CNNSI - Players who will exceed expectations (David Andersen)

I do believe it. Chuck can't do the same things Yao Ming can do, obviously. He's not going to contest shots at the rim, and he doesn't bring the same intimidation factor. But he can definitely help close off penetration when guards break the perimeter defense. He's very good at that, I'd say. He's also good at getting at stripping the ball away from penetrators that try to get by him (effectively a block, though it may not count that way in the boxscore). He's good at getting a hand in their face when they go for a shot, and then turning around and pursuing the rebound (an underrated, but very valuable defensive skill).

You made it sound before like all Chuck Hayes can do is play man defense, and beyond that he brings nothing to the team. That's what I took exception to. Chuck is a very good overall team defender. He's just not a shot-blocker.

 

I broke down who he scored his baskets on shortly after that game.

I'll quote it here:

I went through the game and recorded what Boozer did on the offensive end, and against whom:

Code:

[COLOR=Navy]                FG      FGA     FT      FTA     OR      TO[/COLOR]      
Yao             3       5.5     3       4       1       0.33*   
Battier         0.5***  1***    0.5**   1**             0.33*
Hayes           1       2                               1
Padgett         1.5     2.5                     1       0.33*
Novak           2       2                       1
Mutombo         2       4       0.5**   1**       

*   - Boozer forced into a trap by Yao, Padgett, and Battier
**  - Mutombo lets Boozer drive by him, Battier gets a blocking call trying to
      help (Boozer goes 1 for 2 from the line) 
*** - This is due to a couple plays involving Battier having to help on Boozer 
      ... responsibility for the 1/2 FGA is split between Battier and Yao

There are some other plays where I allotted credit as I saw fair. At no point in the game was Battier actually guarding Boozer (which seems to be a big misconception). The reason for this was that Yao or Mutombo can't guard Okur effectively out on the perimeter, and that was the situation whenever Battier, Yao, Mutombo, and Boozer were on the court.

When Yao and Mutombo were on the court, they were the ones primarily guarding Boozer, and neither were particularly effective. To suggest that Howard would been the defensive stopper is really far-fetched. The most effective defender on Boozer was Hayes, late in the 2nd quarter. Boozer had only one field goal in that stretch, and it didn't occur in a one on one situaton (Hayes had to help on a penetrator).​

 

I'm not arguing with you about the Utah game,I want to know why you think Shane shouldn't have remained a 4.

 

Mainly because I wanted Chuck to start. And I wasn't confident that our offense would be particularly good, so I wanted the best possible defensive/rebounding lineup on the floor as much as possible. That meant Rafer, McGrady, Battier, Hayes, and Yao.

 

Chuck is a solid team defender,but he will have his hands full in the upcoming season. He can't guard 5's and 4's simultaneously. Yao is a very underrated defender who altered more shots then he blocked. Even world class bigs like Duncan and to a certain Shaq had a hard time with him. That will be missed,along with Deke's rebounding,and shot blocking. Dorsey and Andersen will not be able to cover for it at the 5,neither can Pops get the job done at the 4/5 spot.
Luis can provide scrappy hustle defense, but he will get posted up. Landry has got a long way to go on defense.

 

I see your point,but I hope you realize that this led to having such an anemic offense with only 2 attackers that Juwan Howard had to be pressed into the starting lineup.

 

Interior D and rebounding will be a problem for the Rockets, I agree. Chuck Hayes makes up for his lack of size in other ways, but I'd be kidding myself if I didn't acknowledge that center is going to be a weakness for us this season. The Rockets decided to mostly spend their offseason resources on other needs. An understandable decision, I think, considering we're adding an all-star center back to the team next year.

 

When the draft came along,DM knew that Yao was out for the entire season and also had no idea as to whether he would be able to make a comeback.Even right now, we can't predict how long will he even last once he steps out on the court. The fans didn't know about the extent of Yao's injury. There weren't any really good choices at the 5 when our turn came around on draft day,and none better after that than David Andersen, who is more of a 4 than a low post up 5.

 

Again, you must look at the coach. A perfect comparison is Flip Saunders vs Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace was a Larry Brown type player. Flip even supposedly made a crack after Wallace left for Chicago about finally being able to open his playbook.

In Wallace's case, Saunders wasn't dumb enough to leave an All Star making that kind of money on the bench. Rick Adelman will always ALWAYS play the offensive player over Chuck Hayes. Mark my words. Though, he sure likes to toss him in the game when they need a big stop. Why not have him in the game getting stops so you won't need THE STOP late in the game? Thats my motto.

