Tag Archive for 'Jarvis Hayes'

The Rumoured “Jarvis Hayes is No Longer a Piston” Post

Published by Mike Payne on July 11, 2008 in Former Pistons and Guest Writer. 87 Comments

Almost one year in, it appears that Detroit’s Jarvis Hayes project has come to an end. Late Thursday evening, Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Pistons free agent Jarvis Hayes has agreed to a two-year deal with the New Jersey Nets. This move will likely surprise very few Pistons fans, as Hayes’ name came up blank in nearly every rumor that involved Detroit’s ambition at the backup small forward position.

While this guest blogger has openly shared his own opinions on Jarvis Hayes, this is as good a time as any to reflect on the better part of Hayes’ tenure in Detroit, and to wish him the best of luck with the Nets of New Jersey. With Hayes out, speculation can begin en force: who should replace Jarvis Hayes as Detroit’s backup small forward? With Corey Maggette, James Jones and Mikael Pietrus off the block, that leaves us with a few options…

Walter Herrmann

Starting with the lowest hanging fruit, current restricted agent Walter Herrmann has the potential to be a solid backup small forward behind Tayshaun Prince. The greatest data set available for Herrmann is his dynamite closeout of the 2006-07 NBA season in Charlotte. As a starter, Herrmann provided the dead-accurate three point shooting and to-the-basket slashing that, ideally, Detroit would kill to have off the bench. If Herrmann doesn’t return to back up Tayshaun Prince, it is likely that either a) the Euro League has offered him more than we can afford, or B) Joe knows something we don’t.

Carlos Delfino

DBB favorite Carlos Delfino might just be wearing the Pistons red and blue again next season. While a restricted free agent, Delfino is the odd man out in Toronto, and may find an unmatched deal from Detroit in his future. The question for DBBers, who are long-time fans of Delfino– is Carlos an improvement on our bench behind Tayshaun and Rip?

C. J. Miles

I don’t pretend to know a lot about C. J. Miles, other than his unreal improvement when given consistent playing time. Should a player like Miles be available to Detroit, in comparison to those listed above, this might be a no-brainer. The kid shot 48% from the field when given consistent, game-by-game minutes as a small forward. He’s having a tough time finding a niche in Utah, and while Detroit is no solution to that problem– he might be the rare player that fits like a glove.

James Posey

While James Posey is still available, I hope that there are many other DBBers that cringe a little bit when they hear that name. The two-toned mouthpiece, the dirty fouls, those relentless threes… It sure would be nice to have that kind of annoyance on our team. The money will likely not work out, as Posey is probably due a MLE+ contract from another team. While I may not agree Posey is worth the full MLE, he is a pesk at every level, and has tipped a few teams into championship territory in his day.

A Blockbuster

With Hayes likely gone, Delfino unlikely to return and Miles/Posey a tough sell based on our available budget, we may find a change at the backup three coming along with a blockbuster trade. I’d much rather leave the speculating to the professionals, the DBB readers who are way more qualified and informed than I am. Yet many more options remain. Should Detroit decide to tango with Denver, we could wind up with Linas Kleiza behind Tayshaun. If the Josh Smith rumors are true, we may need to find a player behind Smith instead. The point is, aside from the top four (plus one) shown above, there may be other and better options available to our team after this freak agency calms down a bit…

Until then, I have two questions for you:

  1. In an ideal world, what three available small forwards in the league would you love to backup Tayshaun Prince? (by free agent signing or small-scale trade)
  2. Should Detroit go the blockbuster route, is Tayshaun your first option as a trade piece?

Notice I made it through this whole post without mentioning any Tracy McGrady rumors? (I totally just failed that…)

(thanks to DBB reader LawyerBoy for the tip)

There are no dumb questions

Published by Matt Watson on May 11, 2008 in Videos. 5 Comments

Random silliness, courtesy of Elie Seckbach.

