Gordon Hayward
- Thread starter Elizah Huge
- Start date
The best thing Hayward did was when he wasn't taking Chris Paul's ******** in Game 5. That's a long way from the guy who didn't do anything when Delonte West gave him a wet willy or allowed JJ Barea to try his bush league psyche out stuff by bumping him off the free throw line. Nobody ****s with the G-sus now!
You don't gameplan against Melo, because he's not in the playoffs. Again.
Yeah, and we should go after Lance Stephenson and let Hayward walk.
And -- just last year -- that Hayward = Hood.
Killer in 31 out of 82 games. Awesome. Thanks for the ongoing comic relief. Fun to laugh at you with your knickerbockers down. Phil wins everywhere but NY. Can't pull the dismal franchise out of the bottom.
Knicks would manage to lose a best of 7 game series against the Warriors in 2.
LogGrad98
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I still think Hood has the potential to be Hayward light. He needs to learn to finish in traffic, and get fully healthy so he can improve his shooting. But Hayward had room to improve too, and he did. A combo of Hayward/Hood long term might be just the thing.
The Jazz Wonderbra
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Hayward gets MAD props for this series! But the best part is that it was a team effort all round. Everyone deserves credit. Even Dante came in and gave us valuable minutes when he got a chance. Neto, Favors showed up big the last game, etc.
But here's the biggest difference. EVERYONE had a bad game. EVERYONE that is except Gordon. He was super efficient. George Hill averaged less than 1 turnover per game, but without looking at the stats, I saw around 3 or 4 turnovers per game against the clippers. Gobert was a no show in game 7 due to terrible reffing. If Hood had come to play more, we would have won the series earlier. Neto did the best he could... but it wasn't good enough for long stretches. Joe Johnson turned into a chucker at times in the games we lost in particular. When he was off, we lost.
But I saw two players who were solid all series. Gordon and J'ingles. Even when Joe missed a few threes, his defense was on. I don't remember seeing Joe Ingles missing 3s AND playing poor defense for more than a 3 minute stretch. He was GREAT to watch chasing down Reddick. JJ was frustrated and held around 10 points below his season average on all games except one! Mad props to G.Hawg and J'ing.
But here's the biggest difference. EVERYONE had a bad game. EVERYONE that is except Gordon. He was super efficient. George Hill averaged less than 1 turnover per game, but without looking at the stats, I saw around 3 or 4 turnovers per game against the clippers. Gobert was a no show in game 7 due to terrible reffing. If Hood had come to play more, we would have won the series earlier. Neto did the best he could... but it wasn't good enough for long stretches. Joe Johnson turned into a chucker at times in the games we lost in particular. When he was off, we lost.
But I saw two players who were solid all series. Gordon and J'ingles. Even when Joe missed a few threes, his defense was on. I don't remember seeing Joe Ingles missing 3s AND playing poor defense for more than a 3 minute stretch. He was GREAT to watch chasing down Reddick. JJ was frustrated and held around 10 points below his season average on all games except one! Mad props to G.Hawg and J'ing.
The Jazz Wonderbra
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One more thing... most of the 'closers' in the league are HIGH VOLUME mediocre efficiency players. Remember that Kobe beat us with 61(?) points on 60 shots last year. It was terrible efficiency. Westbrook went something like 51 points on 45 shots and was bragging to Beverly that 'No one can guard me'. Efficiency isn't a part of that mentality. Those guys do hit buzzer beaters. I don't think Hayward is that player. He plays within the system. That's why Joe Johnson was so huge. Joe could ease that scoring burden for G Hawg a bit coming down the stretch and Gordon was an amazing second option. We need Hood, a draft pick, or other free agents to keep aiding in this process while Gordon becomes that volume guy or closer. He is no pro closer. He is a solid closer. But again, some of ya'll would LOVE to have Westbrook on the team just because he individually closes games vs. a whole team of depth and options that win games together. As for me and my house... we prefer team ball.
Again, mad props to G. Hawg and Jing!
Again, mad props to G. Hawg and Jing!
akirac73
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Before Game 1 vs. Golden State: I think Hayward finally turned the corner and figured out how to step up in big games when it mattered most. He cemented himself as a true star...someone that can consistently put up great numbers and help his team win even when the opposition is throwing everything they have at him. He didn't shrivel up when the pressure was on...he was definitely clutch.
After watching Game 1 vs. Golden State: Ummm, nevermind what I just said.
After watching Game 1 vs. Golden State: Ummm, nevermind what I just said.
Quin's Murderface
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This is just another chance for Hayward to learn how to deal with playoff defense and pressure. Hopefully he gets better as the series progresses, like he did in the Clips series. He had quite a few open 3's, which he definitely needs to take and make to be a top offensive player.
This is one of the few times I think Hayward deserves criticism. He was bad in Game 1 and can be a lot better.
No chance in hell. Hood is a completely different player than Hayward.
akirac73
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Offensively, I think Hood can become as good or better than Hayward. Hood is extremely streaky, there's no in-between with him...but people forget, so was Hayward in the first 3-4 seasons of his career. The problem with Hood is, if his shot isn't falling, he doesn't do anything else to positively affect the game. That is where Hayward is a lot better than Hood.
Hood needs to improve on his consistency, and become a better defender, passer and rebounder. His ball handling is pretty good just like Hayward though...
MeloTheJazzKiller
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LifeOnaPlate
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The fake Knicks fan account is still active? Good grief.
Mission Accomplished
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Lol, which is why they lost. You dont game plan around him.
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FalseFlagg K
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Dude, seriously. Rodney can't carry haywards jock in any way. Can't get to the line, way too inconsistent. He can do a bunch of nice stuff but no. Hopefully he'll become a terrific sidekick
I don't disagree. Point was that some were saying that they were equal already, which is laughable.
Does Hood have Haywards' passion to improve? Maybe contagious?
LogGrad98
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Nah not even close to equal now. But Hood has shown more potential than anyone since Hayward. He had a season derailed by injuries and obviously has things to work on in his game anyway, hence probably a possibility to be "Hayward-LITE". You never know, he could surprise. It took Hayward another 2-3 seasons after he started to really improve to get over the hump and push himself to all-star level play. Give Hood 3-5 more seasons and he could be approaching that level. Then again he might just never put it together, but the potential is there for sure.