http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Notes_Hayes_in_the_Middle-191399-34.html 1. Wonder if Chuck really plays C when the games count... maybe Juwan gets his 20 mpg at PF and Chuck alternates between the 4 and 5? 2. Tsakalidis is no all star, but the guy is no scrub, either, when he's healthy. He usually rebounds well and even shot .600 from the floor last year. Seems like Chuck did a good job on him. 3. So, Chuck is the best 1 on 1 post defender? 4. So... no worries about Juwan and Luther. As I suspected, the coaches just want to look at the unknowns.
thats great chucky is going to be big this season I dont think he would pick up that many rebounds if he was 3 to 5 inches taller
I think Chucky Hayes can turn into Ben Wallace all he needs to do is hit the gym 24/7 and grow a fro It would be good to have Yao, Wallace, Battier, Tmac, Head starting line up
If Hayes could just develop a decent jumpshot, imagine the possibilites. He'd be perfect for us. But even as is, I think the guy is our best PF (not including Battier). He's going to be huge for us ... gotta love that hustle around the basket and getting easy scores. He could easily average 10 and 10 (or better) if he got 25 minutes a game. Bonzi could really be a huge benefit to Hayes ... since Bonzi is so good in the post and can hit the mid-range jumper, that covers up Hayes' weaknesses. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hayes and Wells on the court together a lot. JVG is going to have his hands-full (in a good way) spreading the minutes around. As it looks right now there are a lot of guys that will be deserving of playing time ... I just hope Gundy doesn't shut someone out of the rotation too early without giving everyone a fair chance. Barring injury, guys are really going to have to earn their playing time with this roster... Yao Battier Mcgrady Wells Alston Howard Hayes Head Snyder Spanoulis Novak Mutumbo JL3 If JVG can't get it done with that depth he's not going to get it done. That gives so many options for matchups. We can go big, small/quick, shooters, rebounders, slashers, post-up ... so many different ways to go.
No way will Hayes become a ben Wallace. He might have the nose for rebounds, but Wallace also has an intimidating physique and blocks shots and steals the ball. To date, Chucky still seems a bit underrated in the NBA world, since even when Steve Kerr was asked who was most like Dennis Rodman he didn't even mention Hayes. So if we could utilize him correctly (in a small lineup but needs someone rebounding) and at the correct time, I think Chuck Hayes can slowly develop into a starter material PF.
Steve Kerr is not in the NBA world. He's in his own little fantasy world where the Spurs are a dynasty and Greg Popovich is the modern-day Red Auerbach.
I get what you're saying, but Chuck Hayes would not "easily" average 10 ppg and 10 rpg with 35 minutes per game, let alone 25 mpg. Only about 5-6 players in the entire league average 10 rpg (off the top of my head: Garnett, B. Wallace, Duncan, Marion, D. Howard and Murphy). I would compare Chuck to a Reggie Evans. He's an undersized PF would plays much bigger than he is, can box out and is an efficient rebounder. I do think he's capable of about 6-8 rpg if he is given regular minutes, though. Let's just hope he doesn't grab anyone's crotch like Reggie did.
well Ben Wallace Is so much older than Chuck Put chuck in the gym for 8 years and I am pretty sure his pysique will be monstrous Chuck does a decent job on blocking shots as well I distinctly remember him blocking Kmart a few times people forget how long his arms are which is why they go for the shot not realising that he can just extend his arms and swat it He is also decent at steals sooooooo I think the comparions is very valid And yes i Do agree He is yao's feet
Am I being too optimistic to think they are actively pursuing trades and don't want to risk damaging the merchandise? Was that a rhetorical question?
i hope chucky turns into another boris diaw and develops a good shot. then he'd seriously kick some butt
The staff should make it their number one priority to work on Chuck's midrange jumper. Once he has that down, he's a terriffic starter. He'll never be a good shotblocker. He has short arms. But short arms often result in good jumpshooting (personal observation) and we should take advantage of that. Good one on one post defender, terriffic rebounder, can hit a mid ranger.... Excellent material for a Rockets PF. I like the idea of playing him at C a little bit... Let him continue to learn how to play against bigger guys so when he goes to the 4 exclusively, they don't seem so big anymore.
