Athletic Slashing White Wings

[Joe Bagadonuts]

Hey I found us a true slasher. He isn't exactly white though. But his cuts are nice and clean and he has hell of a slashing ability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsAC5ni0w6Q#t=00m33s

No good. He would pop the ball. I love the subtitles almost as much as the crowd reaction, though. The best one is at 9:11. It says:

"The operation of this to which the sword has been returned without cutting a wooden stand is terrible."

Huh?

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

I haven't read this thread, but Hayward will never be a "slashing wing" of any color. He can't break guys down off the dribble which is what slashing wings do. He's a lot like AK. He drives opportunistically, he cuts well, and he's an exceptional passer. With the intangibles he brings, that's a good guy to have. But he's never going to be a scorer.

While Hayward is certainly limited because of his first step/quickness when it comes to slashing and attacking the basket, your comparison to AK is ludicrous. Hayward has very good to great ball handling skills. Kirilenko was a spaz of epic proportions who caused the audience to mass-gasp every time he went to put the ball on the floor in iso/slashing situations.

 

[BluesRocker]

I haven't read this thread except for the last page, but I slightly disagree with your assessment billy.
IMO Hayward has shown he can get to the rim and finish not only in transition but in the halfcourt on side screen-roll - which is really becoming more of the trend in the NBA instead of a traditional 1-4 iso. He's versatile enough that on side screen-roll he can hit the pullup jumper but also go the distance and finish strong with his left hand. No, he's not a 1-on-1 scorer but in the flow of an offense, he's already demonstrated he can score in a variety of ways - including getting to the rim.

Don't forget one of the few bright spots in Game 1 against San Antonio (aside from Favors) was the way Hayward attacked the basket (12-12 from the FT line). Overall Hayward does alot of things well (he mainly needs to gain consistency on his jumper) - so there's no need to pigeon-hole his game as purely a "slasher" (whatever that really means). Scoring-wise he can hit the 3, he can hit the pull-up, and he can get on top of the basket. If he can do that consistently he'll become everything we hope he can be, but if more players on the Jazz focused on attacking the basket and getting to the FT line (*cough* Al Jefferson, *cough* CJ Miles) - the Jazz would've been a much better team.

I didnt read this post except the last couple of sentences.

Al does need to go to the free throw line more.

 

[The Midnight]

He FINALLY did it... Might be a start of something special I think...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpRUw7f7XUI&list=UUWJ2lWNubArHWmf3FIHbfcQ

 

[scootsy]

Why da hell did we not get broadcast??

 

[SojoDave]

Yea, Hayward is just like Rick Berry without the consistent beautiful jump shot.

 

[jope]

Yea, Hayward is just like Rick Berry without the consistent beautiful jump shot.

Yep that's what i had thought too

 

[ema]

Hayward is just too white and too baby faced to be a slashing athletic basketball player. Even in that nasty dunk video, there is clearly something off with the scene.

I think he was born to be a singer or something like that. Like you know, James Blunt kind of singer. You're beautiful, you're beautiful! Lol. Yep, that's something I can imagine Hayward befitting much better than being a slasher athletic wing.

 

[kabenac]

Going to break the rules... Hayward is a rich man's Trevor Ariza.

 

[silesian]

I'll take any one of the following as an upside for Gordon: John Havlicek, Manu Ginobli, Rick Barry, Bill Bradley, Dolph Schayes, Billy Cunningham, Tom Heinsohn, Tom Chambers, Paul Westphal, Jerry Sloan

I especially like the Manu comp (IQ, handle, shooting, passing). Gordo needs to radically improve his mid-range game to approach Manu in his prime.

 

[silesian]

Doug Collins
Bobby Jones
John Havlicek

I think Jeff Hornacek got a lot of his baskets slashing to the basket. I know he is known for his 3 pt shooting but he would go to the basket and make some crazy shots. I know he was a SG but the SG/SF positions are basically the same in the Jazz offense. Besides I still think Hayward is a better SG than SF.

I like all the comps except Collins (growing up a Sixers fan) -- Collins was one of the best WITHOUT the ball, open for mid-range Js off the curl or backdoor. He was not what I would consider a slasher who created for himself. That said, if Gordo = Collins, I'd be a happy camper.

 

[silesian]

Wasn't he more like a power forward?

Bird was a small forward (played alongside PF McHale). Not a slasher at all, not athletic. Just freaking brilliant in all aspects of the game. He crated shots by creating space and knowing just when to shoot in holes. Reminds me of Stock and Horny in that regard.