Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The Will Bynum Show

Monday was a pretty exciting day to be a Pistons fan. Word leaked early in the day that the player with the third highest scoring average in NBA history was a Piston. The ramifications not only for this season but the next two off-seasons are sure to be profound. The move will certainly go down as one of Joe D’s greatest. However, nothing on Monday got me more excited than Will Bynum’s fourth quarter show against the Bobcats. I was calling everyone I knew to see if they were watching. I may have gotten a little too excited but it wasn’t by much. Bynum was simply unguardable.



(Bynum highlights at the 8:55 mark of the video)


Let me take you through the seven possession sequence in the fourth quarter:

Possession #1 Bynum hits an open 20 ft. jumper
Possession #2 Tayshaun Prince misses jumper
Possession #3 Bynum hits hanging jumper in the lane over S. Brown and E. Okafor.
Possession #4 Bynum blows by Brown for a lefty lay in
Possession #5 Bynum drives left and scores
Possession #6 Bynum draws a foul on a drive; hits A. Afflalo for a made jumper
Possession #7 Bynum takes Okafor off the dribble and finishes with his left hand

Bynum’s numbers for the game were pretty respectable for a guy who hardly plays.
He scored 12 points on 6 for 9 shooting and picked up four assists in just 22 minutes. However, those numbers do not do justice to what he accomplished on those seven consecutive possessions. The most impressive aspect of the run was that nobody else was involved. It was just Bynum isolating at the top of the key and breaking down his man off the dribble. Charlotte knew what was coming and still could do nothing about it. Bynum’s fourth quarter dominance against the Bobcats is one of the most impressive basketball displays I’ve seen this season. He’ll be relegated to the bench behind Allen Iverson and Rodney Stuckey once the trade goes through but don’t think Michael Curry—and the rest of the NBA—didn’t notice. I was jacked-up about watching Iverson’s Pistons-debut against Toronto. When I found out that the trade hadn’t gone through yet, I was briefly disappointed until I realized that meant more Bynum!

3 comments:

Bill Morran said...

Hey, Jake. You ever consider making a list of the HOFers in each sport who don't deserve it, and the guys who aren't in who do? It's a common topic, but I was wondering your stance.

Jake said...

Bill,

I have considered it. It's not in the plans right now but I might try tackling that at some point. I did put together my MLB "Hall of Pretty Good" but that list got really, really long so I abandoned the topic. I might try trimming that list some time and posting it but my motivation for doing that is crazy low.

The easiest would probably be making a list of the worst members of the various HOFs.

Making lists as comprehensive and researched as the ones I've done so far take away my will to live. If I'm not psyched about doing it, it'll turn out terrible.

If you ever put something together, be sure to let me know. I'd love to see it.

Take care!

Jake

Anonymous said...

Hey I personally loved the article on my man Will Bynum. He is somebody to be reckoned with. I'm glad he got a chance to shine. I've followed him since his days at Crane High School in Chicago and I know that he could easily pose a threat to any guard in the NBA. Most of them he's already played against in his college days. Trust me, they know it too...lol. I'd like to see him play more, but I guess his time will come.

 

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