Jazz Spotlight, Week 4: Gordon Hayward

[retiredcoach]

by BarneyGumble on Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:18 am
I was starting to jump onto the Hayward bandwagon until I found out he is playing video games full-time during the lock out. The last thing we need is more talent, wasted by hours in front of a stupid video game instead of working on their basketball game.... Kirilenko was a top 15 player in the league before he discover World of Warcraft.....

BG, you're at it again with the video games. Hayward is being paid to endorse the IGN Pro League. He's going to show up at some tournaments, etc. He practices the games after working out 6 hours a day--3 hours of skills drills in the morning and 3 hours of conditioning and strength in the afternoon. Would you like him to work out more? His agent worked on this deal for awhile making several trips to San Francisco so there is likely decent money in it.

He doesn't hang out with an entourage of bling and gal pal players. He isn't into tats and piercings, and he's not out in the clubs every night until dawn--ie Fes. So what is a 22 year-old suppose to do with his free time?

I would prefer he spent it finishing college, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen, so he might as well add to his earnings through endorsements.

[jazzfan1971]

Doesn't Hayward know that's he's susposed to be out at strip clubs and bars til 4am every night? Not to mention the occasional shooting or stabbing?

How the heck can he be expected to play basketball if he's not out living the NBA life and is instead home playing a video game?

It's about the booze, broads, and drugs Hbomb. Get with the program!

(from now on Hbomb is Gordon's new street name, I called it)

[StocktonShorts]

He doesn't hang out with an entourage of bling and gal pal players. He isn't into tats and piercings,

Much like Kevin Durant, Hayward has "business" tats and unlike Durant, he also has "business" piercings. Nipples, a Prince Albert and some surface ones on his back.

[Soul Patch]

I like Kirilenko's tattoo.

[BarneyGumble]

by BarneyGumble on Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:18 am
I was starting to jump onto the Hayward bandwagon until I found out he is playing video games full-time during the lock out. The last thing we need is more talent, wasted by hours in front of a stupid video game instead of working on their basketball game.... Kirilenko was a top 15 player in the league before he discover World of Warcraft.....

BG, you're at it again with the video games. Hayward is being paid to endorse the IGN Pro League. He's going to show up at some tournaments, etc. He practices the games after working out 6 hours a day--3 hours of skills drills in the morning and 3 hours of conditioning and strength in the afternoon. Would you like him to work out more? His agent worked on this deal for awhile making several trips to San Francisco so there is likely decent money in it.

He doesn't hang out with an entourage of bling and gal pal players. He isn't into tats and piercings, and he's not out in the clubs every night until dawn--ie Fes. So what is a 22 year-old suppose to do with his free time?

I would prefer he spent it finishing college, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen, so he might as well add to his earnings through endorsements.

Well said, and you are right. But I cringe when I think to how AK turned out these last 5 seasons after what he showed us he could be during 2004 and 2005....cant help but think video game addiction is partly to blame.

[qman]

I think everyone is underrating Gordon's defensive ability. Guarding 2's he generally has a size advantage. He is also a smart player defensively. You can see he takes the time to study game film. I see his defensive ability improving as he gets stronger and smarter.

Watching the Youtube highlights again I was struck by how he didn't force anything. He didn't take any shots were he wasn't open and on balance. I think we can expect him to continue to take good shots. He may not continue at 55% but 50% wouldn't be out of the question long term.

As was mentioned before Gordon is certain not your 1st or 2nd option on offense. But he can efficently score from all over the court. He also provides a nice secondary ball handler to a point guard.

[retiredcoach]

BarneyGumble on Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:59 am

Well said, and you are right. But I cringe when I think to how AK turned out these last 5 seasons after what he showed us he could be during 2004 and 2005....cant help but think video game addiction is partly to blame.

