According to some Hayes apologists, Hayes has a higher FG% than Scola and Yao in the paint. Maybe the Rockets should make Hayes as the go-to guy and let him shoot the ball when games are on the line.
That would be according to the facts, though after last night's game that may no longer be the case. Go to guy? Uh, no ... but if he's in the game and he's open under the basket, then it's not a bad play to get him the ball. Even if he misses 2 out of every 5 shots from that position, that's still a high percentage play.
By this logic, it's not possible to sign a solid player at a bargain price. Because if they were really that good, others would have given them a better deal.
no offense to the chuck wagon but i think we need scola and landry out on the floor.........they both can score and rebound........also we wont have to play 2 on 5 basketball..........i think ra should really consider starting scola and landry come of the bench i think its worth a try........and so what they are rookies you guys never no they might have a big impact!
You never just phase out a player quickly - you have to make players earn it away from the other guy and you have to give a guy like hayes the chance to defend himself. Any good coach does that and generally it's not easy to displace a starter.
he's a little better than Ryan Bowen...mainly because of his defense, rebounding, and he actually does make layups (unlike last night)
The Rockets are going to need every bit of effort and every bit of help and every bit of luck, breaks what have you to get back into this thing. So, the question remains how do you do that? You cannot afford many non-productive minutes and expect to win consistently. Take a look at teams that are winning consistently, they have offenses that are multi faceted and very difficult to shut down for even a few minutes much less a significant portion of the game. Defense while important, you gotta score people to have a chance. The Rockets need to put up 95-98 points per game AVERAGE to get this thing done! Battier is a mainstay and yes, in his case numbers don't always tell the story he makes a lot of little plays not seen in the score sheet but, he's not afraid to take a big shot regardless and he makes FT's in the clutch. I propose this ... Hayes 10-15, Scola 25, Landry 20 (rotate 3 and 4 positions) and perhaps play some 5 in small ball situations where applicable. Understand this though, DaDa is right on. There is a BIG difference in the energy and excitement level when Scola and/or Landry come on the court. The teammates feel it and the crowd at TC feels it. With Hayes, you know what you're going to get not bad but not always good either. Hayes is a good guy but, you got to go guns blazing in this stretch run just to get in!. Plus, it would be better to have Hayes in the playoffs for when D bogs down fast break attacking styles unless match ups in the regular season dictate otherwise. If Hayes continues to struggle and continues to blow wide open layup opportunities are you kidding me that you don't make a change in the lineup? Bottom line, PT is earned not to be taken for granted. Right now, if not the very near future, Scola earns starting lineup and Landry EARNS the lions share of PT. Scola and Landry can get us back into contention and T-Mac and Yao will not have to put so much pressure on themselves to get it done! Everyone will be fresher for the all important playoff series'. This benefits the WHOLE team! This is the NBA and if you don't produce consistently, you don't play! That's how it works! Nothing personal.
You want fact: Carl Landry is currently shooting 72.7% right now with the same kind of shots that Hayes gets. Any average finisher around the rim can shoot better than Hayes and his 55% FG%. It's a matter of fact u guys refuse to admit Hayes is a below average finisher and try to argue that Hayes is fine with his finishing by citing his FG%. Anyone who watch the games know the FGAs of Hayes are mostly WIDE OPEN LAYUPS. If there is a degree of difficulties assign to FGAs, Hayes FGAs get the least degree of difficulties. An average finisher around the rim can finish those shots at 60+%
Chuck has a starting job mainly thanks to Yao Ming. Yao needs his quickness to rotate and cover, Yao covers a lot of his defense by helping, often leave his own man open. Ultimately, Yao's struggle against double team and fronting this season might do in for Chuck's job also. With Rockets' inability to knock down outside shots, and passing to beat the fronting, the offense Chuck brings often doesn't justify his starting job.
According to who? Jesus where do you get this stuff? Did you not just hear what Morey said on the radio? He considers Hayes to be a top 5 defensive player at his position. Now give me one reason why Morey would want to give someone up like that.
