After pregame exchange with McMillan, Jerryd Bayless shines at Blazers' Fan Fest When Jerryd Bayless saw coach Nate McMillan walk across the court and approach him before Friday’s Wells Fargo Fan Fest, he knew the coach carried an important message. “Me and Nate don’t talk a lot, maybe every once in a while,’’ Bayless said. “So when we do, it’s meaningful.’’ Not only was Tuesday’s exchange meaningful, it was effective. McMillan told Bayless that he wanted him to play pressure defense, rebound and run the offense, and the third-year guard didn't disappoint in the team's annual intrasquad scrimmage. While Wesley Matthews won the game’s Most Valuable Player award by scoring 17 points, Bayless was among the top stories of the night after he impressively ran the offense and played hard-nosed defense to help the White Team to a 58-54 win over the Black Team. Bayless had 12 points, a game-high eight assists and six rebounds in 27 minutes. He also took just four shots (making three) and committed just two turnovers. It was a crisp and in-control performance by Bayless and it was the byproduct of a lengthy exchange with his coach about 10 minutes before tipoff. This wasn ’t merely a coach coming over and giving words of advice, but rather an animated back-and-forth. “We were talking about some things ... he is asking a lot of questions about what we are looking for,’’ McMillan said. Said Bayless: “I need to know what I can do to get on the court.’’ Right now, the Blazers envision Bayless being the team’s backup point guard behind starter Andre Miller. But that vision comes with a hint of trepidation: Is Bayless more concerned with scoring and creating his own shot when, really, the team needs him to run the offense and play pressure defense? It was with that question in mind that McMillan approached Bayless before the scrimmage. “If he is being aggressive defensively, his offense will come,’’ McMillan said. “When he is out there just concerned about scoring, it just limits what he can do. I think he is a very good defender who can disrupt the ball, and by disrupting the ball and forcing misses, it will allow him to get into transition, which is where he is good.’’ Last season, Bayless averaged 17.6 minutes over 74 games, finishing with averages of 8.5 points and 2.3 assists. If Bayless continues to play like Friday night, his minutes figure to increase into the high 20s. “It starts on defense,’’ McMillan said. “I thought last year he started out that way and as we lost players and we moved him to the 2, he kind of got away from defending and disrupting on the ball. I thought his focus was more on scoring and trying to help carrying the team. But when he was at his best it was pressuring the ball.’’ When Bayless was directing the offense, it wasn’t a onslaught of torpedo drives down the lane like much of last season. He was in control and looked to get teammates involved. Late in the fourth quarter, Bayless had attempted only one shot, a three-pointer he made in the first quarter. “I was trying to get everyone involved,’’ Bayless said. “I told Wesley and I told Rudy (Fernandez) to come off and look to shoot because I’m looking to put the ball in the right spot, so look to shoot it. And I told Jeff (Pendergraph) and Dante (Cunningham) to look for the slips, and I got them a couple of times as well.’’ Bayless was also pleased that he met one other request by McMillan on Friday: to rebound. His six rebounds were tied for second most on the night to LaMarcus Aldridge (9). “I thought I did a little of everything,’’ Bayless said. Oh yeah, there was one other thing Bayless did Friday. “We won,’’ he said with a smile. http://tinyurl.com/34dmekl -- McMillan要Bayless能強調壓迫防守、組織進攻和抓籃板 小B昨天也漂亮回應教練的要求，全場27分鐘有12分、6籃板和8助攻 Nate說他希望Bayless能由防守帶動進攻，若只卓著進攻反而會限制他發揮 難道Bayless要擺脫Lovelss了嗎 --

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