I hope no one here was surprised by Hayes' play! He did it numerous times, and he did it in big time as a Rockets. I saw him stop KG, stop Dirk, stop West...he stops almost everybody. Hayes is solid like a rock. You know Yao can miss a key shot down the stretch, you know Artest can screw up a post play, you know Brooks can suddenly loss his mind, but you know Hayes is going to deliver: he will stop his man. I remember once he stopped KG 3 or 4 times in a single possession. Too often you won't see anything in the box score for Hayes. He is short, not athletic yet he finds ways to help the team. His plays are so inspiring that sometimes they bring tears to my eyes. During the season at the trade deadline, Hayes was in the mix of a package which really pissed me off. I would only give up Hayes for a solid starter from the other team, but you know in those talks Hayes was only an addon. I am so glad that in this season, you see Hayes started a little post move to get into the offense. If he can score a couple, I wish Hayes can get more minutes. Go Hayes! Go Rockets!
Laughing?? I was livid!! Okay maybe not, but you should have heard me in chat.. i was like.. are you kidding me? Someone needs to get Doug a stat sheet that says why Chuck has a job in the NBA... it ain't his Free Throw shooting!!! I love how taller players continually try to post Chuck up.. thinking they have a mis-match... only to have Chuck embarrass them.
What I love about Chuck is how he lets opponents play right into his hands. It happens time and time again, and each time it is always just as satisfying to watch. Opposing big man sees Chuck Hayes and thinks "this guy's only 6' 5, I'll just take him on the low block and get an easy two points." And then they try. Pound, pound, pound, pound. The harder they try, the more they are thrown off their rhythm, and the more out of sync the offense gets. And then after about five seconds of pounding, they throw up a badly missed hook shot. Mission accomplished. Adande's description is fitting -- he's like a tree stump: short yet unmovable. And despite his height, he has the wingspan to successfully contest shots made by much taller players. It's fun watching perimeter players fall into the same trap. The Rockets switch on a pick and roll, and the 2-guard's eyes light up thinking he has a speed mismatch with Chuck Hayes. Not so.
I was thinking about the same thing. When was the last time some post player gave Chuck trouble? His victim list includes Dirk, Blooser, KG, Gasol, and you can go on from here. Not sure about TD though.
My favorite play of the game was when Bynum was on the left block against Chuck. Bynum tries the shaq dribble backdown... brick wall. Shoulder.... brick wall. Other shoulder.... brick wall. Throw up Brick.... Rockets ball. AWESOME.
Chuck is so freaking strong. Bynum couldn't back him down in the low post last night and threw up a turnaround air ball. Only if he's a little taller with better offensive skills, he could drop some bombs.
I think it actually helps our team that Chuck is so short. Opposing big men always try to go at him as if it's easier to score on him than Landry or Scola.
Great thread. Chuck was fantastic on in the 2nd Q last night. His post defense is absolutely unreal. It makes you wonder how much film these guys actually watch...
I don't think we will ever trade Chuck Hayes. We still need a decent backup center, but I expect Chuck to get spot minutes, regardless.
Awesome thread. He definitely had the world's most underrated "6 minutes, 3 rebounds, 0 points" statline that you will ever see.
My favorite play was when he outjumped/outmuscled a Laker for the ball. The Laker fell down and Chuck gets the offensive rebound.
don't underestimate chuck hayes' impact on a game. he fuels our offensive runs with his defence. an offensive run requires that you score and they do not. hayes takes care of one end of that, surely. also, i can't imagine what it must be like trying to push yao around, and then when you see hayes, you think, oh, he is little, this is going to be easy. Wrong. lol. and also, could you imagine playing against the intensity of scola, battier, artest, and then you think you get a break, and then you get hayes and landry. hayes as much as anyone is the heart of this team.
Nice find durvasa funny Adande writes a slurp article I heard him on LA radio just before the game started the Lakers would win i five (which is still a possibility of course) but that they would win game 1 in easy fashion and that they would win the first 3 game of the series in a cake walk.
As someone who admittedly has been disappointed about Chuck's play this year, and has said as much in threads on this board, I have to respond in this thread. Great Job Chuck! That's the Chuckwagon of old. First of all...no fouls! Chuck's defense this year has taken a step back because he's reached a little too much and been a step slower than in past years, resulting in him taking a lot of (sometimes stupid) fouls. In the 2 losses to Portland (games 2 and 5, he played 21 minutes and committed 6 fouls). So the defense was there, without the fouls. Second...rebounding is back! In 32 minutes against Portland, he had all of 7 rebounds, all but 1 defensive. In his 6 minutes last night, he pulled in 3 boards, 2 of which were offensive. He's already outdone himself vs the first round on offensive rebounding. What about those quick hands? Against Portland, 0 steals the whole series. Game 1 against LA, 1 steal already. And of course, the plus minus stat: Game 1 Portland = -1 Game 2 Portland = +4 Game 3 Portland = -3 Game 4 Portland = -4 Game 5 Portland = -6 Game 6 Portland = -4 Game 1 Lakers = +3...but really +5 since he was -2 in the final 18 seconds of the 1st half when he got subbed in for Yao to play defense and keep Yao from picking up foul 3 and the whole possesion was pretty much Kobe-time. I can truly, honestly say that I was disappointed when Chuck got taken out of the game in the 2nd. For good reason, too. Chuck, Carl and Artest got replaced by Yao, Scola and Shane and the Lakers preceded to go on a 4-0 run over the next couple of minutes. Keep it up Chuck!
I remember doing a double take when he said that. WTF? The man might be the single best defender in the entire NBA. I would love to see someone create a video montage containing all of the plays over the course of this season when an All-Star caliber big man tried to back down Chuck....and didn't move. I just want Chuck to get some damn credit, damnit. He's not a good defender. Even the analysts that give him respect (save for JVG), describe him as a "tough" defender or a "gritty" defender. He's not good, damnit. This guy is elite. This guy is Bill Russell in Charles Barkley's body. It cannot be emphasized enough - when Chuck Hayes is in the game, the opposing power forward does not score. He doesn't "slow guys down." That's what great defenders do, they slow guys down. Chuck Hayes doesn't slow anyone down - he completely impedes them from scoring. Please give Chuck Hayes his damn credit.
Chuck played awesome defense on their bigs. He also contested Kobe's shot to end the half pretty well. Is anyone even surprised by what he brings to the table anymore? I smile everytime someone starts to post him up because I know it's going to be a miss.