Wait a second ... you cite Landry, and then go on to say that therefore Hayes must be below average. This implies that Landry himself is just "average". I would disagree with that. If you want to say Hayes is a poor finisher, that's fine. But its a matter of opinion, however valid it maybe, not fact. Is that another fact? The real problem with Chuck isn't the percentage of layups he misses, it's that he can't convert away from the basket. As a result, he rarely attempts more than 4 or 5 shots a game. So, even if he shot 65% from the field compared to the 55% he'll probably end up at, how many net points does that really add to the team? If Chuck averages 25 min/g, and attempts just 3.3 field goals on average, shooting 65% instead of 55% gets you around 0.7 extra points per game. That difference is probably offset by what he brings the team on the defensive end. So, I would argue that missing layups is a secondary issue. He doesn't attempt enough of them for to to be a big deal if he hit 65% instead. Now, if he was a 40% shooter, which is more characteristic of the "offensive liabilities" around the league, then maybe percentage becomes important. The real issue, in my view, is that he just isn't capable of taking and making more shots. He isn't a guy you can get the ball to for a score unless he's open under the basket. He doesn't have the explosiveness or skill to get around and over defenders. He has no shot outside 5 feet from the basket. Even if Chuck hits 70% of his shots (as he did against Utah in the playoffs last year), his offensive limitations can still be a burden on the team. The Rockets recognize all this, I'm sure. With Scola and Landry playing better and better, Chuck probably isn't going to be a 20+ minute rotation guy for long. And, frankly, I don't have a problem with that whatsoever if Landry plays like he has. Does any of that make me an apologist?
if you think ryan bowen and chuck hayes are the "same type of player" then i think you and peter vescey are the same type of idiot. chuck hayes does SO MANY THINGS in terms of creating possessions for the team and on the ball defending. if you people think that because he can't do and one moves or hit a 3 pointer that he is useless, you are missing the point. you put landry on duncan and see what happens. chuck didn't have a great game but he did a hell of a job on duncan. i love landry, and i love scola. their skillsets contrast hayes' beautifully, and i'm all for giving landry more floor time. but to me landry is like aaron brooks. great tools, speed/athelticism and seems to be a diamond in the rough. but at the end of the day brooks can't guard chauncey billups and landry can't guard duncan. that's why hayes and skip start, not matter how badly you want to see other looks. the point is that landry just threw his hat into the election race for power forward minutes. doesn't mean anything about chuck hayes. he brings power at that position that we desperately need. if landry proves more, then he should be given more but it is premature to say that hayes should be phased out.
Hayes should not be starting and seeing significant minutes for any team in the NBA. Scola should already be starting and the rest of the minutes should go to Landry. According to the coaching staff, Landry has a nice outside shot from 15 ft out as well. Just wait until he starts utilizing that. Hayes is the odd man out. Also, I hope JVG was watching when the Rockets were playing 3 rookies against the defending world champs. JVG would've never ever done that. You don't have to go get washed up ex-NBA players from the YMCA league, because rookies can play too Mr. Van Gundy.
Who should have been starting and seeing significant minutes at PF on last year's team? Or perhaps you think we should have just played with 4 players? Just curious.
Well you are basically playing with 4 players on the offensive end with Hayes out there. Last year was unfortunate since there were no real options available other than Juwan Howard. This year you have obviously have other players who are more talented, athletic, and can score that you can go to.
So when you said that Chuck shouldn't be getting significant minutes on any NBA team, you didn't really mean that. In actuality, it depends on who else is on the team. Agreed? And how do you think the PF minutes should have been split last year?
I think Hayes days as a starter are numbered....it is an opinion.....and yes I agree that Hayes is an elite defender.... DD
No I meant what I said earlier. Chuck Hayes would be a nice third string player to have on the bench. The fact that management did not have an NBA level starting PF last year on the team is an indictment on them. However, I could care less about last year. I'm focusing on the present. If you want the Rockets to do well then you want to see Scola start and Landry be his back-up.
No Western conference team that expects to go anywhere in the playoffs could afford to start both Hayes and Shane. Scola should be getting the big minutes at the 4 with Landry off the bench and Hayes, although a great hustle player, should be in another profession.
This is such a no brainer. I like Chuck's D and rebounding sometime. However, in today's NBA you need a 4 that takes pressure off of Yao to rebound and score all of the low post points. Hayes is a tragedy on offense and on the free throw line. Our 4 spot is not defended 30 minutes a game by the leagues top power fowards who don't have worry about play Defensive. That list includes Marion, Lamar Odom, Tim Duncan, David West (rocket killer), LaMarcus Aldridge, etc... By the way these are the teams in front of us. Image them having to focus on the better outside shooting tandem of Scola and Landry. Imagine having the ability to come back down and score on them with jumpers, drives, and put backs.
