JVG hates turnovers. Spanoulis is a TO machine. Its bad enough with Yao and TMAC. No more turnovers!!!
This is true, but I still see Hayes as one of these 15-20 minute type of players. That's just how I see it. He plays aggressive, hard and he's a foul machine. It's extremely tough for physical big men like that to consistently stay on the floor for more than 15 to 20 minutes. But I don't have a knock on him for that as long as he produces along with the fouls. He doesn't have to play nearly as well as tonight in all, just give that same effect for those 15 to 20 minutes. The problem is the other 28-33 minutes at Pf and Battier needs to be at SF not PF. So I really would like to see the Rockets get that starting PF with Hayes and Novak for shooting combo available off the bench. But I guess that's not happening this year, which probably means no chance to really compete for the title. Which is why I am still hopinh Novak can improve his D enough to play 15 to 20 minutes himself. Then the PF spot would possibly be adequate for a deep run.
The problem with these type players & situations is that they need to play in order to improve their play. And Chuck is starting to learn and apply his lessons. Novak is sitting because of one bad defensive effort and his growth will be stunted and the team will be hurt. Ditto VSpan. Someone buy JVG some new glasses so he can see what is right in front of him. Oh wait, it's not glasses he needs, it's a new viewpoint! I agree with the point made earlier about playing Chuck more last season; Chuck could have progressed much more if he would have been given some steady playing time the last 2 months of last season. But wait, JVG was trying to work us out of the Lottery so we would have a crummy 1st round pick and not land Battier. It is interesting watching someone who cannot adapt to new situations quickly coach people who he expects to learn new lessons and adapt to new situations quickly. And my prediction is no fresh legs tomorrow night - more short sighted leadership. Dead team by the 4th quarter.
I am thinking that the increased offense outweighs the bad defense when it comes to novak. but either way novak is a coach's son and will improve dramatically after 2 years. hayes I like alot however. and he will keep improving his offensive game... look for his points to go up after benefiting from double teams on yao and tmac. he's been under that basket so much it's very convenient.
LOL ... so true. I still haven't forgot JVG kept saying "we were in desperate need of a shooter" before the Rockets drafted Novak. Now we've got ourselves a shooter, a pure one if you will. JVG is so friggin' unforgiving on rookie mistakes yet he allows vets making same mistakes over and over again. One other thing is putting Juwan Howard along with Yao on the court at same time. The past +/- stats showed Yao-Howard produced the worst results of any pair. I don't know if moneyball Morey the stats GM has ever pointed this out to JVG.
Novak will eventually get the minutes. JVG isn't stupid; I'm sure he knows what he has. As fans, we can nitpick his decisions based on whether our favorite players are getting X minutes a game. But it's not his job to make sure some players are getting a certain amount of minutes. He needs to coach to win, depending on what the game situation dictates. The reason Novak is having a tough time getting minutes under Van Gundy isn't simply his lack of rebounding and man defense. His team defense has been very poor. And in the Rockets defensive system, having strong team defense at the PF position is essential. That's why Swift couldn't get much time last year, and why Van Gundy was willing to play Howard so much (the guy understands our defensive system, where to be, when to help, etc.). Novak isn't a dumb player, though. He'll eventually learn it, and when he does Van Gundy will start playing him.
Yao gets more rebounds per minute Yao holds opposition to less rebounds Yao nets more plus rebounds and plus possesions Yao nets more rebounds per possession on legit available rebounds as well as per minute Mutombo is even better than Yao If you didn't know this already perhaps you are not quite fully nearly the self acclaimed "stats guru" you thought you were.
You know the other night when the Rockets were playing the Hornets, Matt Bullard generously called one of Howard's lazy fouls a "veteran move."
