This dude is freakishly athletic. He and Wood just have to do it by committee right now, just like McGee and Dwight did, just in a slightly different way.
i was surprised during the game at how well he moved when he got switched onto guards. we should find ways to use that, and i wonder if that's why ham keeps trying to pair him with wood. problem is they're both more comfortable defending from the 4 position. roster's still missing someone who can play the 5 on defense for 12-15mpg as necessary.
Yeah, he looked pretty agile and comfortable out there with the assignment. Damn, if only there would have been a grizzlied vet who fit that description out there on the market this summer.
He wouldn't play that many minutes here. The game has changed, teams want bigs that can switch out on perimeter players now. The old school bangers are becoming a relic of the past. Even the 5's capable of banging insides like Jokic and Embiid, like to handle the ball on the perimeter and shoot 3"s. You would think that a defensive coach like Vogel would appreciate that kind of big, but even Phoenix went in another direction in that regards.
i get it, but one of our big issues with denver is that we need 10-15mpg of someone who keeps jokic from being a post threat. if you don't have a single big who can muscle a guy off his preferred post spot, it's a roster weakness, imo. even if you only plan on using that guy sparingly. it's like a hockey goon or something.
No doubt it's better to have and don't need, than the opposite. We'll see if we end up looking for one.
Definitely helped with his D and energy at the start of the 4th, but Ham kept him in for too long. I can't help but feel at this point that Hayes and Wood are similar. We could do with a big that can generate some offense when AD is not there.
Well I expect he will play more on Monday especially given the matchup. Loved his energy and he's been surprisingly good every time we've played him. More minutes for...hayes?
Had some momentum when the game was in the books... even broke out the mid range J. overall, why give him the minutes if you don't know how to use him? 2 rolling actions in 6 games? After the weak side lob, that's probably his most effective move in his arsenal. Watching him play is quite the roller coaster. There's a lot of the No no no... yes! possessions from him.
the hoop iq just hasn't quite caught up. it's always a race with these athletic bigs--can they learn the strategy/angles and get the reps to improve the intuition before the springs fade? he's still quite young. been watching some of lively in dallas, and i really think just having tyson chandler around and in his ear has been really useful in his development. hayes needs something like that. his game's a little different, though--he's a little smaller and a little quicker than chandler/lively types.
He wanted to get out of this one as quickly as possible. to the degree he was fouling at a rate of a foul a minute through his first four. Wasn't even waiting until the defensive end, he opted for the moving screen route. Fouled out in 13 minutes. Good job Jax. Castleton could've done better.
if we make no other trades, my guess is we pay a protected 2nd for someone to take hayes into space or an exception to get us under the tax.
