Hayes, in his fifth season out of Kentucky, is a product of his own grit, but also representative of the league’s evolution. Quick, penetrating guards are benefiting from the league’s ban on defensive hand-checking, and teams have relied more on pick-and-rolls to create defensive mismatches. In response, some organizations have placed an emphasis on unearthing those players who could best defend in that situation.
Among centers, the traditional prototype would be a ceiling-touching player capable of blocking shots and erasing defensive mistakes. Hayes is the next advancement in that lineage. His lateral quickness allows him to guard smaller players during picks and move swiftly enough to defend weakside penetration.
I also found this amusing:
Writing in TrueHoop, Kevin Arnovitz describes DeJuan Blair’s task at center next to three guards and small forward Richard Jefferson as an “almost Hayes-ian load”, hopefully giving birth to the newest modifier in our lingua franca.
That’s a pretty hefty, almost Hayes-ian load on both ends for a 6-6 rookie drafted in the second round. But from the first tip, Blair controlled the interior.
The postseason is where reputation is earned. If the Houston Rockets can push someone to 7, or even make their way to round 2, Hayes has a chance to enter next season as something of an icon, in my humble opinion.