Yep. Morey needs to check the waiver wire thoroughly for any 7 footers who can help out our miniature squad in the middle.
Did you state this in another thread? I am going to answer again. There may be some trouble on the offensive end with Hayes starting, but that trouble will pale in comparison to the defensive trouble we will be in if Hayes does not start and play major minutes. Any combination of Scola, Landry, Andersen, and Dorsey will be a swinging door defensively along with a collection of "in the bonus" quarter against us early and a parade of free throws by the opponents. You simply don't understand Hayes' value to this team. He is a top 5 post defender in this league. Most cannot see it because they focus on blocked shots from a long big man. Hayes swats away more balls when the shooter posts up and turns than Dwight Howard blocks up high.
That's where Dorsey fails - because he loses concentration and doesn't rotate soon enough which leads to a lot of "and 1's" in a relatively short time. He's slow to react and lets the opposite team into the paint to easily. He needs to set up shop in the paint and own it like Chuckwagon does. I agree, IQ will trump size and quickness, in most cases. That is, unless you have all 3. The problem is we have a Cerberus for the center position.
If we don't have Hayes on the court big minutes this season we might as well just forfeit the games. We know we're inadequate offensively but without him we do not have the interior defense to be competitive.
I think we start Hayes or Andersen depending on the matchups. But I want to see both of them playing together as well. I think their strengths compliment eachother, and they'll make up for eachother's weaknesses.
Do you think the Anderson/Scola pairing is better than Hayes/Scola? Imo, it looks like any of our other 3 main bigs plays better with Hayes. He seems like more of a center than either of them and the team, as a whole, would probably benefit from having another defensive minded big on the roster (not Dorsey, one that can actually play). If that doesn't happen, I would much rather see Chuck log 35+ minutes than watch our more offensive minded bigs paired together for long stretches.
I don't get the myth of Hayes. He is not Deke. He cannot defend the centers very well. His best position is PF.
As long as the center is not Howard or Shaq, Hayes does decent job keeping them out of the paint. Most center in this league can't do much outside of paint anyway.
Sometimes, comments can be taken at face value... no hidden meanings. Battier's comments seem to be a genuinely complementary observation. It doesn't square with hidden meanings to "the concentration isn't there". And sometimes we all, at one time or another, can't seem to "get it" when others try to tell us what we may be doing wrong or need to improve. Lack of concentration can be the result of several things, some of which aren't as consciously controllable as we might think. I admit, I think ADD has been somewhat created as an "impairment", but having dealt with younger people in my workplace, I see what would fit the definition of ADD almost every day. I have this theory about our culture...
Excellent metaphor for the center position. Very fitting. Kudos. But I also note that Battier and Adelman contradict each other a bit. Adelman is emphasizing self improvement with Dorsey while Battier places the onus on the coaches and the vet players to improve Dorsey's understanding of team defense to complement his considerable instincts & athleticism. I hope Adelman does not let his impatience ruin any chance of getting some quality play from Dorsey. 1 season is simply not enough time for a raw player to learn the NBA game, especially for a physical specimen like Dorsey. If Hayes goes down, the Rockets are doomed. Anderson is a specialist who should not get a lot of minutes, certainly not starting material.
I think Dorsey still doesn't understand what he needs to learn and the coach is running out of patience with him.
Dorsey hasn't made a single impact play all preseason. I thought the defensive intensity he had at Memphis would carry over to the NBA but it hasn't. He is blowing his chance to play into the rotation. It's still not a huge loss if he fails, though. Most people bring up Deandre Jordan or Mario Chalmers as guys we could have had instead of Dorsey. I actually wanted Chalmers at #25, but he's nothing special. We'll see about Jordan.
Lack of size in center position will be a problem for the team soon or late. Hayes is still small for facing true centers in certain teams. We need a big body, but Dorsey seems to be not ready. I think he is more lacking experience, smart ball IQ than concentration.
I agree completely. People are acting like Hayes is a defensive superstar. He is a tough, gritty, smart defender, yes, but the bottom line is he is vastly undersized and not quick or strong enough to be a consistent figure in a team's interior defense.
Jopa, I totally understand Chuck's value to the team and I agree with you about him being a top 5 or 10 defender in the league. He's way underrated. But with him, Battier and Ariza on the floor together, how do you manufacture points? I am a huge proponent of defense, but if you can't score you can't win. Who of the rockets proposed starters outside of T-Mac can force the opponents defense into a consistent double team when they have the ball? Between Hayes, Battier and Ariza the rockets will have an incredible defense, but putting the ball in the hole is going to be a huge problem.
Then you might as well forfeit the season. I am a huge huge Chuck Hayes fan, absolutely huge. Love the guy and what he brings to the team. But I know he is strictly a defensive specialist and nothing more. If you can't score, you can't win. If Chuck is forced to play big minutes which both Battier and Ariza are going to have to do, then the rockets are in trouble unless they all of sudden morph into a fastbreak team. Hayes is a nice fit with a real playmaker like Tracy on the floor, because Tracy can make up for some of Chucks shortcomings on the offensive end. Adelman is going to have to pick his poison between putting points on the board or stopping opponents from scoring until T-Mac can come back.