Billups and Kander’s quality time

Published by Matt Watson on May 9, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Injuries. 30 Comments

Flip Saunders claims he’s thinking about using Amir Johnson in Game 4. From A. Sherrod Blakely:

Pistons coach Flip Saunders talked some about Rashard Lewis who has given them fits throughout this series. Lewis’ play is one of the reasons why Jarvis Hayes is out of the rotation, and replaced by Walter Herrmann. Saunders said he’s also giving some thought to putting Amir Johnson on Lewis tomorrow night.

“Just because of his (Johnson’s) quickness and his length and his ability to defend people out on the floor, but also if he gets beat off the dribble, he can make it up and contest at the rim,” Saunders said.

A.S.B. also has the latest Chauncey Billups update in the same article; not much has changed, though it seems Chauncey and Arnie Kander are getting to know each other quite well:

“I’m feeling a little better,” Billups said. “Y’all probably have a better chance of asking my roommate Arnie.”

As in Arnie Kander, the team’s strength and conditioning coach. Billups was up to about 1 a.m. this morning doing stuff with Kander, with treatments resuming about eight hours later.

“He doesn’t need a room,” Kander said. “He’s been in my room. We were up to 1 in the morning and started back at 9 this morning.”

No matter what Saunders says, I’m quite confident we’ll see a dinged up Billups before a perfectly healthy Johnson, which is actually pretty sad.

Jarvis out of the rotation

Published by Matt Watson on May 7, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 5 Comments

It’s been obvious for a while, but Flip Saunders essentially confirmed that Jarvis Hayes is the odd-man-out for the foreseeable future: “I don’t know,” Saunders said when asked about going back to Jarvis. “It depends on what we need. Our ability with Arron (Afflalo) and Walter (Herrmann), they give us a defensive-type presence. If we need scoring, we can go with Jarvis. It’ll be more of a feel, and how the game is going and what’s needed at the time.”

Appreciating Jarvis

Published by Matt Watson on March 19, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 5 Comments

Jarvis Hayes’ recent hot streak might be a good sign for the playoffs — from Empty the Bench: The Pistons’ starters have encountered some very ugly, very prolonged shooting slumps in recent playoffs, a byproduct of fatigue, excellent defensive schemes, and just simply missing shots at the wrong time. It happens. When it does happen—and it will again at some point—Hayes has to be able to come in off the bench and provide some offense.

The Argentine Solution: Why Herrmann should replace Hayes

Published by Matt Watson on February 20, 2008 in Guest Writer. 23 Comments

Continuing in a series of cameos by DBB readers, here’s Mike Payne. — MW

__________

By Mike Payne

With the looming NBA trade deadline just a few days away, DetroitBadBoys.com has been abuzz with reader trade proposals. Some have been ambitious, others intriguing, while others yet have been strictly for entertainment. The common trait of many of these trades is the addition of a veteran small forward to Detroit’s roster. Names like Mike Miller, Andrei Kirilenko, and even Ron Artest have been suggested as inbound players, with Detroit giving up little more than bench players who rarely, if ever, see a spot in Flip Saunders’ rotation. Another common trait of these proposals? The departure of Pistons forward Walter Herrmann.

Perhaps these trade proposals are the result of interest in who is being shopped. This also suggests, however, that the Pistons have a hole to address at the small forward position behind Tayshaun Prince. This raises one very important question: is Jarvis Hayes the best option as Detroit’s backup small forward? If not, who should the Pistons seek to replace or supplement him before the trade deadline closes? While a player like Mike Miller would be magic behind Prince, this guest blogger believes that there is an easier option. Enter our favorite departing player in DBB trade talk, Walter Herrmann.

As our favorite blogger did with Amir Johnson, I call for more playing time for Walter Herrmann and a spot in Detroit’s rotation over Jarvis Hayes. Jarvis has a few obvious problems that must be addressed going into the playoffs. In making this case, I’ll outline Jarvis’s weaknesses and show how Walter Herrmann is an improvement across the board.

