Quality trumps quantity. On March 18, the NBA only had one game, but it was enough to bring a flashpoint, and since march, the eighth single game 50+ was born.
More than half a month on so many 50+, inevitable aesthetic fatigue, but this time there is a sense of freshness, before the 7 50+ that appeared in March, the creators are James, Durant, Irving, Tatum and Towns, the star players, and this 50+ comes from a relatively "vegetarian", the Pistons' "second-year student", 23-year-old Sadiq Bay.
In the Pistons' 134-102 away win over the Magic, Sadiq Bay scored 21 points in the first quarter, 30 points at halftime, 17 of 27 three-pointers, 14 of 10 free throws, 7 of 10 free throws, and 51 points, setting a new NBA career single-game scoring record, becoming the first Pistons player with 50+ in a single game since Griffin in 2018, scoring 10 three-pointers to tie the team record held by Joe Dumas.
"It was a great night." Pistons coach Casey said of Sadiq Bay's performance.
When you first see Sadiq Bay, you may think that this is a very publicity young man, his wild style will indeed bring such feelings, but Sadiq Bay in life is an introvert, a good son who listens to his mother, a good student with excellent grades, and spends most of his time in the locker room talking less, only music and animation accompany him.
If you asked Sadiq Bay to introduce his favorites outside of basketball, he would recommend SpongeBob SquarePants to you, watch it whenever he had time, and even take time to watch two episodes on the day of the 2020 draft. The Joker soundtrack is also a favorite of Sadiq Bay, who will listen to it before the game and warm up for himself.
"My favorite movie character is the Joker, which is why I dye my hair green, and I like to be a 'villain' in a game." Sadiq-Bay said.
Sadik Bay, who aspires to be a "villain", is a typical "other person's child" in life, with all-round development of morality, intellect and body, and good character and learning, which is related to his family. Sadiq Bay's mother, Druna Bay, was a local women's basketball star in Charlotte as a student, also a Doctor of Education, and currently serves as the director of public secondary education, and her mother is A role model for Sadiq Bay.
"When I was a child, I witnessed how hard my mother tried to make myself better, and I wanted to follow in her footsteps," Sadiq-Bay said, "and she kept telling me to be tough, never to be weak, whether studying or playing, or I would be eliminated." ”
Objectively speaking, Sadiq Bay's absolute athletic talent is not prominent among elite players, and he has become an NBA first-round show through hard work and polishing his skills. In his first year at Villanova University, Sadiq Bay averaged 8.2 points per game, ranking fourth in the team, and by the second year, his average scorer had increased to 16.1 points per game, becoming the team's top scorer, and was named to the first team of the best team in the Great East Division, winning the Julius Owen Award, which recognized the best small forward of the college season.
"It's a little unreal that Sadik is the kind of guy who does everything well," said Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright, "he's a very well-educated, academically strong player, the hardest-trained player on our team, and he keeps improving." His style of play is very comprehensive, he can play both front and backcourt, he can defend any position, which is very suitable for the requirements of today's NBA. ”
In the 2020 draft, the Pistons took off Sadiq Bay in 19th place with a first-round pick from the Nets. The Lone Rangers, who had the first round of the No. 18 pick, had a chance to get Sadiq Bay, but they chose Josh Green, a choice that made the Lone Rangers' executives and scouts who were optimistic about Sadiq Bay very dissatisfied.
Sadiq Bay will cause infighting in the Lone Ranger because he played well in his rookie year, averaging 12.2 points per game, averaging 2.5 three-pointers per game, shooting 38 percent from three-point range and making him on the first team of the All-Rookie Team.
According to Sadiq Bay's college trajectory, his second year in the NBA is very exciting, but although Sadiq Bay has increased his average of 15.8 points per game, his shooting rate is only 39%, and he seems to have hit the "second-year player wall".
There are two reasons for this, one is that Sadiq Bay has averaged 39% more shots per game this season than in his rookie year, and young players are more likely to experience a decline in shooting efficiency. The second is the positioning problem of Sadiq Bay, his current dribbling level and athletic ability are not enough to support a large number of tactical roles with the ball, and that kind of dribbling forced to get rid of the dry pull jump shot is an inefficient way of playing for Sadiq Bay.
Sadiq Bay's current technical characteristics, more suitable for receiving the ball directly on the move, or blocking and dismantling the use of cooperation to get a good shooting opportunity, against the magic of this 51 points battle, Sadiq Bay is through this way, with the active assistance of teammates, again and again to find the dessert position of the shot, completed the most brilliant explosion of his career.
"He's struggled with shooting at one point before and being able to get such a strong bounce back in a difficult situation would give him a lot of confidence." Casey said.
Sadiq Bay has been shaky in shooting this season, but he started all 70 games. Only 4 players in the league have remained fully attendance this season, and Sadiq Bay is one of them, who has not missed a game due to injury since middle school, and this durability is quite overbearing. Sadiq Bay is not only durable, he is an excellent forward defender, the most representative of which is that during this season's time against Durant, he made Adu 6 of 17 shooting, shooting only 35.3%.
Sadiq Bay's defensive and catch-and-shoot abilities are a viable path to develop into high-quality 3D first, especially considering that Cunningham is a big core with the ball and needs teammates who can shoot and defend, and Sadiq Bay is capable of such a role.
The 51-point battle is an answer, and Sadiq Bay has proven himself to be a cornerstone on the road to the Pistons' revival, and as Coach Casey has said, rebuilding is often bitter, but there will also be a lot of beautiful scenery along the way.
Sadiq Bay's 51 points is such a scenery, this young man who listens to his mother, his future is just beginning.
"I'll give my mom the ball for this game, and she messaged me this morning to be more aggressive." Sadiq-Bay said.