Barney, there is absolutely no way to figure out what goes on in the mind of Kirilenko. Half his problems are probably based on conversations with Masha that get his brain twisted up like a rung out mop. Then there's the crying in the hotel room when J Sloan slaps him on the bench, the wanting to be traded, the I don't deserve my contract L Miller conversations, the I want to stay in Utah unless I can get a deal in Russia and now I've got a tat that makes absolutely no sense.(Of course most of them don''t.) And let's not forget the constant injuries. Who knows how that plays together with his mental swings.

Sometimes physical talent isn't enough. The mind and the body have to be on the same page and when they aren't, the level of play can go up and down like a yo-yo.

If AK had never seen a video game, who knows how he would have played. I wish getting peak performance out of guys being paid $17 mil a year was as easy as taking away their video games. If it was, I would personally do it.

[BarneyGumble]

BarneyGumble on Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:59 am

Well said, and you are right. But I cringe when I think to how AK turned out these last 5 seasons after what he showed us he could be during 2004 and 2005....cant help but think video game addiction is partly to blame.

Barney, there is absolutely no way to figure out what goes on in the mind of Kirilenko. Half his problems are probably based on conversations with Masha that get his brain twisted up like a rung out mop. Then there's the crying in the hotel room when J Sloan slaps him on the bench, the wanting to be traded, the I don't deserve my contract L Miller conversations, the I want to stay in Utah unless I can get a deal in Russia and now I've got a tat that makes absolutely no sense.(Of course most of them don''t.) And let's not forget the constant injuries. Who knows how that plays together with his mental swings.

Sometimes physical talent isn't enough. The mind and the body have to be on the same page and when they aren't, the level of play can go up and down like a yo-yo.

If AK had never seen a video game, who knows how he would have played. I wish getting peak performance out of guys being paid $17 mil a year was as easy as taking away their video games. If it was, I would personally do it.

I personally know about 10 men (MEN, as in older than 25) who have either quit their jobs or their education because they got addicted to World of Warcraft and are now living with their parents mooching off them. Who knows why Kirilenko flamed out....but Im sure video games are harmless like crack-cocaine is harmless. Most successful and driven people are not people you see spending hours perfecting their score in a game....

[StocktonShorts]

I don't think AK has flamed out. He has still been a productive member of the team, when healthy.

[jazzfan1971]

What must the circumstances of one's life be that one is in a position to know 10 men who live with their parents, let alone live with their parents due to WoW?

I know 1 guy who flamed out, but, that was drugs. Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot of folks, but, 10 guys living with their parents playing WoW?

Holy cow, that really makes me wonder about your peer group.

[BarneyGumble]

What must the circumstances of one's life be that one is in a position to know 10 men who live with their parents, let alone live with their parents due to WoW?

I know 1 guy who flamed out, but, that was drugs. Admittedly, I don't know a whole lot of folks, but, 10 guys living with their parents playing WoW?

Holy cow, that really makes me wonder about your peer group.

Unfortunately, service in the LDS church has you spending a lot of time trying to help people who have made decisions that leave them needing a lot of help. I guess I shouldnt say unfortunately....it is what it is.

[BarneyGumble]

I don't think AK has flamed out. He has still been a productive member of the team, when healthy.

Thanks for calling that out, flamed out was indeed a poor choice of words. Failed to reach his potential would have been better....

[retiredcoach]

by BarneyGumble on Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:15 pm

Thanks for calling that out, flamed out was indeed a poor choice of words. Failed to reach his potential would have been better....

Barney, if you have adult children, you probably already know that very few of them really ever reach their potential. They find a lot of reasons to settle for less. It's frustrating for parents who can see the potential but can't help the child to reach it. It's really up to the child.

In fact most adults would admit, in a truly open moment, that they have fallen short of their potential. I'm sure AK feels the same way. Masha probably tells him he falls short of his potential in many things.

The difference between AK and us civilians is he was paid $17 mil a year to reach his potential. So he got paid first. No one paid me until I achieved mine and as soon as I slipped they took my potential pay away. You gotta love pro sports.