3 things Hayward needs to incorporate into his game

[delpotro]

There are 3 things that NBA players do that Hayward must also do so that he can as he says in his tweets "improve every day."
1. Post-up his man: He is 6'8". He has the size to do it. Coach Corbin should plays him at the 2 and run a few isolation plays for him.
2. Take some charges: I don't think I have ever seen him do it. Josh Howard took a charge at least twice last night against the Hornets. All NBA players do it. It is part of the game. When executed properly it creates a stop for your team (and god knows the jazz need that this year).
3. On occasion he must try to finish at the rim: When he dribbles into the paint from the wing he can't always pass out to the periphery for a teammate to take an out side shot. On occasion he must try to finish at the rim. Favors is good at setting high picks for him and that enables him to get into the paint. Finishing at the rim doesn't have to be a dunk. Try a 4-5 foot shot or floater. Even if you miss often times you get fouled and it puts you on the line.
He must add the aforementioned 3 things to his repertoire.

 

[davidbenoit]

4. Shoot the ball. That man is too unselfish

 

[MDAV28]

4. Shoot the ball. That man is too unselfish

This mostly. I think it goes with 3, finish at the rim. But there was a play early last night when Gordon got the ball very early in the shot clock and he was WIDE open for the 3. Like one of those wide open 3's when you have a second to think about it. But it didn't even look like he considered shooting, he was just looking at the floor and waiting for somebody to set a screen for him.

 

[Thee Idiotic Minivan K]

He did get an and-1 at the rim last night. I've seen him finish a lot at the rim.

 

[LogGrad98]

I agree on all points. To his credit, I think he recognizes the stagnant offense and tries to get others involved by passing more, which is a good tendency to have in a wing player. However, I think he needs to shoot more to shoot himself out of his slump and get his confidence back. He needs first and foremost to play with confidence and aggression. He exhibited signs of a killer instinct last year, he needs to nurture that.

They need to make him watch game film of AK during his All-star year, so he can learn what it looks like to play with aggression and confidence.

 

[Mission Accomplished]

Hayward is like a down graded AK or a White CJ Miles. I hope that he can learn to just play we don't need a 6'8 SF trying to be our PG. And he needs to get closer to the man he is defending he gives them room and they usually burn him.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

There are 3 things that NBA players do that Hayward must also do so that he can as he says in his tweets "improve every day."
1. Post-up his man: He is 6'8". He has the size to do it. Coach Corbin should plays him at the 2 and run a few isolation plays for him.
2. Take some charges: I don't think I have ever seen him do it. Josh Howard took a charge at least twice last night against the Hornets. All NBA players do it. It is part of the game. When executed properly it creates a stop for your team (and god knows the jazz need that this year).
3. On occasion he must try to finish at the rim: When he dribbles into the paint from the wing he can't always pass out to the periphery for a teammate to take an out side shot. On occasion he must try to finish at the rim. Favors is good at setting high picks for him and that enables him to get into the paint. Finishing at the rim doesn't have to be a dunk. Try a 4-5 foot shot or floater. Even if you miss often times you get fouled and it puts you on the line.
He must add the aforementioned 3 things to his repertoire.

1. Posting up isn't something you can just do. It's a skill that has to be developed. I don't think he ever did it in college either.

He just needs to be more aggressive in every facet of the game. Mainly in shooting, attacking, and rebounding. There was a play last game when he had a jump shot that he passed out of mid-shot because someone made a semi-decent closeout on him. It was really puzziling. I want to see him go up with confidence.

 

[vslice02]

There are 3 things that NBA players do that Hayward must also do so that he can as he says in his tweets "improve every day."
1. Post-up his man: He is 6'8". He has the size to do it. Coach Corbin should plays him at the 2 and run a few isolation plays for him.

Geez why do people always look at a player's height and automatically assume they should be able to play with their back-to-the-basket. I would prefer Hayward often played in the backline of a 2-3 zone at Butler but rarely posted up. Just not his game, and you have to spend several years developing the footwork, balance, lower body strength and feel for contact to add that to your game. I think Gordan can be a dynamic SG in a traditional-sense, so I'd prefer he focus on his shooting, perimeter defense, ballhandling and moving without the ball before considering becoming a post player.

 

[SGJazz]

He is still playing like he's a rookie. He does have flashes of brilliance but overall he seems to shy away from the physical nature of the game, and this is what is holding him back. Needs to develop more of a mean streak if he wants to be successful. I look at Josh Howard attacking the rim, drawing charges etc. and I wish Hayward would do the same.

 

[LogGrad98]

He is still playing like he's a rookie. He does have flashes of brilliance but overall he seems to shy away from the physical nature of the game, and this is what is holding him back. Needs to develop more of a mean streak if he wants to be successful. I look at Josh Howard attacking the rim, drawing charges etc. and I wish Hayward would do the same.

Agreed. Maybe bringing in Howard will not be a mistake if he can show Hayward how to be a little more aggressive.

 

[franklin]

The kid can drive, draw the entire defense, and then dish to wide open shots and layups the entire game for all I care. He's not going to become Ginobli overnight.

 

[Cope]

1. Confidence
2. Confidence
3. Confidence


I think that does it...

 

[jimmy eat jazz]

4. Shoot the ball. That man is too unselfish

Agreed. One example, when he gets the ball at the wing, and someone comes to screen, and he drives into the middle, he needs occasionally to pull up and shoot the J, which I've never seen him do. It's an open shot that he's not taking.

I don't get Corbin's strategy on how to use Hayward. Against Philadelphia, for example, Corbin frequently had them feed Hayward on the wing and then send someone to screen his man. He also had him run run off screens to get a curl shot in the key a few times (something Harping did well and Hayward did well last year). But last night Corbin only did the former a couple of times and never did the latter. He apparently expects Hayward to generate his own shots somehow and rarely runs a play to get him a shot. Hayward looks scared to shoot, contrasted to Howard who shoots every opportunity he gets. I hope Hayward pulls his head out soon, and I hope Corbin utilizes him more and more effectively than he's done so far this year.

 

[Jazz Spazz]

I think a mohawk would do him wonders.
...would settle for a fauxhawk I suppose.

 

[LogGrad98]

I think a mohawk would do him wonders.
...would settle for a fauxhawk I suppose.

 

[Jazz Spazz]

Ok, I take the fauxhawk part back.

 

[billyshelby]

I've posted this before, but Hayward has to start going up on his drives. He's not great at breaking his man down off the dribble, he has no stop and pop at this point, but he can get inside and he does make good passes on the drive.

His first developmental move is easy: start shooting even if he thinks he's going to get blocked. There will be some ugliness involved with this process. The second thing he has to do is start taking a few stop and pops. I don't know if he can even do it, but he has to start creating his own shot at some point.