Consistency

This season, Jarvis Hayes has had a noted problem with consistency. He’s had some hot streaks, he’s had cold streaks, he’s had on nights and off nights. In the six games spanning January 12th through the 21st, Hayes shot just 7 of 35 from the field. That stretch included Detroit’s longest losing streak of the season, with losses to Sacramento, Chicago and Orlando. In a seven game series, Hayes’s performance could be a flip of the coin. Will he help, or will he tank?

While his sample set is much smaller, Walter Herrmann has proven to be a consistent scoring option in his career. In the last 20 games of the 2006-07 season, Herrmann shot a remarkable 61% from the field– 131 baskets on 214 field goals. During this stretch, Herrmann’s worst night involved 40% shooting on 5 field goal attempts against the Boston Celtics. This speaks to the next issue that needs to be addressed with Jarvis Hayes, his shooting.

Shooting Performance

It appears that Flip Saunders’ primary employment of Jarvis Hayes is as a perimeter shooter and occasional slasher. Flip runs plays for Hayes to be the converter, so when the ball is in Jarvis’s hands, he’s going to shoot it. Alongside Hayes’ consistency issues, he’s not the reliable shooter Detroit needs to hold this job in Flip’s playbook. Over his career, Hayes is a 40.7% shooter with a 35% 3-point average. While he’s improved to 38.6% from downtown this season, he’s no Rip, Tay, or Chauncey. He’s also no Walter Herrmann.

Over his career, Herrmann is a 49.5% shooter and 42.2% behind the 3-point line. Herrmann’s 61% shooting to close out last season was unreal for any forward not named McDyess. What makes that all the more amazing is that 84 of those 214 field goal attempts were from behind the 3-point line. This included Herrmann’s career best game to date on April 14th against the Milwaukee Bucks. Herrmann put up 30 points on 12 of 15 shooting including 6 three pointers and 9 rebounds. Looking at the other 19 games in that streak, its easy to see that this game was not a fluke.

Defense

Defense is a little harder to quantify by reviewing game logs, career stats, etc. Neither Hayes nor Herrmann have significant steal/block numbers that are characteristic of solid defense. For those watching the Detroit Pistons at the Dallas Mavericks on January 9th, you’ve seen the defensive pest Herrmann can be. In an otherwise hot night for Dirk Nowitzki, Herrmann shut him down on defense, forcing Dirk into poor shot after bad pass after offensive foul. Recalling DBB’s LawyerBoy on January 9th, “Regarding our game, me likes what me sees from Hermann. He was playing Nowitzki tough and frustrating him. The foul on Hermann was a complete acting job by Dirk (a very good one, I credit him), and then Hermann baited him back into the offensive foul. Very much the Pistons mantra, I love it.” So do I, LB. And while Hayes is not a real liability on defense, Herrmann could be argued to be an improvement here as well.

In closing, there are many of us here who have liked what we’ve seen out of Walter Herrmann. In a season that is seeing great developments in players like Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson, the only remaining question mark remains in the shooting hands of Jarvis Hayes. Statistically, historically, Herrmann is an improvement over Jarvis Hayes. While this guest blogger was happy to see Jarvis fitting in so well in Detroit, our collective focus remains on an NBA championship. Solving this perceived weakness should not require a trade, only a renewed interest in the participation of Walter Herrmann in Flip Saunder’s Pistons rotation.

Pistons pace Indy

Published by Matt Watson on January 30, 2008 in Games and Pacers. 23 Comments

From the Freep:

For the first 12 minutes Tuesday night, Rasheed Wallace looked like the late-January, hard-to-excite Rasheed Wallace. For the last 36, he looked like the Wallace who could be named an All-Star.

Wallace finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks — including a big one in the final minute — in a dominating show against the Indiana Pacers. The Pistons won it, 110-104.

