[Portland] Petteri Koponen

Not to change the subject, but how does Bayless go the whole game without a single assist? It was always clear that he was a shoot first PG, but he may be even more of a Monta Ellis type than I thought....which makes Seattle's decision to take Westbrook ahead of him even more logical, imo.

For some reason, other than a couple of "vets" you'd expect to do well, assists are apparently hard to come by in summer league.

As for Koponen, my money is on him going back to Europe. Even if he plays well and the Blazers want him, they still can't really afford to pay him what Europe can. But if he does join the squad, as has been mentioned, he will just be another player to add to their depth, and will likely be at the end of that chart.

 

It depends upon the finishing abilities of your teamates....sometimes you get them a wide open look and they brick it...especially in the summer league.

To me you judge a PG by opportunities for assists.....more than actual assists.

Because if you have good NBA players they are going to take advantage of those opportunities more than the scrubs in the SL.

DD

 

The announcers were poking fun of Bayless and said he had to learn to be effective without shooting if he was to play with guys like Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge on the floor. When they interviewed Sarge and joked around with him about it, he defended Bayless. He said they told him to shoot and score at every opportunity so Bayless was just following orders. At least in his rookie season, the Blazers are looking at Bayless for scoring with their 2nd unit. The speed, hops and aggressiveness he showed last night should translate OK to regular season basketball. I had no idea he could jump like that.

I agree Koponen should go back to Europe unless he wants to play in the NBDL. I don't know how much sitting on the bench in dress clothes will help.

 

I'm Finnish so I have seen him play quite a bit over the years. In my opinion it would be better for him to play in Europe(or NBDL) rather than sit on the bench in Portland. He is not going to get minutes over Blake.

He was kind of hot last night but I have hard time believing he can yet shoot the NBA three consistantly. He has good mechanics and high release point in his shot though and I can definitely see him become an elite shooter some day.

His shot will be crucial for him, because he hasn't shown he can finish at the basket well enough at least against top competition. That can of course change with experience and acquiring more strength. His instincts are good and his court vision is more than adequate for rotation point guard in the NBA.

Which helps him greatly is his size and surprisingly good athletic ability. He is a legit 6.4" (maybe even longer, Jerryd Bayless looked at least 2 inches shorter). Dee Brown, who certainly is quick, had trouble last night staying with him and also didn't do much on offense against him. Although, Dee Brown isn't quite Chris Paul in his ability to break defenses down.

Aside from highlughts, I hadn't seen Jerryd Bayless before. He showed ZERO point guard skills yesterday, but has great scoring instincts. He kind of reminds me of Tony Parker with worse point guard skills. I certainly see why he dropped in the draft, but Portland should be a good match for him with Roy handling the ball and all( would be great with T-Mac too )

 

I'm not sure that the Blazers expected Bayless to be their point guard. They are going to rely more on Roy for that. The guy from Finland has a shot at the 15th roster spot, but likely won't get any time in the NBA and will probably head to the NDBL.

 

Anybody watching tonight? Bayless sleepwalks the first 6-7 minutes and the Blazers are down 13-7. Awful. Then he flips the switch and scores a quick 10 points and the Blazers are up 19-17 to end the quarter on a 12-4 run. He is unguardable. Nobody can stay in front of him and his instincts in drawing contact remind me of AI. He's a foul magnet.

Bayless has a good future ahead of him.

 

So nobody else watched. I'll post anyway.

The Blazers have a terrible summer league team outside of Bayless and Koponen. If those two aren't scoring, the Blazers are grade school level. It's 2 against 5. All game long.

Bayless had 16 FT attempts. It got so bad in the 2nd half the Kings started doubling him beyond the 3 point line to take the ball out of his hands. He hit the game tying shot to send it to OT and missed a game-winner basically at the buzzer in OT.

Koponen is a very slick player but he won't be activated hardly at all if the Blazers keep him.

 

So here's my daily Blazers post.

