A bit off topic, but a co-worker around the corner from me is the first cousin of Carl Landry. He took her to dinner last week when the Rockets were in Sacramento and then Oakland. She does not follow basketball. I had to tell her last week about the Portland/SA/Houston tie. But I think we should maybe avoid each other for a couple of weeks.
Chuck measured 6'5.5 barefoot at his predraft with a 8'8.5 standing reach... LA came in 6'10 & 9'2. Thats the same sort of advantage that Yao enjoys. STOMP
Well I just skipped through the two games where Houston faced Portland at home, and both times Hayes did an excellent job on Aldridge one-on-one. On backdowns Hayes played him so tight that when Aldridge turned around to shoot Hayes was right in his face. The height advantage for Aldridge is neutralized in those instances because Hayes doesn't go for the block; he just puts a hand right before your eyes. It seemed to have thrown Aldridge off, because he was hitting the exact same shots with Scola on him. Where the height advantage plays to Aldridge's benefit is when he runs a pick and pop with Roy. Hayes often left him to help on Roy. Roy would hit Aldridge with a pass, and Aldridge gets an open 18 footer. If Hayes were more athletic or longer he might have been able to recover in time, but with his height he was unable to throw a hand in Aldridge's face before the ball left his hands. I'm not saying Hayes can shut Aldridge down, but that he's actually our best shot at slowing him down. I'm not scared of Roy, more of Aldridge. Here's a video I found on youtube of what I'm talking about. I would have cut out some clips from the Rockets/Blazers games but I'm right in the middle of an exam stretch and can't afford the time. [youtube]IuvicmG_zgk[/youtube]
Rather than talk basketball, ask her about he's recovering from the shooting. Hoops is one thing, but what happened to Landry I wouldn't want to happen to anyone...even K*be. I was glad to see him back on the court.
