I will now make my case for why Chuck Hayes should be put back into the starting lineup, PROVE ME WRONG. 1) Chuck Hayes won't score any points, but the starting lineup already has 4 legit scoring threats. Realistically, is having 5 scoring threats with 1 defensive specialist (Battier) better than having 4 scoring threats and 2 defensive specialists? Last time I checked, Battier can't guard 5 players and unless you have a team like Adelman's old Kings or the D'Antoni Suns that can run a team out of the building from the opening tip, it seems pointless and a waste of resources to start all offense unless you have equal players coming off the bench. 2) Perimeter defense is better with Hayes on the floor. A lot of people talk about on ball defense and stoppers and things like that, but the biggest game changer that often goes unnoticed is how well the perimeter is guarded. Most people probably think this means defending the 3, but it is WAY more than that. If you watch good defensive players, you will notice that they are good at chasing the guards off the pick & roll play. Most of the plays most NBA teams run, have some form of the pick & roll in them. The only way to effectively defend this offense is to have your bigs come out and switch on the pick then rotate back. If you watch The Rockets, you will notice that Scola and Landry aren't very good at this, and what happens is, Yao picks up cheap fouls trying to defend the paint when they let their man get by or they just get an easy layup. The two best players at defending this are Battier and Hayes. Especially when they end up guarding the same players, because Battier and Hayes can both rotate quickly and they are able to contest just about every shot when they are defending. This keeps Yao out of foul trouble as he sees less action in the paint because Battier/Hayes are keeping the defense at bay. The next time you watch The Rockets, watch how many times players get layups or deep in the paint shots and see who is on the floor. Then, watch how many outside shots the other team takes whenever Chuck Hayes is on the floor. This is not a coincidence, you be the judge. 3) The tone of the game is set early. Why would you let a Kevin Garnett or a Tim Duncan establish themselves to start the game? If you watch The Rockets, you will notice that the majority of their games are close at the end of the 1rst quarter. This shows that they aren't defending in the 1rst quarter. The 2nd quarter, you will see leads on average between 8 and 12 points, when you are more likely to see Hayes in the game with Battier. The proof is in the pudding when you see The Rockets blowing late 4th quarter leads when the starters are in. 4) The Offense actually runs smoother with Chuck Hayes. Yes, I said the Offense actually runs smoother with Chuck Hayes. Here is why. Chuck is more willing to pass the ball because he is not a scorer. This allows your guards to play off ball a lot more. This actually makes The Rockets harder to defend than when you have McGrady standing out on the perimeter pounding the ball. Chuck is actually pretty solid passer. Chuck also sets screens like a tree trunk, which leads to more open shots. The next time you see Rafer Alston or Aaron Brooks get a wide open 3, rewind your DVR and see if it wasn't Chuck Hayes who set the pick. Occasionally you will see him take out 2 players with a screen. Also, despite what people say, defenders still guard Chuck on the pick & roll, even though he doesn't score. They still aren't going to let him have a wide open shot, so he doesn't really hurt the offense when he plays with the starting 5. 5) Luis Scola plays better with the 2nd unit. This is key for the 2nd unit, as Yao is on the bench so the Rockets become more of a slashing team. With Aaron Brooks and Von Wafer slashing, the defense collapses and Scola gets wide open jump shots. These are shots that Chuck Hayes cannot take or make, which hurt The Rockets. My conclusion is that Chuck Hayes hurts The Rockets offense coming off the bench, but helps The Rockets defense as a starter. In contrast, Luis Scola hurts The Rockets defense as a starter, but helps The Rockets offense coming off the bench. To get maximum production out of both players, Chuck should start. Anybody who wants to prove my theory wrong, please feel free.
You gotta be kidding me. I loves Chuck, his defense is really great, but sometimes he has his problems. But he in the starting 5, you mean 4 on 5 once again? Hell NO. His offense.... ough, I don't even want to talk about that.
No one that is that bad a shooter and is a zero on offense should be a starter. He is what he is a great situational defensive specialist. The team took off last year when he was replaced in the starting lineup by Scola, no way you go back to Hayes at this point. Great post though, a well reasoned argument, I just can't support your conclusion. DD PS.....did you see that Free Throw in NY? Case CLOSED
Someone get out the smelling salts. I think GATER and leegibez just fainted. Rafer seems like a legit scoring threat right now. That's not going to last. And Battier isn't much of a scoring threat. Maybe you have a looser definition of "scoring threat" than I do.
I'd rather have deke start at 5 at least he can dunk and score layups and block and defend does what hayes does except can score a bit more.
Agreed with Double D's post. This team really did take off once Scola was inserted into the starting unit. Also, upping Chuck's minutes means less PT for Landry in this scenario. Good luck trying to sell that idea.
This season you could make the case that we only have 2 consistent scoring threats. Yao and Luis. So with his move we would be down to 1 consistent scoring threat.
Please no. After all the "new" talent we've gotten, you can't be serious. The Yao - Hayes - Battier - TMac - Alston lineup of the past was deeply flawed. Let's not return to it.
I actually thought about this after watching Scola do his latest impression of a pylon on defense. He gets burned by below average PFs all too often. The "three-headed monster" concept is nice but the problem is that it isn't a single monster. With Scola and Landry, you give up A LOT on defense. With Hayes, you give up A LOT on offense. It would be nice to see Scola or Landry become a sound defensive player since Hayes has no chance of improving offensively.
I was going to just say "No!" but you make a pretty good argument. I think some of the things you say, such as the offense flowing better, have more to do with the other second unit personel on the floor than because of Hayes. The problem with decisions like this is that what you are seeing is a product of testing and experimentation and practice. The second unit runs the motion offense with Hayes filling in on defense. The first, unit as much as we've been able to hold it together, is more conventional. I don't know if Hayes can just be substituted and have things run smoother. Its an interesting thought and while I don't think it will work I'm going to concede I'm not enough of a bball genius to rule it out. I also hate to say it but the only way we would see Hayes starting again now is if either both Scola and Landry get hurt or really stink things up and I don't think we want to see that.
