Dwane Casey Says Killian Hayes To Start At Point Guard

[zeebneeb]

You’re setting yourself up for some pain, zeeb. Rookie PGs almost always suck pretty bad, even the really talented ones. The odds of him having an impact like Ja or rookie CP3 are not good.

Normally I would agree with you but Hayes has several things that work in his favor;

1.)Experience. Two years of playing with full grown men professionally. This is a much bigger deal then it sounds. Generally it takes time for a young man to be comfortable around older male adults, as they try and fit in with an older mindset, amd experience. Become one of "the guys". He already has done this, and understands the process.

2.)Size. He is not a normal PG. The average height of an NBA PG is just under 6'3. Average weight is 190lbs. Big advantage out of the gate.

3.)Vision and playmaking. Combined with his size, and experience advantages, this is going to allow his transition into the NBA to be much smoother then it was for someone like Billups who struggled his first few years.

Just a few more days before I go completely off the rails...

Not that I necessarily disagree, but size, vision and playmaking were among Billups' foremost strengths as well. Also true of the eldest Ball brother. Those things help, but don't guarantee a smooth NBA transition.

Billups size was close to average NBA PG size. It took him several years to establish himself.

6'3 205lbs

Hayes is 6'5 215lbs

For example;

Dragic-6'3 190lbs
Fultz-6'4 201lbs
Garland 6'1 192lbs
Young-6'1 180lbs
Payton-6'3 195lbs
Simmons-6'10 240
White-6'4 190lbs
Ball-6'8 181lbs
Westbrook-6'3 180lbs

The majority of time, Hayes is going to have a not so minor height, and weight advantage. It will also create mismatches when they put a larger player onto Hayes, which another player can then take advantage of. His value in creating mismatches by his sheer physical dimensions is great value in and of itself.

This is why I am so excited. Larger playmakers with extraordinary vision usually excel right out of the gate because of these advantages.

I am selling the Kool-Aid, all I ask is that you drink.

[whitehops]

we'll see if it lasts until the start of the regular season but the pistons have proved me wrong so far. i thought for sure he would start off the bench with the shortened training camp. in hindsight it does help him a lot that blake is back, he'll handle a lot of the ball handling duties so hayes won't have to do it all right away.

[davidvolumes]

Please don't let Blake handle the ball he is not a Handler

[SamFlow]

I keep seeing reports from all teams that they are sooo happy with their new rookies and such. Sales. That's all it is. Get people excited. We can only hope like the rest of the league that we improved.

[440BB]

Beyond getting to know his teammates' preferences and tendencies, I think Hayes biggest adjustment will be to the speed of the NBA game. That shouldn't take long.

The lack of a crowd, at home and on the road, will benefit Hayes and all the rookies during this developmental season. Less pressure should lead to a good start to their NBA careers.

[BJK1]

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[MotownMadness]

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