“I told the staff, that’s what really pisses you off, when you see him play like that for three quarters,” coach Flip Saunders said. “Everyone knows he’s got the ability to do that night in and night out.”

He really was pretty amazing, making 10 of 18 shots, including five straight in the final 4:30 of the second quarter that brought the Pistons from down 10 to up two at the half. The Pistons had a huge advantage with Jermaine O’Neal sidelined and Wallace definitely took advantage. Like Saunders said, the trick is somehow convincing him to do this all of the time.

With Wallace dominating up front, Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton only combined for 28 points, but that was fine given the help Detroit (finally) received from the bench. Jarvis Hayes has emerged from his slump at least temporarily, shooting 5-6 from the field to finish with 13 points.

And while Jason Maxiell tallied only three points and two boards, Amir Johnson chipped in seven and six, respectively, including this impressive put-back. Yes, Johnson is still struggling with his fouls, getting whistled three times in almost 14 minutes, but for what it’s worth he only had one in his first 10 minutes of play, which certainly helped his cause to stay on the floor.

All in all, for a midweek game against a bottom-feeder in the division, this was actually a pretty enjoyable affair. It’s not often you see the Pistons score 110 points, let alone with such varied contributions — even Rodney Stuckey looked comfortable, staying aggressive for most of the game. And now, things will start to get a bit easier heading into the All-Star break, at least in terms of staying in one place. After playing 10 of their last 14 on the road, the Pistons are at home for five straight, starting with the Lakers on Thursday.

Pistons 110, Pacers 104 box score [NBA.com]
BallHype recaps and analysis

Orlando finally beats Detroit

Published by Matt Watson on January 22, 2008 in Games and Magic. 15 Comments

Okay, so Chauncey took a few liberties with the letter of the law with an extra step or two, but you have to admit that was a damn good shot. (Video via FanHouse.) I admit that as it left his fingertips I actually started shaking my head in disbelief that he settled for such a poor look, but in hindsight, I know nothing.

Of course, that was followed up by Rashard Lewis doing his thing, which is a shame, since it means that Chauncey’s highlight will be quickly forgotten instead of played over on those end-of-season montages we’ll inevitably see come April.

It was mentioned in the comments, but what was Rip Hamilton doing on Lewis in the first place? If you remember, Hamilton was initially guarding Hedo Turkoglu (the in-bounder) before the Magic called a timeout and drew up another play. He did a good job, jumping up and down right in his face while denying him the easy in-bounds pass.

After the Magic drew up a new play, the Pistons opted to leave Turkoglu wide open with Tayshaun Prince just kind of drifting in space near the top of the key. Hindsight is 20/20 (see: my reaction to Chauncey’s shot), but wouldn’t it make more sense to keep someone right in Hedo’s face, especially since Prince was obviously concerned about a quick pass back to Hedo? (Watch the vid again, you’ll see what I mean.)

But hey, the Magic are a respectable team, and probably even a good one. And even though this loss was Detroit’s third in a row, there’s no shame in losing to a fellow division leader, especially when there were some positives the team can take.

For one, the offense seemed to be clicking. Entering this game, Rasheed Wallace had failed to crack double-digit scoring or collect more than seven rebounds in any of his last four. Against the Magic, he had 15 points, 15 boards and five steals against perhaps the best center in the league. Dwight Howard, meanwhile, was held 23 points and eight boards (seven fewer than his average).

And while some members of the bench are still struggling (sorry, don’t mean to point fingers Jarvis and Rodney), it was nice to see Jason Maxiell break out with 11 points and seven boards in 21 minutes, easily his best performance since at least the Boston game. (Semi-random link: my HOOPSWORLD colleague Joel Bringham recently did a Q&A with Maxiell.)

While there have been a few bumps lately, the coaching staff isn’t ready to deviate from the “Rodney Stuckey is a point guard, honest!” company line … probably because they’re not allowed to. From the Freep:

Pistons coach Flip Saunders considered but did not activate point guard Lindsey Hunter on Monday as rookie Rodney Stuckey continues to struggle. Saunders said the issue was up to team president Joe Dumars.

