Keith Smart said on Wednesday that Chuck Hayes won't make his return to the court for the Sacramento Kings against the Denver Nuggets, according to Jon Santiago. During a weekend Kings broadcast, Grant Napear reported that it was a possibility that Hayes could be cleared to play Wednesday or this weekend. Hayes practiced with the team on Tuesday.
He's been out since Smart's first game as head coach, when Hayes suffered a separated shoulder against the Milwaukee Bucks. J.J. Hickson started in Hayes' absence at first, but Jason Thompson has since replaced him in the front five. One would expect Hayes to quickly re-enter the starting five upon his return despite JT's solid play and DeMarcus Cousins' massive output during Hayes' recovery.
The Kings host the Nuggets at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
0 recs | 16 comments
Darn, was hoping to see the Chuckwagon back in action tonight.
Hopefully he’ll be ready for the Jazz on Saturday. We need his defense
DiegoKing - January 25, 2012
Definitely
Big Al and Millsap will give us all we can handle.
caseycheesecake - January 25, 2012
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DiegoKing - January 25, 2012
Hopefully
There weren’t any setbacks and we’ll see him on the court this weekend. For one we can always use his veteran leadership skills, and it makes our d much better.
Czar Nickoli - January 25, 2012 via Android app
Does it?
Sacto_J - January 25, 2012
Someone tie my blindfold
And hand me a cigar in case I need it after the game. It will either be good, or it will be just as painful as an execution.
HarveySpecter - January 25, 2012 via Android app
Hopefully he comes back Saturday
I would bring him off the bench for the first 2-3 games to get acclimated and get in game shape. Then JT goes back to being 3rd big off the bench.
Wonderchild - January 25, 2012
Chuck seems to be the only good thing Petrie did in offseason.
I look forward to seeing Hayes back in the lineup soon. Bigger question I have is about Reke. Hayes’ ability to know his roll and play in a team concept makes me wonder if Tyreke will ever get it? If not, that’s a huge building block that’s not working for the Kings. Reke seems to hold the key to Kings becoming relevant again, but I don’t like what I see.
Go Kings. Get better Chuck…..
amonk81 - January 25, 2012
Have you forgotten JIMMER!!!
I think:
Hayes + Draft picks = Good
Salmons + Outlaw = F@$QRT@$T#$Q#
Hickson = Jury still out
SPTSJUNKIE - January 25, 2012
Regarding Reke: I think he has played tired the last few games.
He is averaging almost 38 mpg under Smart. Was 31 mpg under PW. With traveling in between every game, and not a lot of days off…
Wonderchild - January 25, 2012
Interesting. Didn't think of that.
Feel like Reke should be fit enough to perform, but more importantly, is his ability/inability to play well with others. He’s a beast when on, but as a number 4 pick, Reke has to be a building block for the Kings to succeed. I’m not convinced he’lll be that now.
amonk81 - January 25, 2012
There's no saying for certain
But there are very few players his age with his physical and basketball abilities.
He’s played very well within the team structure and his assists & A/T have been going up since Smart took over. If anything, his shooting % has gone down as he has taken more open jumpers in a structured offense versus just going to the hole constantly. Hence, his jumper needs to improve drastically for him to take the next step.
Not sure why he hasn’t improved it yet. Westbrook and Rose did in their third year. Was Evans form more of a mess? Did the foot injury cost him practice time? Was he just lazy during the offseason? I don’t have the answer. But I am certainly not giving up on a 22 year old with his abilities. That’s how franchises make HUGE mistakes.
SPTSJUNKIE - January 25, 2012
Well, as comparison, Webber's jumper was terrible his first couple seasons here.
And it took a good 2-3 years before it got consistent. And that was with full off-seasons and training camps. And a competent coaching staff.
Wonderchild - January 25, 2012
I hope you are right. This actually applies to Hickson too.
He has pretty good form on his jumper (but shoots it on the move too often). In another year or two if he smooths it out, will open up his offense.
SPTSJUNKIE - January 25, 2012
He's passing much more/better.
I thought he’s been pretty good since Smart took over.
Tom Ziller - January 25, 2012
BTW to back up what I am saying about Evans
Here’s a list of comparible players from Basketball Reference using their season finder:
2011 Tyreke Evans
This tool can be manipulated, so I am open to changes, but the stats I used were Evans’ TS%, Assist Rate, Rebound Rate, TO Rate, and age (used 18-22, not just Evan’s current 22).
The only two outlier on the list both played very, very few minutes and can easily be filtered out. So even with all the complaints about Evans, he’s still playing at an insanely good clip. Even if he doesn’t reach Tier 1 (Jordan, LeBron) or Tier 2 (Webber, Paul, Rose, McGrady) of that list, the lower players are guys like Iverson, Drexler, Baron Davis & Marbury. The only “uh oh” name is Stuckey, but his career is far from written in stone either.
SPTSJUNKIE - January 25, 2012
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