Chuck Hayes is the reason we won the game tonight. There is no question that Yao carried us tonight, but without Chuck's hustle when we were struggling and the game was on the balance, we could have lost this game. Chuck Hayes is really the glue in terms of emotion and intenisty on the court. Here's to a speedy recovery. Chuck Hayes is my favorite Rocket now that Tmac is sucking monkey donuts I hope we don't lose him for a long time, because while he doesn't have a jumpshot, he does a lot more than Juwan. He was even guarding Walker, which Juwan can't do because he is a bit slower. Chuck is very verstatile defensively. He can guard 3, 4 and 5's. Hayes does not have a lot of skills, but you need him to win a a championship. He could be our Udonis Haslem. You need those guys that rebound and protect he superstars on defense. If we lose him for a while, Juwan better give us 15PPG, or we could struggle a bit.
I agree with your post but it kind of seems like the wrong time to post this since he didn't play for half the game in our win vs the heats today...
Well, just in today's game, tons of second chance opportunities because of him. And he's mobile, so this helps a lot on defense, and he can get easy buckets near the hoop just by being scrappy and hustling and getting open. Hopefully not a serious injury
So is anyone here familiar with recovery times for hyperextended knees? Any sports medicine types? Just trying to figure out how soon the Chuck Wagon will be rolling again and if there will be any longterm effects of his injury.
This is the first time I've gotten a good look at Chuck play and I was impressed by his intangibles. He's always in a position to make a play and can handle himself defensively against different types of players. I almost screamed when he got injured. But hey, we went up +22 with him out so what do I know?
No disrespect intended for Chuck, but wasn't the game close when he left and we ended up winning by 22 points? Clearly he is a major role player on the team and we have no other player that mirrors his contributions. But the keys for us are Yao, Tracy, defense and 3 point shooting, which were why this game ended up as a blowout. Don't misunderstand me. We need Chuck back ASAP. Like Shane, the stats don't reflect his full contribution.
It looks like the one guy not getting any credit is Luther. For all of Tracy's shooting woes.... he showed Raefer how to be a point guard. He still commands attention with the ball and was setting up Luther and Yao beautifully. However, it was by no coincidence that this game gets blown open when Luther started consistently knocking down the three. Which is what the whole board has been wanting from the beginning of the season, someone who can knock down the big 3. Hayes was the reason this game stayed close through the first 3 quarters. Not all wins are gonna be pretty... Ill take em anyway they come!
i don't see how walker scores on anyone. he has less grace than ryan bowen when he's moving with the ball. oh yeah, luther was great. wish he didn't look like he doesn't know what to do when running point. makes me nervous.
Chuck is definitely a perfect piece for a championship team. He's improved a TON this year on finishing underneath the bucket, so he's contributing with points as well as great defense and rebounding. I love him and believe that we will sorely miss him if he's out for a few weeks. Yo Keith, it's time to pull a Mr. Miaggi on Chuck's knee!
Also, anyone notice how freakin' strong the Chuck Wagon is? He may only be 6'6" but he packs a lot of muscle onto that frame. While he may have some trouble blocking the shots of a lot of PFs, he at least makes it hell on them when they try to get position. The more I think about it, the more I'm bummed about Chuck's injury. Crap.
Ideally, you want to field an entire team of difference makers, if we're broadening the term to include Chuck Hayes. He's a good player. He contributes. He doesn't just suck up space. Part of the problem w/the Rockets in recent years is the # of players who offer nothing except a warm body. Hayes feeds off of Yao and McGrady and doesn't sulk when he can't shoot 10 times a game. Same thing goes for Battier. When they're on, Alston and Head are the same way. Let's just hope Wells doesn't muck it up.
that's one thing that makes him so valuable. while it may seem like he just shoots layups and dunks, quite often he's moving as he's shooting or having to sort of contort under the basket but he has such a soft touch and makes it. a lot of hustle/rebound guys would blow the types of shots hayes makes very easily and basically make themselves worthless on offense. it's nice to have him out there. that's another good thing. he's probably still happy just to be in the nba right now so he's not going to complain about his role and just be a good, hard worker for us. i usually don't like when people talk intangibles because it usually is perception not matching the reality of a mediocre player, but he and battier definitely help in ways that never show up. battier had a classic battier line of 11/3/3 with a block and a steal with no turnovers and 5/10 shooting. didn't do much, didn't stand out, but had an effect, drew a charge or two, and played good D on wade. you need guys like that.
