David Locke has an interesting insight on this. (I know people here have a variety of attitudes about Locke, but I find his podcasts interesting and insightful, and, frankly, I trust his views more than just about anybody on this board.) Anyway, according to Locke, Hayward is being asked to do something nobody else in the NBA is being asked to do, transition from being the 3rd or 4th option to the 1st option on a team, making his adjustment to this new role as difficult, or more difficult, than what anyone else is being asked to do in the entire league. Add to this, opposing teams are game planning their defenses to stop Hayward, and making this especially challenging (to this point as least) is that there are a limited number of other legit offensive threats on the team. I noticed this in the Portland game; the defense Portland laid on Hayward was intense, and Gordon had to run through several screens all game long even to touch the ball (Batum was particularly aggressive guarding him). I think I also read somewhere that in terms of distance covered during games, Hayward is near the top of the league, which partly reflects what he has to go through at times to even get touches. So anyone expecting that he would make this transition seamlessly without a drop off in efficiency, at least in the short term, is not being realistic. Does anyone really think that Miles would do as well as Hayward were he to become the #1 option and principle target of all opposing teams defensive game plans?
I think patience here is merited. He is being asked to do something that he has never, ever done before and which is probably not an appropriate role for him. With the emergence of Burke, Burks, and other offensive weapons, I expect to see Hayward's efficiency numbers improve. But we'll see.
