NEF... do you honestly think that he hasn't worked on his shooting? Do you think that the coaches told him.. "no Chuck your shot is fine because we don't need you to be able to shoot at all. Just protect yao... in fact why don't we just call you the Bodyguard." So he decides "Cool, I don't have to work on that anymore.. lemme see if I can add some hitch to my free throw" Think logically. Of course he's practicing it. Probably practiced it all summer long... but that doesn't mean he's going to have the confidence to do it in the game. Okay, I just wanted to let you know that I moderated this post a lot. So don't let anything I said here offend you... please just think logically. He is practicing, if he wasn't giving everything he had both in practice and on the floor, then he wouldn't be playing any minutes in the game.
seriously dude, do you think Steve played enough minutes for us to judge him?? I don't know where you got your "he can't finish around the rim", last time I checked he killed the Griz in the pre-season with his drives and he sealed off the game for us in Phoenix. did you watch Bonzi last year? what did you think of his performances? he looked like he lost everything he ever had, no postup, no focus, just plain trash.. how is he playing now?? see, now you've taken it too far.. Hayes can count 4+ games where Chuck was the main reason for our win.. suddenly, Rockets fans are turning into ESPN ANALysts that don't watch actual games and judge players by their names and fame.. Chuck is a great player, yes, a great player.. what has Juwan done for us all these years? he had a sweet shot, almost automatic, but the whole team sucked when he was on the floor.. infact, Yao didn't start to improve until Chuck Hayes took the starting job.. Power forwards aren't supposed to be good shooters, they shouldn't even think about stepping out further than 6 feet from the basket.. we don't need to play some new-styled B.S basketball, we kick it old school, that's how the game is supposed to be played.. all I care about is that Chuck takes great positions on offense, sets great picks, and finishes very effectively. combine that with his relentlessness and strength on defense, and you have yourself a great role player that doesn't get enough attention simply because he isn't flashy, he doesn't pound his chest and go apesh!t everytime he scores/makes a great defensive play.. Chuck Hayes is probably the only player that shouldn't be blamed AT ALL for our struggles.. of course, all the other players deserve to be blamed because they haven't been doing what they are supposed to do, but Chuck has done absolutely great and anyone who bashes him doesn't know basketball..
Sorry, HAYESfan, but something is dreadfully wrong if he showed up in training camp this year without a better free-throw shooting form. The man gets paid enough to hire a coach; hell, the TEAM should insist he do so. For him to have that same motion this year -- which has proven ineffective -- tells me that Chuck's hard work and hustle stops the minute he leaves practice. Work ethic, my ass.
biting my tongue... Just because I like him, doesn't mean I don't see his faults. In fact I see them more than anyone else. Do you honestly think that he enjoys being a laughingstock at the free throw line? Would you? Hell no, who would? To say, without any inside knowledge of what is going on inside the team, that he has poor work ethic is ludicrous. There's no way he gets to the NBA with all of his limitations without good work ethic.
I still don't understand all the whining about the Free-throws..yes, I laugh my a$$ off everytime Chuck shoots, and the fact that he doesn't improve his shooting technique really amazes me, but I don't think that's a major thing. the Dude does so many great things that make neglecting his FT weekness appropriate..
No offense taken. I'll give you an analogy. I'm a horrible swimmer. I probably have the world's most inefficient stroke. If I wanted to learn how to swim properly, I'd get an instructor who told me to correct my form, my stroke, etc. I wouldn't keep doing the same stupid stroke over and over again. When Hayes practices, is he doing the same bad thing over and over again? If so, he isn't practicing, he is repeating bad habits. He needs to completely revamp his shot so that he can shoot FTs and maybe even have an outside J. He should spend the summer doing this one thing and all of a sudden his value to the Rockets and as a professional basketball player goes WAY up.
your analogy makes sense, but I am pretty sure Hayes got the "instructor" and worked on FTs more than you expect.. I am not sure about this, but I remember hearing a while back that they weren't gonna work on changing his technique because he is comfortable with it.. as with the "politically correct" basketball instructors, the rule of thumb is if you are comfortable with a stroke, you shouldn't change it (a la Reggie Miller) .. I have to disagree with this philosophy, because if you're shooting horribly with your technique and it's fundamentally wrong (unlike Reggie Miller), you should change it.. oh by the way, Desmond Mason has a horribly ugly hitch in his shot (even worse than Chuck's), but he hasn't changed his shooting technique and I believe he is shooting a little better now (too lazy to check stats), this of course doesn't explain Chuck maintaining his ugly shot, but it kinda puts things in perspective..
