The Rockets are built for a trade (imagine that), but the new amnesty scheme will really hurt Morey's leverage. You have to wonder if the owners were thinking about the Rockets fleecing the Knicks when they cooked up the idea of every team getting a Get Out Of Jail Free card.
The son from the Cosby Show? Anyway, if you want to know why we have so many PFs, you just have to notice that only one of them is white and he's foreign. Clearly we have so many PFs because Morey is racist.
He gets everything he can out of his game, plays hard all the time, and works his tail off, but on a good team, he is a situational role player a defensive stopper, not a starter. DD
This is just one example of an undersized Post player that would consistenly outperform a mediocre to bad 7ft center in ALL post defensive qualities. We are taking shot blocking out of the equation and looking at all attributes. *(and you are very wrong if you think that Thabeet could perform as effective as Chuck at rebounding, lateral foot speed, rotations, assignments in defensive sets, and most of all lower body strength. Post defense is mostly about being able to hold your own space in the paint than anything. Lower body strength is very important.) So I guess you want more examples of good natural PF's, based on height, that consistenly would outperform a majority of NBA 7 ft. Centers in all aspects of post defense. Udonis Haslem vs. Fesenko Kevin Love vs. Ian Mahinmi Oldschool Otis Thorpe Vs Scott Williams Dennis Rodman Vs. Shawn Bradley -just to compare a few similar relative comparisons away from Chuck Vs. Thabeet/or a Center the Rockets could get off the top of my head.
However, in our quest to rate the effectiveness of the charge we are overlooking all the layups given up because there is no fear of driving into the lane and getting a layup. There is no shot blocker, no one that even bothers a guy over 6'6" tall.....while we can play good position defense, we need a shotblocker or the THREAT of the shot being blocked to cover up for the layup line given up by all our perimeter defenders and Scola. In fact, there is not a single guy in our lineup that can stay in front of their man on a consistent basis outside of Hayes who has a quickness advantage. Lowry - bulldog but gets beaten a lot in one on one because of slow lateral reaction time. Martin - Worst defender on the team CBud - Channeling his inner Martin Scola - Just not quick enough laterally on D This team may be more in need of a shot blocking presence than any team in the history of the NBA. DD
I do not think he's overrated at all on this board. The fact that he is labeled as strickly a guy who just works harder than most just discounts every other attribute he has on the court. I dont claim to be the biggest Chuck Hayes fan in the world, but you cant just totally discount every skill and physical attribute he has to defend the post consistently just because he is lacking height. The fact is, he gets the job done more effectively than the majority of the Centers that the Rockets could obtain. Not a top tier center mind you.
He can defense players with back to the basket games very well - no doubt.... But he is what he is....a great post defender and lousy offensive player.... Hopefully we can get a starter quality level 2 way player.... DD
Bottom line, the Rockets just aren't that talented, not enough height and athleticism. What makes the roster attractive to other general managers is that none of the players are grossly overpaid (by NBA standards), but the new amnesty rule will diminish their value even further. The Morey way isn't working and will probably have even less success now that badly run teams are voting themselves nice fat loopholes, so they can magically undo their own self inflicted mistakes. Let's rebuild the old fashioned way, trade our vets for future picks and start counting the lottery balls.
And comes at a very competitive price, gives his all to the team, is a great locker-room guy, provides defensive leadership on the floor, and has kept the team in games it had no business being in. As a side note, tanking isn't the only way to win. Dallas didn't tank to win their ring last year.
And here is my point. dobro believes that an undersized, but extremely good PF is better than a 7 ft center who sucks in every aspect of the game besides blocking. The point is not whether Hasheem Thabeet can rebound if he's given minutes, it's that a guy who only knows how to block shot would be a lot less useful to a team than a shorter player who does everything else much much better. So you would rather have a player who could only block shots and nothing else over a shorter player who could do every aspect of the game better? And don't underestimate the charge. Yes, I myself prefer block. But the charge is equally game changing. The charge can literally halt an opposing team's momentum, can change the gameplan of the opposing team, and is equally as valuable as block. Battier drawing a charge on Kobe is the difference between him playing the first quarter and sitting out the first quarter.
A defensive stopper is good quality to be a starter. Dennis Rodman was a starter and I think Chuck is even better offensively.
It really doesnt matter....Thats what Im sayin.. Neither is what I would prefer if Im tryin to build a playoff contending team... But to answer, I would still pick the shot-blocker.. His ability to alter shots throughout the game is more valuable than a few charges per game... Now I understand how some people are overly optimistic about our current team... Sad to say, its a setup for disappointment later... I want Thabeet in the game rather than Chuck Hayes at this point... Hayes will play great D and have his moments, but if we are .500, I'd be surprised.. Thabeet will either give us hope for the future or give us more pingpong balls for Andre Drummond... Playing Thabeet is a win/win in terms of the franchise's future...
Rodman had more talent around him too.. He could focus on his strengths rather than work on his offense... Comparing Chuck's impact to Rodman's is utterly ridiculous.. Rodman was a missing piece to a team with championship aspirations.. Chuck is the missing piece to fill out a starting 5... I like Chuck but..... Steven A. says it best...STOP IT!!!
Chuck Hayes is a very difficult player to rate. I have no problem with him as a backup center as the Rockets actually do well with him in the game. I could see him being the backup PF as well. Ideally, he's the type of player that comes off the bench, but he is good enough to be a championship team's worst starter.
If Patterson progresses, we might be able to put out a Patterson-Hayes lineup. Pat protects the rim and Chucl guards plays defense in the post.