I think some players have an "instinct" for defence but no "instincts" for offence like deke and big ben and I think Chcuk falls into that category if he can handle the ball and shoot, then I think we can compare him to the round mound of rebound Sir Charles himself as oppose to a meaguely big ben but HEY I wont complain if he turns into sir charles
I dont htink he has short arms I think his wingspan is actually quite decent Does anyone know what his wingspan is?
1. It's all semantics. When Yao and Batt are out, you have Chuck and Juwan in. Chuckie plays down low and Juwan up high offensively and defensively Chuck is obviously going to take the tougher 4/5 defensive low post matchup. So, in that regards, you could say he is playing the 5. It just depends on who is on the floor. For instance, against Sacramento, if Brad and Kenny Thomas are in the game, Chuckie is going to most likely wind up on KT with Juwan shadowing Brad out high. Now, if Brad decides to come into the post and KT step out high, then Chuck and Juwan will just trade off as Chuck is the better post defender. If Brad and Abdur-Rahim are in there, same thing. As long as Brad stands outside, Juwan is going to shadow him there and Chuckie is going to take Shareef. If Brad decides to go post up, then Chuckie switches over to him. This is sort of confirming where I believe where we are going, which is Batt primarly at the PF with Yao (thank God). And Chuckie and Juwan on the 2nd unit. 2, 3. There is no question that Chuckie is our best post defender. He is exceptionally strong. And he has an extremely low center of gravity with those short legs and long arms. He gets more strips when the post up player turns and faces than anybody I've seen. And he has that nack for getting the post up player out of position. 4. No worries?? Sounds like Juwan may not play very much at all in the preseason. Could it be that they have a trade worked out for another 4/5??? Welcome to Houston, Kwame???
what's interesting is all of the rumors about head being traded, and the same for juwon. niether of them play. niether of them are hurt either.
Maybe I should explain more.. He doesn't have a small wingspan.. But he's 6'6. He has the wingspan of a PF, but combined with the height of a SG, that's not going to get him blocks. Just like Yao, who's wongspan is excellent for someone 6'11 or 7'0... But is not proportionate for someone 7'6.
I hope not - Kwame's just like Swift but with a bigger contract and fewer dunks. I like Hayes, but his lack of explosiveness will limit his effectiveness. He needs to develop a jump shot, or else other teams will get wise to his preferred move (reverse layup) and he won't be able to score at all. And while he looked decent against Tsakalidis (talk about a stiff), a more competent big man will be able to use his height to shoot over him. The one thing I remember he did well last year was play off of Yao for rebounds. Yao would have 2 guys boxing him out and Hayes would worm his way in and steal the rebound. I think that can be where he makes the biggest impact.
Okay, I exaggerated a bit ... but Hayes averaged 4.5 rebounds last year in just under 14 minutes a game. He may not get 10 in 25 minutes, but it would be at least 8. I do think he would easily average 10 in 35 minutes, probably more like 11 or 12 ... but I doubt he will see those kind of minutes barring injuries. Just from watching him last year you can tell he is one of the better rebounders in the game ... that is obviously his best area. And last year there were 10 guys (plus one with 9.9) that averaged 10 rpg. If you look at rebounds per 48 minutes, Hayes was #12 ... if you weed out the guys that had inflated numbers due to limited action (Bryon Russell played a whole 2.6 minutes last year, grabbing 1 rebound, giving him 18.7 per 48) ... it looks like this: Jeff Foster 17.4 Reggie Evans 17.2 Marcus Camby 17.2 Loren Woods 16.3 Dwight Howard 16.2 Tyson Chandler 16.1 Chuck Hayes 16.8