When rumors initially broke that the Sacramento Kings were interested in the Houston Rockets Chuck Hayes, groans rumbled the Valley floor. It wasn’t so much about Chuck himself – it was the fact that the Kings were spending their money on blue collar role players – not the All-Star talent many hoped for. Understandable, but don’t let your anger and irritation towards the lack of a Nene or Tyson Chandler alter your perception of just how talented and effective Chuck Hayes is, despite his 6’6 frame.
For so long we’ve all clamored for defense – some type of defense, any type of defense – please, just give us some defense.
Defense you say? Oh yeah. Hayes – he got that. Watch the Chuckwagon shut down an A-list of NBA Superstars on the defensive end below:
Hayes destroys Kevin Garnett after the jump among many others:
Hayes shuts down Amare Stoudemire:
Hayes stops Paul Pierce:
Hayes stops Andrew Bynum:
A mix of Hayes stuffing Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki and many others:
And in case you don’t watch all of the videos – here are a few quick stats for you thanks to TheMikeSchmidtz:
- Gave up 0.8 points per possession
- Yielded a 38% opponent FG% against him (consider the talent he played against nightly)
- Gave up an even stingier 0.74 points per possession in the post
- Yielded an even more impressive 37% opponent FG% in the post
Have a problem with any of that? Didn’t think so. Enjoy what you’re about to watch for the 2011/2012 season and beyond – just don’t forget your popcorn.