Bayless has a serious chance to make a big impact on the NBA over the course of his career. His combination of speed and just enough strength to get around any player defending him is a sight to watch. And he's only a pup not yet 20. As a rookie, he will be fighting for minutes on a very deep team and that will be good for him. I love watching him play. 29 pts and 16 more FT attempts in tonight's game. He's on a different plane than everyone else on the floor. FWIW, he can finish with either hand. He reminds me of AI except he's 3 inches taller, about 30 inches heavier and can jump out of the gym.

Koponen is making it tough. He's a big solid guard with good handles, good court vision and looks like a keeper. If they let him go back to Europe, it could bite them. They have to seriously consider giving him that 15th roster spot. Unlike Brad Newley or Lior Eliyahu, I can see Koponen developing into a solid NBA rotation player. His offensive skills are hard to deny.

Nicolas Batum finally showed up. In the first 2 games, he did a lot of good stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. He makes his presence felt without scoring. Tonight, he showed why they drafted him and finally looked competent shooting the ball. He has a fluidity and grace that says "NBA player". Like Koponen, he isn't ready to contribute this season.

At least the Blazers had 3 players worth a dime tonight instead of just 2. The T-Wolves squad too many decent players for that sorry Blazers team.

Kevin Love is going to figure out a way to effective in the NBA. He is a rebounding machine and looks a whole lot leaner than he did in college. The reports of him losing weight were true. Getting Love and Miller for Mayo was a good trade for Minny.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu showed good energy and hops. One time Bayless went up for a slam and Pops went up and stuffed him without fouling. I think he could be better than Rony Turiaf as a spark of the bench.

 

hooroo,you are projecting your feelings about Koponen for an unknown minor trade by the Rockets. That is unnecessary IMO.
I admit I might be wrong but I'm quite sure that the Blazers would keep him in the NBDL instead of trading him to Houston.

 

We need to do a sign and trade for Jerryd Bayless noaw!!!


He is Monta Ellis + jumpshot + better scoring ability

 

Let me also add that I agree with David Aldridge's comments during the game that the Blazers will be packaging 2-3 of their young players for a veteran swing player. I have no doubt whatsoever this will happen before camp. They just have too many players who deserve minutes. Either Webster or Outlaw will be included. Sergio Rodriguez, Channing Frye and Ike Diogu are also candidates. They have an embarrassment of riches of young talent.

 

We don't have anything that they would want in exchange for Bayless.

 

Ok,I understand what you meant now.

 

FWIW, Bayless will be playing point tonight. We should get a better idea of his ability to set up his teammates.

 

Recap:

Bayless started off at PG and the Blazers' offense crashed, burned and exploded on impact. It was ugly. At first I thought it was all Bayless' fault but then I was reminded his teammates were just bad. The Suns made it clear from the getgo they would not allow Bayless to attack the rim. It took him the entire 1st half to figure that out. The first quarter was a complete debacle. In the 2nd quarter, Bayless moved to SG and the offense improved, a little. Koponen never found his groove and ended up 2-13 for the game.

The 2nd half was as beautiful as the 1st quarter was ugly. Bayless finally stopped attacking when they keyed on him and drilled outside shots. In fact, he hit his first 7 and shot 11/16 in the 2nd half, mostly on long jumpers. He also has a pull-up jumper that is almost impossible to stop. Eventually the Suns defenders started contesting him on the outside and that opened things up. He hit two difficult runners for the final points of the game that got them the win. Bayless had 36 of their 74 points and he even smiled a few times.

While he has no chance at Rookie of the Year, Bayless will be one of the top rookies by the end of next season. Put that in the bank. Tonight's game was one against five and 'one' was victorious.

Koponen looked bad. He ran the team well and took care of the ball but his shot was off. If he can't hit shots, he's a liability.

Batum looks like a future NBA player who just isn't ready yet. He's like a taller version of Tayshaun Prince but I think he can be better.

All I can say is Kevin Pritchard knows how to draft players.