Nice article for once. Although I fail to see how Baynes' play in Game 4 "wasn't a breakthrough" for him. Apparently the author didn't want to dwell on the fact that a no-name Australian guy coming directly from europe and with no NBA experience whatsoever, including this season, could basically play "the best center in the NBA" to a draw...
ESPN thinks you need to make a splash on the box score to have a breakthrough.
"But his future would really be next year," Popovich admitted.
Interesting..
Pop better not fully forget what Baynes did agaisnt Howard in Game 4.
Baynes won't be that useful against Warriors or Nugggets but, if Spurs advance, their most likely WCF opponent will be Memphis. If Spurs struggles inside against, it could be a nice gamble to give Baynes few minutes against Gasol.
Honestly if he works on catching during the next few days Baynes could be handy for a few against the warriors. Pass to Duncan from anywhere Duncan sees double, pass high low to Baynes. On defense the warriors are drivers and jumpshooters Baynes might have some foot speed issues with a cover but he makes driving an interesting proposition.
I think that's a series where Blair takes a backseat to Bayne IMO. Bonner plays his heart out against that duo, but with mixed results, so I like the idea of having Baynes and Diaw be our two bigs off the bench to keep Gasol and Randolph from abusing us down low.
between baynes, TD and splitter i would think we could handle the interior of memphis, physically at least
Baynes probably won't see the court against either team, but it is more likely that if he did, it would be against the Warriors when Bogut is on the floor. Coincidental that both hail from the same region.
Interestingly I see Baynes as a shift in Spur strategy in dealing with foreign players. It used to be that they would draft high quality prospects that the other teams in the league didn't know about because they didn't scout overseas. That's how the Spurs got Ginobli. And that's why there will never be another Ginoboliesque player drafted in the second round. So the Spurs can't draft the gems anymore.
The other problem with drafting projects is that they take years to develop and once they get a good contract in Europe, they are hard to get to the NBA because the Euroleagues can outbid them, especially with the NBA salary cap.
But Baynes shows that you pluck a guy that has good physical skills and unpolished basketball skills and you sign him to a low risk contract and stick him in the D-League and trust your developmental staff to that gem in the rough polished enough to be usable in a year or two down the road. Not sure if it is a new strategy, but it certainly is different than what they have done in the past.
Baynes might have to play some minutes against GS. That Bogut is a wide load rolling down hill.
All the sudden I have a lot more confidence in Baynes after seeing him be physically dominant against Howard. A lot of these big guys -- Howard, all the big guys on Memphis, Griffin, etc. -- 90% of their effectiveness is within about 5 ft of the rim. So, as long as Baynes can just physically keep them out of that area, I think that gives the Spurs -- literally -- a HUGE card to play.
Baynes becomes THE story of this playoffs - BOOK IT!
He was obviously taking the low reps high weight approach to playing basketball. He didn't seem to try to pace himself at all.
I don't know. Against Marc Gasol, he could definitely help. There is no one on the Clippers, Warriors, or Nuggets that merits the matchup. He can bang but he still seems lost on offense and a tick or two slow on defense. Sic him on Howard or Gasol and that is a different animal.
Next year though he has the potential to begin causing the mathup problems those guy do. I see Marc Gasol as his ceiling. Not that he is that but if he maximizes then he could be. 260 lbs 7'ers with decent mobility are rare in todays game.
If Blair continues to play as well as he has the last four games, he's the logical choice against GS / Den. But against Mamphis? Sure. Give Baynes a shot.
Baynes may never be able to play long stretches...and that should be ok...with all the d league work and running in practice, wouldn't you think he'd have SOME conditioning by now? He's just so massive/bulky, it's going to be hard to ever be able to get great cardio without leaning down his bodyfat %..
...with that said.... THE FIRE RISES!!!
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