NY Times - At 6-6, Rockets’ Chuck Hayes Is the Mite in the Middle

Kurt Rambis of the T-Wolves had something to say about Chuck too:

 

Only he is 5-6inches taller...

 

22 posts and no HayesFan...

Chuck had an offensive explosion yesterday- and wasn't given much credit on the BBS for it. Not only did he do a solid job on Al, but he scored 10 and rebounded 15. Also had a crazy move gracefully dashing to the basket, dribbling behind his back, spinning through the lane, then completing it with a rafer floater. Impressive stuff for the Chuckwagon.

 

It was 17 rebounds. Man his stat line was crazy, 10 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. Damn, I love the chuckwagon.

 

I wish chuck was 4 inches longer...

 

Al Jefferson is one of the best scoring centers in the league today (compared favorable to Olajuwon. Even going head to head against Yao, he has walked off the court with at least 30+. Chuck Hayes held hm to just 26, not great but for a player of Jefferson's skill and class, it shows Hayes is one strong defender.

 

26 pts on 26 shots. thats usually good if you ask me. sure big AL was near his fg% for the season (46.1% against chuck compared to 47.9% on season) but chuck was able to keep Al off the FT line. Al only shot 3 fts and took 26 shots? thats great if you ask me. normally a center who puts up 26 shots will probably get to the line at least 8-12 times as well

 

What I love about Chuckwagon this season is he's actually looking for a shot occasionally! That hook shot or cutting to the rim. Granted, sometimes he's getting it stuffed, but he's looking! They don't expect it.

"NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!"

 

Its actually 27 shots, including the shooting foul. And he did it in 50 minutes of action. Considering that he'll usually play maybe 35 minutes, I would look at it more like 18 points in 18 shots. Not a particularly good scoring game for him.

 

And Chuck wasn't always on him... I think Jefferson did better with others on him than he did with Chuck.

 

He would have had a chance at a Triple Double had they not froze him out in the 4th. In the 3rd, he racked up assists by hitting the open man and had a few of those slick passes. Then, in the 4th, they wouldn't give him the ball, he never touched it except for when he had to go fetch that loose ball and then make that crazy layup.

What boggles my mind is that he will make 1 or 2 of those ridiculous passes and Bullard will be talking about how good of a passer he is. Then he won't touch the ball for the next 25 possessions all the while Rick Adelman is content to let Trevor Ariza stumble around the court or Aaron Brooks jack up 3 pointers from the parking lot. He should easily be averaging 5 apg in this system if they give him the ball.

And The Rockets stats guys fudged him again. They gave him a bunch of turnovers. 1 on the Brooks pass that HE lost out of bounds and again when Battier threw it over Chuck's head. They just didn't want to give Brooks the TO.

They also gave him a couple of blocks instead of the steal, and then missed a couple of blocks that he actually got. I still don't subscribe to the theory that those strips should be counted as blocks just because the player was in the act of shooting. I mean really, the player could just as easily pass the ball out of the same move and if the ball is that low, it's a steal in my book. And I gauran-****ing-tee you that if it was a guard that was high in the league in steals, they would credit that player a steal, not a block.

 

I know. They both thrive on good defense. That's the strong part of their game.

Sometimes the Rockets have scoring droughts because having Hayes and Battier out there together doesn't bring much offense. But, the reward of having them together out there is that they both are great defenders and they help guide the rest of the players out there on the court to play defense as well.

Chuck is the captain of the Rockets defense. Shane is his backup. They work well together and they both help other Rockets players on their defensive game also.

 

Chuck is one of our best guys, this article makes me realized that how hard it was for him to be the 'chuckwagon' that he is right now. Undrafted, 10-day contract, waived, failed to pass physical examination, 'the charge' in 2007 playoffs, and now, our captain. way to go, chuck!

 

Chucks is the best defender I have ever seen against Kevin Garnett. That alone qualifies him as untradeable.

 

I didn't need to post...

there's nothing in this thread I have to say that hasn't already been said

Let the Chucky love continue.