 

Actually, my post was mainly about how Hayes can't be a starting center in the league. You simply pointed out the one part in my post regarding help defense and blasted my entire post based just on that. A lot of his defensive abilities are more suited for PF/SF defense than as a center. Hence why I scoffed at the idea that he can play major minutes at center.

In the end, I feel there's no way Adelman will start Hayes at center, except perhaps against certain matchups. And that Anderson is by far the better choice for the position.

 

Actually, Adelman can finally "open his playbook" this year with Yao out. And the Rockets offense look pretty mediocre with Yao in the middle. So do you think Adelman wants Yao in the lineup or out?

Coaches may feel certain players don't fit their style. But they're not stupid enough to leave talented players on the bench. And FYI Wallace wasn't making all-star money until he signed with Chicago.

 

I hope that Andersen is all we can expect, but realistically I doubt he's a starter or major minute (30+) player. I know he may be a Brad Miller lite which should work well in Rick's system but I still think we are going to be exposed if he's a starter. Right now he may become the starter just because we have no one taller that is healthy and that is not a good reason for someone to become a starter and not a comforting thought. I think Chuck will start the first few games but that too is not going to last too long before becoming over exposed. And I think Andersen and Chuck would be good backups but we still need a starter.

The question is who is going trade a starter C for the pieces we have without exposing more weeknesses? My realistic tthought is the Clippers. They moved Zach but they really need to move to some other bigs to make room for Griffin. I'm sure they'd listen to any proposals for Camby or Kaman. Camby already is an expiring contract so trading expirings will not get this done without adding some low paid high value contracts which I personally don't want to do. That leaves Kaman. Expirings would get that done and we could unload some of our extra players that will not see any PT at the same time. Kaman may not be the best starter in the NBA but I again I don't think anyone is going to trade their starter without receiving major pieces back.

Incoming Players
Chris Kaman 7-0 C from Central Michigan 12.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.5 apg in 29.7 minutes

Outgoing Players
Carl Landry 6-8 PF from Purdue 9.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.6 apg in 21.3 minutes
Brent Barry 6-6 SG from Oregon State 3.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.4 apg in 15.5 minutes
Brian Cook 6-9 PF from Illinois 3.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.2 apg in 6.9 minutes
Joey Dorsey 6-9 PF from Memphis 0.7 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.3 apg in 2.1 minutes
Will Conroy 6-2 PG from Washington No games yet played in 2008-2009
Garrett Temple 6-6 SG from Louisiana State No games yet played in 2008-2009

We give up Landry but we get get back Kaman and get rid of Cook's and Barry's spots. The Clippers get rid of a rather expensive C with 2 years remaining while getting back non-guaranteed contracts, expiring contracts and low cost contracts - they might even throw us one of their high 2nd round picks Morey likes. Now this trade won't do Les any favors on the LT front but I think we are headed there anyway and overall we will be a more balanced team.

Beginning of the season:
Kaman/Andersen/Hayes/(Yao)
Scola/Pops
Ariza/Budinger
Battier/McCants/Taylor/(McGrady)
Brooks/Lowry

Later in the season:
Kaman/Andersen/Hayes/(Yao)
Scola/Pops
Ariza/Battier/Budinger
McGrady/McCants/Taylor/
Brooks/Lowry

Next year (possibly playoffs this year)
Yao/Kaman/Andersen/Hayes
Scola/Pops
Ariza/Battier/Budinger
McGrady/McCants/Taylor
Brooks/Lowry

I think we can make 1 more push.

 

The Rockets could have pursued a more expensive center (via trade), if it meant that much to them.

 

They did consider Gortat with part of the MLE, I'm glad they didn't offer him the entire exception. Orlando would have matched DM's offer,so yes,the only other way would have been via a trade.

Getting a good center with considerable experience is always difficult,and there is absolutely no use in chasing guys eg Dalembert. Kaman has had his own injury issues,and isn't a defensive player,but he can score and rebound.

If he does well and remains healthy,then the Clippers are likely to hold on to him,but I wouldn't be opposed to a trade for him,if they want to give him up.
If he continues to have health issues,then there is no use for him.

I do admit that it's going to be tough for Yao and Kaman to share minutes,but again no one can rely on Yao with his repeated foot problems. If DM thinks differently,he will be making a big mistake. Andersen is more of a 4 than a 5.

 

I don't want the Rockets spending $11+ million on a backup C, in addition to the near-max money Yao will be earning.