Well that would be a bit difficult to do, now wouldn't it! I have a basketball crush on Chuck.. is that the same thing?
At the very beginning of the game Shaq comes down the court and tries to establish offensive position. He basically backs into Hayes and pushes Hayes about 10 feet. I have never seen anyone bulldoze Hayes before. Then Shaq out muscles Hayes and scores two easy layups. At that point, Hayes adapts to the situation by using speed and body positioning to completely shut down Shaq. It’s very impressive on how Hayes adapts to various situations. Especially when you consider that everyone has a height advantage against him.
He knows that was the emphasis on man. He was trying to deny him the ball. A couple of times Shaq got in too deep before Chuck could get behind him defensively, but overall Chuck beat him to position every time.
Great article. The Rockets are blessed to have two of the smartest and hardworking defenders in the NBA in Hayes and Battier. While what they do doesn't always show up on the stat sheet both those guys are are key to any Rockets' success.
I had one of those moments last year watching Hayes shut down KG in Boston. The guy never fails to impress.
I remember on one possession against the Celtics last season, Chuck was guarding KG and kept shutting him down but the Celtics kept getting the rebound but Chuck just kept making KG miss. Finally Chuck tipped the ball loose and got a jump ball with someone. He works so hard at defending people.
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I have said in the past he's a better defender than Artest, he just didn't get the minutes. This season he's getting regular minutes and all the praise he deserves. Something he does well that wasn't mentioned is his skill at taking charges, he anticipates the lane the opposing player is going through, gets there a split second earlier and draws the foul. He beat the Nuggets by drawing a charge against Kleiza last season so taking a charge can be a critical skill.
lol anyone notice that they listed Chuck Hayes as weighing 267 pounds.. I don't think he is that heavy..
Yeah, and he know who sucks at basketball too; Kobe Bryant was the worst player he ever played against according to him :grin:
