Determined, imperfect, ambitious, downtrodden. These words describe Chuck Hayes. Chuck Hayes is the Houston Rockets.

To make things timely, the beloved Hayes is a free agent, meaning there’s a decent chance he’s already played his last game as a Rocket—but is re-signing him a no-brainer? Does it even qualify as probable? The words used to describe both Hayes and the Rockets organization are both positive and negative, creating the reasonable question of whether or not Hayes represents the type of team Houston wants to be, and whether or not that type of team is capable of snaking its way through postseason roadblocks year after year. Hayes is the league’s everyman, the fan favorite of fan favorites. People/paying customers will always hold a special place in their hearts for gritty players who don’t complain and prove triumphant when facing enormous odds and obstacles, and nobody exemplifies that more than Hayes. His work ethic and compliant attitude make him a coach’s dream, and as a 6’6″ center who faces a nightly uphill battle no matter the opponent, he’s actually fared quite well for himself.

It’s kinda cool to have guys like that on your team, who you know won’t give up, who will valiantly fight until the 48th minute. But after a while doesn’t it get tiresome watching them come up short just enough times to cause serious heartbreak in the end? Is rooting for high character hustlers who lose more often than win more fun than rooting for “I make everything look easier than breathing” villains who win more often than lose? Winning, in the end, means more than anything else. It’s the penthouse factor that at the end of the year, season, and day, hovers above all else.

To believe Hayes can’t play in the league is incorrect. Ask any front line player currently signed to a contender if he’d welcome Hayes as a complimentary piece and he’d surely agree, citing a major reduction in workload as a primary reason. On the opposite side of the spectrum, players who set phenomenal examples like Hayes look very attractive to general managers sitting at the helm of young, inexperienced, awful teams, dragging themselves through an arduous rebuilding process. Teams like Minnesota (reuniting him with Rick Adelman), Golden State, Boston, or Los Angeles would be a snug fit. They’re means are different, but they share an end: Improving as a team. The good teams would use him as an extra grappling hook, helping steady themselves as they cling to the top of the mountain. The other would employ him as a Nepalese Sherpa guiding them through the initial, upward hike.

On a middling team like Houston, that’s slowly regressing while simultaneously looking to get over a hump they’ve now been facing for a few years, Hayes is an ornament. Good to have around, a positive force on your side, but now that he’s been overly exposed to the world as an undervalued player, ironically, his stock has gone down. Chuck Hayes can do one thing at an elite level (defend in the low post), and even in that area he’s yet to prove he can do it for over 35 minutes a night on a consistent basis. Come the new season, after he signs the first guaranteed long term contract of his career, Hayes’ price tag won’t accurately reflect his production. For the wrong team—and I believe Houston falls in this category—he’ll have become a distorted commodity. To re-sign him would be a stagnant move; it would tie up money in a player who can only go so far as to help a team win basketball games. Hayes isn’t the complacent type, but he has a clear as night ceiling hanging above his head in regards to his ability, and right now the Rockets are stacking themselves with players capable of making quick improvements.

“If a team wants to win, pick up Hayes. He does all the intangible things that don’t appear on the stat sheet. Every team needs a player of his caliber.”

Nothing against Chuck Hayes, but this statement, made by his agent Calvin Andrews, is ludicrous. Hayes excels in doing the little things that have long been overlooked by casual NBA observers. But to say he’s synonymous with winning basketball games might be a slight overstatement. Yes there are many things that occur in basketball which don’t show up on a stat sheet (the sightless statistic is firmly in vogue right now, at a convenient time for Hayes to enter free agency), but let’s not discount all the things that do. The things Chuck Hayes isn’t great at, like shooting, dribbling, and passing.

Chuck Hayes, the person, is a winner in my book, as he should be in everyone who’s ever seen him grab a rebound. Can the same be said about Chuck Hayes, the player?

Twitter: @ShakyAnkles

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The Chuck Wagon No.44 Tee

Push for the Playoffs 2011 Tee

Given the recent success of the Houston Rockets as well as of one of the fan-favorite players, Chuck Hayes, we thought it would be fitting (pun intended) to produce two new designs for the fans out there. These are both available at the NinetyFourStore.

Enjoy!

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At the same time, we’ve reduced the prices as much as we could across the board and added a few products for the ladies.

To summarize, prices are now as follows:

Standard Tee: $11.99

Woman’s Tee: $11.99

Heavyweight Tee: $16.99

AA Tee: $20.99

Please revisit the site and let us know what you think of the revised  costs: http://ninetyfourstore.spreadshirt.com/

Or just click on the image below:

As always, thanks for bearing with us on this new endeavor.

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Bleed Red on white background

Red94 Vintage Crest

Ketchup & Mustard - The retro Rockets color scheme

Chuck Hayes, The Immovable Object

Battier - Minister of Defense

Scola - Hecho en Argentina

Detail image of the Scola design

At the storefront, we have created a number of products with each of these designs. Please review them closely and take a look specifically at the type of shirt it is being printed on, namely: “Heavyweight T-Shirt”, “Men’s AA Tee” and “Men’s Muscle Tee”. Each of these has a different price point. Also, on the detailed description page of each product there is a size chart noting the width and height relative to the size.

Heavyweight T-Shirt

The heavyweight is a classic-cut tee for men made of 100% cotton, the brand being either Gildan or Fruit of the Loom.

Men’s AA Tee

The Men’s AA shirt is actually an “American Apparel” brand tee. This shirt is known for its quality, comfort (it’s really soft) and fit and for that reason is more expensive to print. The shirt runs slightly smaller in general than the heavyweight, so please take that into consideration when making your size selection.

Men’s Muscle Tee

This one is self-explanatory. It is a sleeveless standard weight tee – one more likely to be taken to the gym or court.

In the Works

We’re currently working on expanding the storefront further in the near future. This expansion will not only cover additional designs, but also cater to the female audience by offering woman’s cut tees. Please be patient while we make these adjustments.

Enjoy!

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The Rockets plan to pick up the option on the final season of Hayes’ contract, a person with knowledge of the decision said Friday, keeping Hayes, 26, from becoming a free agent. The move indicates as much about the Rockets’ thinking in general as about Hayes and the one season and $2.334 million remaining on his contract.

Obviously a no-brainer.  At $2.3million, Hayes is one of the best bargains in the league.

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Matt Moore flirted with the shot blocked stat earlier this year in this very space but his love affair phased out as the season went on.  It’s a shame really because %Blkd awareness has plummeted ever since.  What is %Blkd? It’s the percentage of a player’s shots that get blocked.  Simple enough.  Although, it’s not to be confused by Basketball-Reference’s handy BLK% which calculates the flipside for the defender.

%Blkd is so simple that it feels like we should have had this information all along.   We make a big deal out of blocks for defenders but we ignore the other side of the ball.  Luckily, Hoopdata began publishing this data this season for the swat hungry masses.

via Hardwood Paroxysm.

Very informative post over at Hardwood Paroxysm that reveals, among other things, some very interesting findings about Houston Rockets forwards Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry.

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My favorite theme from last night’s contest was the dynamic between friends, a story familiar to every one of us.  We all have that acquaintance regarding whom we boldly proclaim that we “know every one of his moves” prior to engaging in battle.  This was captured yesterday in the matchup between Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes.  The subplot was intriguing because, after starting his rookie season buried on the bench as an after-thought, Landry actually pushed the incumbent starting Hayes completely out of the rotation later that same year (until the injury to Yao forced him into emergency duty.)

Carl finished the night with 22 points and 10 boards, going 7-13 from the field.  Rather than Scola, Hayes was the primary defender against Landry, the numbers giving off the impression that the mentor was taught a lesson by his former apprentice.

The tape tells a different tale.  I finally got around to pulling the trigger on some hardware which will allow me to capture the live video of the game onto my laptop.  This should really make it easier to explain the elements of each game which catch my attention.  I apologize for the very poor image quality in this first installment as I am still getting the hang of things.

What we find is that when matched up, Chuck was able to handle Landry fairly easily, anticipating each of his moves.  The sequences below are not intended to imply some flaw in Carl’s game; they are merely what was captured in a very unique relationship between the combatants.

In this first clip, we see Landry attempt to attack Hayes with his patented post-up-face-up move.  Hayes has seen this so many times in practice that as Carl brought the ball around, Chuck was able to anticipate and nearly swipe it away.  Carl falls to the floor.  Fascinating because I watched him routinely destroy All-NBA defenders with this move, going on to take one dribble to his right and spinning back to his left.

In our second clip, we see Chuck move his feet to cut Carl off from the baseline, steering him towards the help. One thing we noticed in the weeks prior to the trade was that Landry needs to improve upon recognizing the double team. While the Kings did score, Landry was forced into an awkward pass which could have easily led to a turnover.

In this next clip, we see Chuck anticipate the signature move again, reacting to cut off Landry’s right hand. He moves his feet and gets under the ball, but, as the replay shows, is wrongfully called for the foul.

Finally, we close with a clip that demonstrates that knowledge and familiarity do not suffice. Andersen shades Landry’s right hand, what Hayes would have done, knowing that he can only drive in that direction. However, because Andersen does not have anywhere near the lateral quickness possessed by Hayes, Landry easily blows past him for the dunk.

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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.

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• Later in the 1st, the Clips’ crew quotes Adelman as having said, regarding Ariza’s struggles, “Superstars take a lot of shots.  It’s ok to miss them.”  It’s pretty clear that the staff sees Ariza as having a higher ceiling.  I just don’t see it.

• With 9:30 left in the 2nd, the Clips’ crew tells us that “You just get the feeling that the Clippers have too many weapons for this Rockets team.  They [the Rockets] will have to pitch a perfect game just to beat them.”  Umm.  What.  That quote is, in and of itself, a comedic gold mine; too many ways I can go with that softball.

