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What do you expect from Gordon Hayward?

Hes going to get plenty of chances to show what he can do. Odds are we will be without one of Cj or AK for a significant amount of time during the season. When that happens we have nobody other than Hayward to feel in.
 
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.....hilarious! However, I'm going more likely with: 8.1 points per game (35% and 11% from three), 2.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1 steal and 1.5 turnovers in 23 minutes of action.
 
He's going to start the year getting 7/8 minutes in the 1st and 3rd. But he could get quicker hooks, and if he struggles he may get dropped from second half rotations. Still, I think he'll average 15 minutes. If he can consistently get 15 minutes without hurting us, I don't care what his numbers look like. But I actually think he's going to have a pretty decent season for his role.
 
I can't believe I am following the Utah Jazz. Sports fan in general. Grew up in Chicago following Jordan. Live in Indianapolis and followed Butler and Hayward. The Lakers are the evil empire as it relates to the Jazz. Hayward's 26 points got you guys over the hump---am I right? The kid can play on the perimeter and inside. You guys have gone from booing the pick to actually giving him playing time. Another poster compared his game to Ginobili--I think that is pretty fair. Brace yourself for this though---i think his game is a combination of Ginobili and Magic Johnson--yeah I said it Johnson. Now going to the Jazz in general---Jefferson has looked great---he beats Gasol off the dribble. Assuming everyone stays healthy the Jazz could do some damage. I think a key is Fesenko---the Jazz need another seven footer to compete with the Lakers. I think if Fesenko realizes that there are some professionals on this team who are determined to win (Jefferson, Williams, Hayward) he will become the profesional NBA player that you'all want and therefore the cause to winning.
 
I would really like to see Hayward do more when he has the ball. I know the offense doesn't allow for a lot of improvisation, but with his ball handling skills it would be nice to see him do more than stand out on the wing waiting around and then passing it as soon as ge gets it. I suppose if he starts hitting open shots it will force the defense to guard him out there and provide more off the dribble for him, but many times he appears to just stand around on offense.

His passing is really good though and I believe he is a much better shooter than he has displayed. His confidence seems shot right now. How can a guy shoot 96% from the line during the pre-season and can't seem to buy a bucket anywhere else?
 
I see Hayward playing between 10 and 20 minutes a night depending on how he is doing. I think he will play in most, if not all games unless he ends up in Coach's doghouse somehow (which I highly doubt will happen).

On a different note, I think that as the season goes on we need to realize that Gordon was drafted into a good situation, something that cannot be said about any other top-10 pick. Most of these guys are going to be forced into being a top-3 guy on their team, where Gordon will probably be our 8th or 9th man this year. Because of this, he won't have the stats (or minutes) of these other guys. This is just something he will need to deal with, and we as fans will need to understand.

I wouldn't be surprised to see his line at the end of the year as something like:

78 games played; 16 MPG
8.0 PPG on 43%, 35% from 3
3 RPG, 3 APG, 1 TO, 0.8 BLK

3 apg in 16 minutes...about that...
 
Just finished a post on the same subject. I looked at what past #9 picks had done in their rookie seasons...how much they played, how they scored, etc.

Short version: I put Hayward at 15-20 minutes per game, 5-7 ppg. I didn't bother to project shooting percentage, but I don't think it will be great at first. I do think he has a chance to improve, but probably just to the low 40s for the time being. He needs to get stronger to get any higher than that, and that won't happen overnight.
 
Just finished a post on the same subject. I looked at what past #9 picks had done in their rookie seasons...how much they played, how they scored, etc.

Short version: I put Hayward at 15-20 minutes per game, 5-7 ppg. I didn't bother to project shooting percentage, but I don't think it will be great at first. I do think he has a chance to improve, but probably just to the low 40s for the time being. He needs to get stronger to get any higher than that, and that won't happen overnight.

Luckily, he doesn't need to do any more than that for our team to be good!
 
Continuous improvement throughout the year. He may struggle at times, but the kid is a gamer; he'll just keep getting better and better before our eyes.
 
If Hayward averages 43%, 35% from 3, 3 RPG, 3 APG, 1 TO, 0.8 BLK he will get a lot more than just 16 minutes a game. He wont sniff 35% from 3 or 43% from the field. Remember he shot 29% from college 3 last year. It is my hope that Hayward gets less than 5 minutes a game because he will be taking time away from AK, CJ and/or Bell. However, if he does shot this well, you got to play the rookie.
But he shot a lot better from the 3 his previous year. My guess is that he had a lot of pressure to step up and be "the man' his 2nd year and probably took a lot of shots he shouldn't have.

In the pre-season games, his shot often looks like he's pushing it and it comes off flat. I think that's a result of him trying to get it off too quickly. He'll settle down as he gets more comfortable in his role. I think 10-15 mins/per is about right, especially since AK probably doesn't need to play PF. Elson and Fes look very capable of splitting the 25-30 combined mins that will be available behind Millsap and Jefferson.

If you figure AK gets 30 mins, and maybe CJ and Bell each get 28, that only leaves 10 mins. available at the 2/3.
 
I expect Hayward to get good at towel waving, high fives, and fist bump fireworks.... but he will get 30mpg against the Lakers every time we play them.
If I was Sloan, that would be my game plan.
 
I would really like to see Hayward do more when he has the ball. I know the offense doesn't allow for a lot of improvisation, but with his ball handling skills it would be nice to see him do more than stand out on the wing waiting around......

....yeah, I think your right! What we really need is a skinny white rookie kid fresh out of college.....going one on one with all takers, posting small guards/forwards low and taking tall guards/forwards high! And if that don't work....at halftime, he should pick himself up a few jailhouse tats!
 
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