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Killian Hayes is going to be fine: a thread 1/12
Let’s start with his three point shot. He’s shooting just 3-15, yeah. But what’s promising is that none of the misses have been ugly. Even though some have been stepback pullups, they still draw iron. His catch and shoot misses still look good/smooth. Nothing broken here. 2/12
Two things contributing to that - the first, spacing. Not sure how he’s going to get to the rim here. 3/12
Second, he’s had a couple of shots at the rim blocked that have turned into fastbreak scores. He seems like an overthinker, and I think that may be in his head. 4/12 https://streamable.com/xielkp
Keep an eye on how often Hayes gets to the rim each game. Over the past two, he has 0 FGAs inside 5 feet. And he’s also only drawn one trip to the line over his first 5 games.
He needs to work on his vertical explosion and ability to turn contact into FTAs, both take time. 5/12
He needs to work on his vertical explosion and ability to turn contact into FTAs, both take time. 5/12
Too often Hayes has declined attacking bigs, instead taking a floater or passing off. In this one, Drummond already picked on him defensively and Hayes looks intimidated to attack. 6/12 https://streamable.com/ktowvq
Here Hayes only has beat Jeff Teague for an open look at the basket, but it’d take going strong with his off hand (his right). Instead he settles for a fadeaway jumper. 7/12 https://streamable.com/91efik
But teammates can also help by shooting better to create better space and get underneath when teams pack the paint. Hayes doesn’t yet have the finishing skillset to punish teams for selling out to block him, but he does have the passing for it. 8/12 https://streamable.com/x7omi4
Hayes’ advanced passing is a promising part of his game. It’s not dynamic, but it shows some quick thinking. Running this fastbreak, he knows he has Plumlee filling the lane to draw Brown from the corner and makes a nice decisive skip pass to Sekou. 9/12 https://streamable.com/i56pkl
Here Hayes has Josh Jackson just a little ahead of the defense, but that Jackson only needs to beat Trae Young for the flush. It might be giving him too much credit to have read that matchup, but I think he probably did. 10/12 https://streamable.com/q1ycwv
His defense is quite solid and his turnovers have improved since that meltdown in the fourth quarter of the opener. 11/12
In all, Hayes looks like a young player with a good head on his shoulders who will bring some nice aspects. He’s not dynamic, but that’s ok - especially if the Pistons are able to pair him with a dynamic guy in next year’s draft. Next to Cade Cunningham? He’s an ideal fit. 12/12
Curious on your thoughts @lazchance