• Later in the 2nd we see the unit of Lowry, Brooks, Budinger, Andersen, and Landry, otherwise known as, courtesy of 82games.com, the second most efficient unit on the team (after the starters.) Watching them closely, there wasn’t nearly as much movement off the ball as I had initially assumed.  Since the Tracy McGrady controversy began, I have been trying to visualize Tracy on the floor while watching different sets in action.  We already know McGrady can initiate the offense from the elbow in the role being played now by Chuck Hayes.  However, you will notice that the two weakside perimeter players are stationary when the offense is initiated on the strong side.  They don’t go into motion until after the first hand-off.  This will need to be examined more closely, but for now, this looks promising.  Tracy and stationary?  Check.

• With 1:55 left in the 2nd, the Clips’ crew inquires, regarding Rasual Butler  “When we see a game like he had against Denver, are we asking too much to ask for 17 points per game from him?”  Wait.  This is Rasual Butler we are talking about, right?  Was there something I missed in the last month somehow making him relevant?

• I thought Sebastian Telfair was a lot better in Through the Fire.

• Shane Battier comes out in the third quarter and completely shuts down Baron Davis (except for a few breakaway dunks.)  Naturally this leads me to wonder why this was never even attempted in the playoffs against Deron Williams.  Shane just has this uncanny ability to stay in front of far quicker players by not biting on fakes.  Now that I think about it, it’s not that uncanny.  He just doesn’t bite on fakes.

• With 3:40 left in the 3rd, the Clips’ crew, regarding Ariza, debates whether he has the mindset to be a go-to scorer, and then concludes that it is his skillset which is the root of his struggles.  This is possibly the first time in 18 games that I have heard a broadcast crew make this completely obvious observation.  Ariza just simply doesn’t have the skills to be elite.  It is as simple as that.

• With 3:25 left in the 3rd, we see Shane Battier explode down the lane for a one handed dunk attempt.  The sheer shock value had me falling out of my chair.

• With 8:28 left in the 4th, Baron Davis ties up Carl Landry, literally, getting the jumpball call after putting both arms around Landry’s neck.  I would really be interested in seeing a study that determined how many jumpball calls were actually the result of a legal attempt at the ball (ie: NOT characterized by one player putting both of their arms around the other player’s body.)

• With 6:17 left in the 4th, Carl faces up Kaman, and we see the signature spin move.  This move has to have the highest efficiency rating on the team.

• As the game winds down, the Clips’ crew wonders aloud how the Rockets can beat a Clippers team with “so many weapons.”  Ironically, this is what people all around basketball have been wondering in general since last May.  We still haven’t found an explanation for what is taking place.

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•With 11.6 seconds left in the 4th, Bill Worrell said, regarding Trevor Ariza, “He’s trying to assume the #1 scoring load on this team.” – No. He’s not. That’s not why he’s here. Please, stop perpetuating this myth. Trevor Ariza was not brought here to assume any type of disproportionately significant allotment of the responsibilities.

•I’m starting to grow extremely frustrated with the leash afforded to Ariza. Let me clarify. I said earlier that I had no qualms with player development and experimentation. My problem here is that this is basically futile. He had two reckless drives late in the 4th that just left you shaking your head. The distinction between Ariza and a player with growth potential is that the latter will make mistakes that can be rectified with experience (ie: charging into the defender, getting trapped on the pick and roll etc.) Ariza’s mistakes come in the form of a simple lack of skill – he has sloppy handles and absolutely horrendous body control and footwork. These aren’t aspects of one’s game that will improve through in-game conditioning. As I said, in principle, I don’t mind the experimentation, but it is incredibly difficult to watch when the possibility for return is so little.

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Chuck Hayes’ duties as a Rockets co-captain along with Shane Battier have been limited. He had to answer a question about being a captain.

“I’m a captain?” he said. “I didn’t know I was. That’s news to me. Wow. I can’t remember the last time I was a captain. I guess as far as the captain is concerned, I’m more of the Robin to Shane’s Batman.”

-Houston Chronicle

Never before have I witnessed a player so hopelessly overmatched perpetually emerge so thoroughly triumphant.

Watching the Houston Rockets’ Chuck Hayes at his craft, one wonders, in some less cruel world, were he afforded that oft taken-for-granted privilege of full sizedness, wherein would his fate lie? This is a 6’6 stub portraying dominance in a time when power forwards were crafted as some superhuman race.

I should mention that Hayes possesses leaping ability paralleled in futility only by the late Matt Maloney. To consistently smother into submission men towering above him, on the strength of basic positional leveraging and fundamentality is the pinnacle of cerebral excellence. When I watch him completely suffocate an All-Star, or merely hold ground on a routine post-up, I admit that the sight never fails to evoke amazement.

It’s a shame. While he doesn’t garner anywhere near the praise and adulation of his more celebrated teammates, Hayes is undoubtedly the best defender on this team. One must wonder, were his offense not so egregiously dreadful, would the experts finally take note? Will the day come when it is finally discerned that Hayes is in fact, not the same person as Carl Landry (or the infamous “Carl Laundry” for that matter)?

Alas, I can assume he will go on unappreciated, uncredited with the plaudits he so rightfully deserves, even by fans of his own team, his sheer mastery of his craft unnoticed.

So usually goes the stinginess of appreciation of the finer subtleties of life, even if manifested throughout an 82 game season.

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