Honestly, that's the best I've seen him play for a good stretch of minutes all year. On each possession seemingly, he was making a positive play. I was a little disappointed that he didn't see the court in the second half, but I understood that Adelman wanted to stick with more offense with the game in the balance. It's a luxury to have a player like that at the end of your bench. Comments on his performance from the Adande's ESPN writeup: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090505 [rquoter] And Chuck Hayes? Well, you couldn't even find a box score by his locker. He said he doesn't even bother to read them anymore, because they don't reflect his contributions. "What he does, it does show up ... just in winning and losing," Morey said. The most deceptive part of the halftime box score was the zero points (on zero shots) down the row from Hayes' name. He beat Pau Gasol for an offensive rebound, which led to a Ron Artest 3-pointer that banked in. On another possession, after Artest dribbled around in circles and then launched a 3, Hayes grabbed the rebound and the Rockets wound up with a 3-pointer by Brent Barry. That's six points right there attributable to Hayes. And what about points prevented? Hayes stands six inches shorter than Gasol and Andrew Bynum, yet neither could budge him an inch when they tried to back him down. Tree stumps are short, too, but have you ever tried to move one? Gasol gave up and ran a give-and-go with Trevor Ariza instead. Bynum threw up an awkward-looking hook shot that didn't have a chance of going in. "They keep trying, but I'm not going anywhere," Hayes said. Those are the images of the Rockets. They're Shane Battier, his face requiring four stitches Monday night because he keeps sticking it where it doesn't belong. It's Kyle Lowry sitting courtside with a laptop computer reviewing Laker plays before the game. [/rquoter]
I thought Hayes was awesome last night, just flat awesome. His +/- should reflect that. Considering the Lakers are going to come out super agressive Wednesday night, and they will be driving relentlessly, looking to get contact on Yao, I would actually be tempted to do something radical like start Hayes and let him play for the first 5 minutes or so of the game, taking the charges and fouls from the Laker penetrators. Then after the initial thrust, bring in Yao to chew through their big men. I know it sounds crazy, but I see Yao getting in early foul trouble the next game. They will be looking to crash into him and get the foul. It don't matter if Yao is as straight as a pain of glass, if Kobe crashes into him, they're gonna blow it against Yao. Hayes was extremely effective and I think we could get by for a few minutes with him out there providing the defense inside and give Yao a chance to come in after a few minutes. Yes, I am radical. But watch them get Yao into foul trouble early in game 2 and watch us struggle the whole game because of Yao's foul trouble. And then wonder what if. Hayes is an unbelievable defensive player.
Fully agree, durvasa. Coming into the year, I think all of us would have feared any lineup with Hayes and no McGrady or Yao. Hayes' D and work on the glass gave Yao a very valuable breather, especially given his foul trouble at that point in the game. It's amazing to think of how many impact plays the guy has made in the playoffs in his career despite his limited minutes/physical limitations.
Chuck is a defensive end inside terminator.He is very strong and he konws how to use his own bodies to make anyone to lose their balance.[/SIZE]
Hayes, played great last night in his limited time. His D on Gasol and his offensive rebounding are just what we needed; we will probably see more of him in game 2 when the Lakers make adjustments on Yao. He should continue to give the Lakers big men fits around the basket. jopatmc is right, Yao will probably get into foul trouble early in game 2, due to the Lakers coming at him, and/or the refs calling ticky tak fouls. There is no way to get around that. But Starting Hayes (crazy enough), and expecting him to draw charges at the begining of the game in LA (way more crazy), come on man. Even if he is in there early (not starting) no way he is drawing charging fouls, the refs wont make those calls. Wishfull thinking, but I am with you on one thing, Hayes is great! GO ROCKETS! Still, cant wait for game 2!
Great post. Chuck Hayes is a beast! You could see Pau wanted the ball as soon as he saw that Chuck was on him. And Chuck just did what he does...... stood his ground, played big D, got big boards on both ends.
I understand what you are saying but that would be admitting that we are scared of you. The Lakers are going to keep on attacking Yao throughout the game anyway.Chuck will need a lot more minutes in this series especially with Deke being out. Luis had problems on defense and unfortunately Landry is even worse on that end.Scolandry needs to do a better job on the boards which could help Chuck out. I would like to see Scola front Gasol and try to defend the pick and roll.Staying behind Pau and Odom will prove fatal. The Lakers can counter that but if Luis gets in quick foul trouble,he will be rendered useless which will make things harder for Yao,and Chuck.
It is admitting we know the refs are gonna screw us. I'm only advocating the idea to get past the first adrenaline pump from Kobe. Yes, they are gonna keep coming at him. But the shock treatment at the beginning may be better taken by Hayes.
Yep, that's why I don't want to trade Chuck Hayes for just anybody like other posters here. He is an elite defender.
There's nothing wrong with having your 9th/10th man be a specialist. As defensive specialists go, they don't get much better than Chuck. I'd rather have a player at the end of the bench who has clearly defined strengths and weaknesses instead of a player who's just sort of mediocre all-around.
You just can't say enough of Chuck. It is amazing that he is on the rotation on an elite team like we are. He really has no offense, he is not a shotblocker and he is undersized. But damn, this guy plays defense, he is one of the best low post defender, if not the best. Damn, much bigger Bynum couldn't move him.
Agreed, he's as valuable as a 3point specialist. Put in the right situations he can make a big impact during his limited minutes. Bill Simmons talked a bit about this during his interview with Morey about Novak. I think it applies to Chuck too, just that he's the defensive version.
I never doubt Hayes' defence skills, he is a really really good defender. He let Pau feel unconfortable, when we face good PF, such as Garnett, Davis West and Dirk, let Hayes play, he will tell you he can do his job well.
anyone have clips of hayes playing the D? i wasn't able to watch last night...just listend on the radio and man, i miss gene peterson and jim foley soooooo much.
It's awesome having a player like Chuck, who completely wrecks other teams offensive game plans b/c of his unorthodox skills in the big positions. He's perfect coming off the bench, as inevitably it takes opponents a few minutes to adjust their game plan to take advantage of his offensive shortcomings. But by then they've wasted 3-4 minutes of time trying to post up against him b/c he's short. Every team in the league tries this against him and get screwed. On another note -- did anybody notice Adelman's shout out to the stats team analyzing the Lakers' play efficiencies? I think that stuff is starting to really pay dividends, and it helps the most in the playoffs, where you play the same opponent over and over.
Last night Doug Collins said "Chuck Hayes is a pretty good post defender" and I couldn't keep from laughing out loud. "Pretty good?" Understatement of the year.