You're right, and I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. Still, Shaq can refuse to improve his free-throw form because it's pretty much his *only* limitation (apart from the influence of Father Time, obviously). Hayes, on the other hand, should be doing everything in his power to cement his place in the NBA. What *I* find ludicrous is the idea that Hayes thinks that his unconventional approach at the line is somehow better than the standard approach used by 99% of the players on the planet. And if he doesn't think that, then no matter how much effort he's putting into changing, he should be putting more -- 'cause he's worse at it now than he's been at any point in his entire pro and college careers.
Who cares about free throws and jumpers, if Chuck Hayes could learn to make a LAY-UP, the team would be much better off.
Magic, Kenny and the broadcast crew ridiculed Hayes' FT attempts. "How long has he been playing basketball?" was a comment echoing one of ours here I believe. They even played it on the highlights after the game. I'm sorry, that is simply not NBA basketball. I could expect that kind of performance at a barbecue with random friends *who have never played basketball*, not in the NBA. The problem with that kind of FT shooting is that it pumps up the other team. The Denver players were laughing. The crowd was going wild. I'm sure Hayes and the whole Rockets' team were humiliated. What should be a swing in momentum to us (a flagrant foul call) turns into a momentum builder for them.
He's 7-8 in the last 3 games (all losses). He shot 71% in the playoffs a year ago. This concept that Chuck can't hit a layup is kind of absurd, as is the idea that his missed field goals are largely responsible for the losses. It's not his misses that hurt our offense (how many of them are there per game, maybe 2?). It's his inability to create or shoot outside of 5 feet. And his lack of confidence at the free throw line. I think Chuck could shoot 80% from the field and it wouldn't have an appreciable impact on our win total. He just doesn't shoot enough for it to matter that much.
Here is what I don't like to see with regard to tempo. Rafer takes the ball up the floor. Every other player besides Yao is just standing around the three point line not moving (McGrady is often just standing 3 feet beyond the arc just watching Rafer lazily). Meanwhile Yao is in a battle for his life down low trying to get post position. I don't see any motion, everyone knows what we are going to do. Either dump it in to Yao, which results in a turnover 1/3 of the time when we can't get it in to him. Or give it to Tracy 5 feet beyond the arc to create for himself. Here he either gets trapped up high by two defenders, or settles for a rise up jump shot which hasn't been falling lately. Where is this motion offense I keep hearing about?
It makes me sad, but I tend to agree with you. The thing is, when he came off the bench, he played well and under control for the most part. When he got the start, he just went cuckoo. I think he has more to offer than just his shooting. He cuts very well, he makes good entry passes *most* of the time. He is beginning to settle down a little more, but still makes his 2 or so stupid plays a game. Oh and THIS team is in need of a perimeter shooter. Chuck is a tough one. He gets sooo many lose balls, and the couple of layups a game. Besides that, it's very hard ot make a case for him. I think you need to look at his backup to realize why he's getting the minutes he does. I very much like the idea of TMac feeding off the other players. Let them set him up. They CAN, they just mess up once and decide not to try anymore. My NBA 2K8 starting line up is: Alston Head/James/Francis Tracy Battier Yao The issue here is we HAVE to be a fast team to utilize the smaller players so that being undersized at the 4 doesn't hurt us too much. I actually don't mind us taking quick shots. The "fast" teams out there play very much that style. As long as you aren't taking fast shots after missing all game I think there are times to pound it down low, and times to just take open shots. At times we struggle just to get off a good shot.
Chuck is great ...as a backup. He's just not an NBA starter. Scola was our hope to replace him and we all thought Scola had enough pro experience that he'd surpass Chucky by now. But Scola is struggling to adjust still. #2: Somebody has to start consistntly hitting open 3's. (hello Shane). #3: TMac is amazing but I don't beleive anymore he has a winners mentality. Morey, trade him before his back flares up again esp if you get good value in return. We need at least one "bulldog" player in return who's a starter. No more nice guys.
