the 4 games/6 night sched.

[mcHAPPY]

I wasn't just talking about Bayless shot being what could benefit us ... and I thought I made that pretty clear by mentioning his great passing last night.

But when all you do is keep talking about his poor shooting (which, despite what you may think, kept us in the game against Washington), well, its hard to make a point when you ignore them.

He is in a stretch of 5 games where he is shooting under 36%. For the game in Washington he shot 9-23.

I'm well aware that his shooting kept us in the game but I'm also aware he missed a lot more than he took. I'm also aware he pounded the piss out of the ball. I'm also aware he made a lot of bad decisions - even shots that went in were not within the flow of the team and very unadvised.

There is a very strong possibility if he doesn't go 1 on 5 for the last 5 minutes of the game the Raptors might win. Remember Kleiza? He shot 11-16 and a number of his misses were as a result of Bayless giving him the ball as a last resort causing him to not be in a position to score once the ball was received.


Bayless plays selfish which wouldn't be a bad thing if his talent backed it up.

Now back to the Milwaukee game, I did mention the 7 assists which were a good thing because he kept it simple and worked within the flow of the team.

[Nilanka]

If anything, the injury to Bayless gives Barbosa a chance to prop up his value a bit more. Bayless is one of those guys that would be great to have coming off of the bench for instant offense..kinda like Lou Williams or Jason Terry. But at 4 mil plus as a qualifying offer next season, it's a somewhat steep price to pay. I'd be comfortable extending the guy at 3 mil a season for the next 3 seasons. I mean, at that price, it doesn't kill the cap and we have a young guy to add to this core that could fit a need going forward.

It speaks volumes about the redundancy in our roster when we're constantly speaking about Barbosa and Bayless eating each other's minutes (as well as Amir and Davis, and JJ and Kleiza). Colangelo has a lot of decisions to make over the next 8 months.

[mcHAPPY]

It speaks volumes about the redundancy in our roster when we're constantly speaking about Barbosa and Bayless eating each other's minutes (as well as Amir and Davis, and JJ and Kleiza). Colangelo has a lot of decisions to make over the next 8 months.

I agree with Bayless and Barbosa, Amir and Davis. However, I think JJ and Kleiza provide different things and both would be good coming off the bench. They provide a different look based on matchups.

[Nilanka]

I agree with Bayless and Barbosa, Amir and Davis. However, I think JJ and Kleiza provide different things and both would be good coming off the bench. They provide a different look based on matchups.

They do provide different looks, but is there enough minutes for each to provide us with consistent production over the course of a full season? The redundancy has more to do with the fact that neither has established themselves as a starter yet.

I find the "platoon" roles rarely work as they were intended.

[ceez]

JJ's for defense and Kleiza for offense.

[slaw]

It speaks volumes about the redundancy in our roster when we're constantly speaking about Barbosa and Bayless eating each other's minutes (as well as Amir and Davis, and JJ and Kleiza). Colangelo has a lot of decisions to make over the next 8 months.

The bigger problem to my mind is the one-note players this team has. Bayless and Barbosa are high volume shooters but bring little else. Calderon can run an offense but, again, brings little else. Amir and Davis are hustle guys at the 4 but, again, aren't particluarly good at anything else. Derozan, well, once I figure out what he does well I'll let you know. Bargs plays two-ways when he feels like it. The other guys are just spare parts. Redundancy isn't a big deal if you have quality players. Look at Portland, Houston, Philly, for example.

The re-surfacing defensive issues are in large part a result of the new starting line-up. Make no mistake, Bayless isn't replacing James Johnson, he's replacing Derozan. Since Demar can't shoot, pass, handle the ball or make plays, they need an actual shooting guard (i.e. Bayless) in order for the starters to be able to score. That moves James Johnson to the bench and cripples the perimeter defense. Now instead of two poor defenders on the perimeter, they have 3. Again, there is no option to bring in a two-way player cause all these guys are one-dimensional.

I'm not touching the Colangelo comment with a ten-foot pole. I've already gone on ad nauseum with my feelings about this management team. Needless to say, lots of work ahead.

[NoPropsneeded]

did you just say DeMar can't shoot? i really don't know what you've been smoking

[Nilanka]

did you just say DeMar can't shoot? i really don't know what you've been smoking

DeMar's shooting a whopping 38.9% this season. That's not just bad shooting, it's downright horrific.

[slaw]

As for the game, like Matt, I had a sense of deja vu. Felt like the Triano era. No defense. No effort to play defense. Mental mistakes all over the place. Awfull offense down the stretch. So many negatives, I'll try for some positive things.

I am coming around on Kleiza as a bench guy. I've been impressed with his effort coming off the injury and you can never question his hustle out there. The guy plays hard. He still makes some stupid plays with the ball but I think if you surround him with better players he would stop that and be nice complimentary piece for 20 MPG. Two, the offense is so much better with an actual shooting guard playing at the #2. Bayless hasn't even played particularly well in my opinion but having a legitimate ballhandler at the #2 makes a huge difference. I honestly can't think of anything else positive to write.

[slaw]

did you just say DeMar can't shoot? i really don't know what you've been smoking

TS% - 47.5%; EFG% - 41.2%; FG% - 39% (I rounded up). I'll rephrase: Demar Derozan can shoot. He's just awful at it.

[NoPropsneeded]

DeMar's shooting a whopping 38.9% this season. That's not just bad shooting, it's downright horrific.

last season he shot 47% considering how much he had the ball in his hands thats very good. He's in a slump so his Fg% this year will obviously drop and its only been what 26 games? on top of that this is a congested season so he has no where near the amount of time to practice he had last year.