I'm not talking about Morey's geek stats or fantasy fan boy stats and when I say per minute I'm not referring to actual boards. I'm talking about converted plus rebounds per possession based on reasonable rebound oppurtunities. Durvasa loves to make commens here like "stats the coaches use" well the coaches don't use stats crap like Hollinger ratings or crap like Morey geek ratings or crap like 82games.com ratings they use something simple like a rebound that should have been gotten was it or was it not? If not did the opposition get it? THIS is the REAL and ONLY type of stat that matters and it pisses off those that actually understand the game when these other worthless stats are shoved in your face with all the condescending and arrogant know it all end all be all tone attached to it no less. Which goes back exactly to the point that tipping rebounds out to teamates is a big no no but "stats gurus" will claim Battier doing so is a "plus"
You didn't actually cite a source for any of your "stats". And ... This is blatantly false. Last season Yao averaged 11.9 rebounds per 40 minutes. Before this game against Memphis, Yao averaged 10.3 rebounds per 40 minutes (and now it's 9.7). Hayes averaged 13.4 rebounds per 40 minutes, and before the Memphis game was averagin 12.5 this season (and now, it's 14.1). Did you just make that up? Do you have evidence for anything you say?
Coaches do look at +/-. No sane person bases decisions solely on them, but coaches definitely make use of them. Here's the problem. The "real and only type of stat" you're talking about doesn't exist for public consumption. If it was available, sure it would be more informative. But we have to make good with data that's available and our own observations from watching the game. One extreme is to solely rely on the data and not consider information or context that can only be understood though observaton. The other extreme is to call all the stats "worthless" and only go by what you watch without consulting any quantitative record. That doesn't work either because you're bound to miss something that's important because you were focusing on something else. Also, some things simply are difficult to register without referring to stats (could you tell the difference between a 76% free throw shooter and a 78% free throw shooter over the course of a season without looking at the stats?). Neither is the correct approach.
I'll take a double-double every 4th game from Hayes...because you know he's going to have 8 rebounds, solid D and set good screens for 24-28 minutes the other games. He like his teammates will get better as the season progresses but his play has not been bad thus far this year. I'd rather have his defense starting and Kirk's spark off the bench. Relax about Novak...he's going to continue to play and make 3's along with other mistakes...he'll be solid after about 30 games in (a college season) and will have even better contributions.
bottom line. Chuck Hayes showed last night why he deserves to start at this point in the year, with the personell we have.
It's good to see that in his first two 20+ minute starts, he's gotten double digit rebounds. I expected his rebound rate to decrease a bit this season with more minutes, but the very early returns show that it has slightly increased. If he can just manage to stay on the court by not fouling and play within in his limits on offense, I believe his contributions will be strong. NBA personal coach David Thorpe, an ESPN contributor, said the following in a chat today:
I think Chuck will get better as the season goes along. I watched him get rebound after rebound last night. Always in a good position to just get the ball. He plays well with Yao. Remember , this is only his second season. He also had some nice put backs too. He is definitely a JVG player. He just needs to get a little smarter about his fouls.
Chuck Hayes may be my favorite player on the team. Don't know for certain, because I never really thought about favorite players, but how can you not like this guy. And maybe I'm being a little optimistic, but could Chuck Hayes become a Dennis Rodman type player? Of course you're thinking I'm crazy, but consider this. In Rodman's first season, he averaged 15 mpg, 4.3 rpg, 6.5 ppg. In Hayes' first season, he averaged 13.4 mpg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 ppg. In Rodman's second season, he averaged 26.2 mpg, 8.7 rpg, 11.6 ppg In Hayes second season, he is averaging 18.3 mpg, 6.5 rpg, 5.0 ppg Obviously, Rodman's got him beat in year 2 so far, but it's only been 4 games, and what's more, Chucky's only played over 20 mpg in the last two, where his averages are 10.5 rpg and 8 ppg. I guess in reality I can't see him approaching Rodman's level of play, because although he was also undersized (listed 6'8, many say 6'6), Rodman was such an awesome one-on-one defender, and Chuck isn't yet, and won't get the consistent minutes until he is. I do think it's clear though that he is a superior rebounder. Give him at least 25 mpg, and Chuck will get you 10 rpg, or really close. And as good as he is at finding that perfect lane to roll down, 8-10 points wouldn't be out of the question. Personally, at this point, I see no reason why Hayes shouldn't keep starting and getting 20-30 mpg.
