Bubbles' official "Fuck y'all, Will Bynum owns" thread

Quote:

Bynum's hard work is finally paying rewards

He learned the point in Israel and NBDL
BY VINCE ELLIS • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • April 10, 2009

Pistons coach Michael Curry has said countless times this season that he isn't surprised by the success of backup point guard Will Bynum.

But did he foresee Bynum being one of his best players over a 14-game stretch? Or how about a game in which he set the Pistons' record for points in a quarter?

Even if Curry isn't shocked, the fans sure didn't expect it and Bynum's recent performance has many asking: "Where has this guy been?"

Try Arizona, Georgia Tech, a brief stop at Golden State, a year in the NBA Development League and two seasons in Israel. Not your normal route to the NBA, but Bynum says he wasn't quite ready for prime time when he was an NBA rookie in 2005.

"It takes time to learn that kind of stuff," Bynum said of playing point guard in the NBA. "So you're dealing with grown men and different egos and you're controlling the ball at whatever age you are, so it's difficult doing that. So you got to keep working and keep learning."

Bynum's education began on the playgrounds of Chicago. He went to the University of Arizona, but transferred to Georgia Tech, where he starred on the 2004 team that reached the national title game.

But Bynum's development as a point guard was stifled because he shared the backcourt with current Indiana Pacer Jarrett Jack, a natural point guard.

While Bynum, 26, is generously listed as 6 feet, he is more like 5-10. Really, the only position a guy Bynum's size can play in the NBA is point guard.

When he left Georgia Tech in 2005, he was undrafted, but did play a few games with Golden State his rookie season. He also spent some time in the NBDL and was the league's rookie of the year.

He realized that he had a lot to learn about playing point. His next stop was Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euroleague.

"It's a high level of competition," Pistons vice president of basketball operations Scott Perry said. "It's a physical brand of basketball over there. There's a lot of pressure playing in those countries.

"I think for a player like Will the opportunity to get minutes and hone his craft more and work on his weaknesses ... I think it's an excellent training ground."

Here's the rest of that article, I only saw the first half initially, but this half is even better.

I love his mentality about playing the point and getting everyone involved.

Quote:

Bynum, with his explosive quickness and skills, always had the physical tools. In Israel, he started to learn the mental game.

"I'm thinking time and score," said Bynum, who spends hours at home watching DVDs of great point guards of the past. "I'm thinking what guys haven't touched the ball yet, what guys need to touch the ball."

He used center Kwame Brown as an example.

"If you go three or four possessions without letting Kwame touch the ball, that's not good for our team because we need Kwame, especially on the other end to be a defensive presence and rebound," Bynum said. "I didn't know any of this stuff then. I was just playing off instinct. Now it's more that I'm thinking and controlling the game."

He learned his lessons well. He impressed with the Pistons' summer team last year and was signed to a two-year deal.

He played well mostly when called upon. But the early-season trade of Chauncey Billups and the back injury of Allen Iverson opened an opportunity for Bynum, and he has capitalized.

He is averaging 14.3 points and 4.8 assists over the last 14 games with a highlight of 32 points Sunday against the Charlotte Bobcats. He scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, setting a franchise record.

As for the future, Bynum isn't clamoring for more minutes at the expense of point guard Rodney Stuckey. The two became friends during summer league and Stuckey says Bynum is "like family."

"We're professionals," Bynum said. "There are going to be some games where I'm not going to play well and Rodney's going to finish the game.

"As long as we win, it really doesn't matter."

I don't think Stuckey has that thought process yet.

Give Stuckey 2 years or so and we can trash him then for not having that mentality.

Bynum has a lot more experience running the point than Stuckey does, so let's be fair before we fucking dump on either of them.

I'm not trying to dump on Stuck, just pointing out that Bynum is a true PG. Stuck is being groomed to be one.

Bynum wasn't always a true PG, though. You guys are praising him (rightfully) while at the same time complaining that Stuckey isn't one.

Stuckey is younger, hasn't had the experience Bynum has and yes, is being groomed to be one.

I think some of you guys are too quick to judge Stuckey - be thankful it's a pick Joe and the scouts didn't fucking waste.

It's definately a good thing Stuck is a player. I like 3 guard rotations and have little problem with it being Bynum, Rip and AA "IF" JoeD can use him in a trade for a really good big. Draft another guard to groom, or get one back in a trade or sign one as a FA.

Stuck is a good player though.

WTF?

You want a 3 guard rotation of BYNUM, Rip and AA?

Fuck that shit - you're taking an extremely small sample of games and pushing Bynum to the moon?

You're nuts

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pharaoh

WTF?

You want a 3 guard rotation of BYNUM, Rip and AA?

Fuck that shit - you're taking an extremely small sample of games and pushing Bynum to the moon?

You're nuts

:cogent:

Bynum has proved he can play, but where's your backup PG in that situation? Neither AA or Rip are going to be playing the point anytime soon.

How do you take Bynum's surge at the end of the season and just assume that he's a legit stud? He could very well be one, but I want another season of seeing him perform like this with more minutes before I decide something like that. If he was the bench guard in a 3 guard rotation, I'd feel a bit better about it, but making him the starting PG without having any sort of PG backup plan for him is just ignorant.

Bynum had the same performance per minute at the start of the season that he has now. His per-minute numbers in March and November are about the same. He's just getting more minutes (and particualrly, more consistent minutes) with AI's "The Answer is not to play" schtick.