“That’s something we’ll sit down and see,” Saunders said. “We knew we’d go through this. There’s no other way. We can’t just say we’re going to throw away his rookie year because he didn’t have it.

“I think he’s strong enough as a kid to fight through it, and if he has one or two breakout games, it’s going to get his confidence up.”

Before you get too down on Stuckey’s performance, consider this: he has exactly 16 games under his belt and has played 20 minutes or more in a game only four times. He’s still green as hell and trying to figure out what the defense is throwing at him. From the DetNews:

“He was having some success and then teams made an adjustment to him and he’s struggled,” Porter said. “He has to find out how he can attack out of a zone set. It’s more difficult, but he just has to keep believing in himself and continue to be aggressive when he has his opportunities.”

Porter said Stuckey will learn to find creases in zone defenses, just like he does against man-to-man defenses.

“He will learn once you swing the ball and get the zone moving, there will be creases he can attack,” Porter said.

That kind of recognition can only come with time, especially when you consider Stuckey hasn’t even been able to practice for most of the year.

As for the starting backcourt, Billups and Rip Hamilton remain locked in. Rip hit 8 of 17 shots, which means he’s dangerously close to shooting .500 for the year: he’s technically at .498 with 299 field goals in 600 attempts. For a guy who does most of his scoring outside of the paint, that’s extremely impressive.

The Pistons continue to give Jarvis Hayes a long leash. He went 0-for-4 and is shooting just .228 over his last seven games, not to mention just 1-for-17 behind the arc spanning his last nine. Is it a slump or a regression toward the mean?

Hayes shot over .400 from three-point land the first two months, and even with his recent struggles he’s at .363 for the season, better than his career average. Same goes for his regular field-goal percentage — he’s at .424 for the year, .404 for his career). I think early in the year we were too quick to assume his hot start was actual improvement from being in a “better” situation. Instead, it seems he’s more or less the player he always was. Shocking, I know. Also disappointing.

Last but not least, this was Orlando’s first win in 10 tries against Detroit — and don’t think that didn’t mean something to the Magic. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel said the game “had the same electricity of a playoff game” and Rashard Lewis was waiting for this all season:

Lewis hasn’t been here for most of the torture inflicted by the Pistons, but he heard his new teammates talk of exorcising their ghosts shortly after signing this summer.

“It has been talked about since the day I got here,” Lewis said. “I was just trying to do what I could to get us over that hump against these guys.”

So yeah, unbeknownst to you, me or the Pistons, the Magic viewed this game as their own little Ohio State-Michigan. How many people in Detroit’s locker room do you think were waiting for this game since the start of the season, and how many do you think didn’t even realize they were playing Orlando this week until the coaches told them to pack warm-weather clothes for the road trip? For Orlando’s sake, here’s to hoping they left something in reserve: they’ll be coming to Detroit for a re-match on Friday.

Magic 102, Pistons 100 box score [ESPN]

Jarvis Hayes has food poisoning

Published by Matt Watson on December 27, 2007 in Injuries. 7 Comments

From Chris McCosky’s blog:

Jarvis Hayes was sent home from practice today. He was sick. The Pistons think it was food poisoning. What that could mean, though, is our first look at Walter Herrmann. He hasn’t put on a Pistons game uniform yet, since coming over from Charlotte. With the Pistons playing Indiana back-to-back, the Pistons might let Hayes sit out and rest Friday.

Herrmann didn’t do much for Charlotte before being traded this year, but check out how he finished the 2006-07 season for the Bobcats. He’s kind of been tagged a three-point specialist (he shot 46% from beyond the arc last year) but is a complete player when he’s at his best. If he does in fact see the court, I’ll be very curious to see what he can do.

(Kudos to DBB reader Diablo for the head’s up.)