The NBA's All-Defensive team selections have to be the most glaring indictment against the subjective, sensationalist nature of the league's awards system. Analysts aren't doing their job when a guy like Chuck Hayes isn't known around the league for anything more than an undersized garbage man, while overrated defenders that rack up irrelevant glossy rebounds/steals statistics like Camby and Kobe take home the hardware based on name recognition. Name one other big man in the league who routinely shuts down opposing All-Star bigs, whether they be of the athletic/mobile variety or the traditional bruisers. Maybe Kevin Garnett. From Dirk Nowitzki, to Boozer and Okur, to Amare Stoudemire and David West, when Chuck Hayes is in the game, the lane is closed off and the opposing power forward does not score. I'm being facetious with the thread title because it's unrealistic to expect a backup on a pretender with no playoff success to get any national attention. But it's about damn time people on this board gave Chuck Hayes his due. It was embarrassing enough that half the board thought the drafting of Joey Dorsey made him expendable, but then you had last week when the consensus here was to pursue a 35 year old one-legged McDyess to eat into Hayes' minutes. Unbelievable. Give Chuck Hayes his due.
to be fair...Chuck gets ALOT more praise around here this year than in past years. Its hard for even the blindest(as far as D goes) fan to overlook just how good he is. WHat baffles me even more is that the pros scout this team...they know what he does...and yet some of those 4/5 guys will still try to post Chuck up thinking they are gonna move him....yeah right....dream on. Pound for pound and inch for inch the best post defender in the league. If he was 6'9 or taller he would have been a lotto pick on defensive ability alone.
Not only does he deny good post position to HOF-level players, he also does a great job of contesting jumpers when he's switched onto guards. He moves his feet so well and his hands are so quick in getting deflections and steals. Hayes is honestly one of the best defenders in the league.
I'm happy that Chuck is finally getting some praise around here. With Battier, Chuck, and Artest out there the D should be insanely good. Like I've said before, I don't care if the offense looks like ****, but if the defense also looks like ****, I will be deeply concerned and sad. Defense is what I have loved most about this team since JVG became head coach. It was just a thing of beauty watching a team get shut down. I must say I will always love D more than offense, ALWAYS. Favorite players on the team are Chuck and Battier. Hopefully I can get me a Chuck jersey this Christmas.
Chuck does get his recognition tho... ESPN ranked Chuck right behind KG as the best defensive PF in the game.
its not just PF's, he can defend centers and SF's. Having a guy that can switch the way that he does really helps the team defense. I agree completely with how you feel about Camby too. Not so much Kobe, i think he gets a bad rap because he has to conserve his energy for offense unlike most players known for being good perimeter defenders.
He should be, but he won't be. Especially, when Battier couldn't even get on first team defense. In a year, he shutdown (not stop)...shutdown some elite players in several games.
If some of those 4/5s really scouted him, they could just shoot over him, e.g. LaMarcus Aldridge. I think those 4/5s have helped him play to his strengths. I wondered this in the Portland game, if Aldridge hadn't stopped shooting jumpers and tried to post him up instead would Hayes have been as effective against him?
AMEN. The Rockets really do need to campaign for Chuck Hayes to make an all-defensive team this year. You forgot to add how he shut down LaMarcus Aldridge after he destroyed Scola & Landry. Like Morey alway says, Chuck is an ELITE defender.
i think he's the best individual defender in the game, better than ron artest. but he doesn't play enough or has a nice enough game to warrant attention, which is sad. but all rocket fans appreciate the chuck-wagon and he knows it.
Honestly, the "hack a chuck" that NOH tried is probably the best recognition Chuck will ever get for his defense. Paul and West were so annoyed with him clogging up the lane on defense they wanted to get him out of the game to try and go on one last run to pull out a win. That's a pretty good show of respect imho.
That wasn't "ESPN". It was John Hollinger, who relies on his a numerical evaluation (not stats, but rather On/Off impact).
I'll admit it, when we drafted Joey Dorsey, I DID think that made Hayes expendable. However, I have come to the realization that this is the best low post defender we have. I mean, did you see KG trying to post him up (both meetings)? It wasn't happening. Hayes brings a lot to the table that isn't recorded by stats. Altering shots and not letting the opposing PF in the paint are a few of the many things he brings to the table. I for one, am a huge supporter of Hayes and are glad he is on this team. His quick hands and strong demeanor is a huge plus to this team. I'm sold on him. I'm a huge fan.
Hayesfan, I think your going a little too far here. In my opinion it is more to his history at the FT line. It stops the clock, it is not a definite he makes them, and it changes the rhythm of the game. That's why teams do it to Shaq, and that's why they did it to Hayes.
One other thing: Chuck's shoulder pops out, he plays the next game. Chuck hyperextends his knee, he plays the next game. Tmac...you reading? DD
That's true. But they did have to foul multiple times to get into the penalty. And if Chuck was an expendible player, the Rockets could have subbed him out after any of those intermediary fouls. The Hornets were counting on the Rockets not doing that, which indicates they saw value in what he was doing.
Hayes will never be on the NBA All-Defensive Team simply because he doesn't score enough points. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see: Gold Glove award in baseball.
