How has Hawes been playing? I actually really liked him leading up to the draft.
Well...he has a great attitude and his confidence level is off the charts. Before the Spurs game, he met with Theus to complain about his lack of playing time and solicited Reggie to play more. He wants to play around 30 minutes a game and Theus is thinking that Spencer's knee, which was operated on right before training camp, needs to be brought along slower then that.
He gave him 10 minutes in the Spurs game, resulting in 7 points, including a three-pointer, 3 boards, and a block. He is active- he has no "rookie jitters" that I can see. His offense around the basket includes shots with both hands - a rarity with any player let alone a seven footer.
The biggest (by far) knock on Hawes coming into the NBA was his lack of production in rebounding the ball. In 11 plus minutes a game, he is getting 2.1 rebounds, so that stat could be better. However, when given decent minutes, as he was against Phoenix, he pulled down 6 boards in 19 minutes and scored 12 points, which was his best game. He hasn't missed his free throws either (8 for
.
I guess you could say he is learning and he is a good learner. Because of his lack of training camp reps, he has to work on the basics with King's coaches after practice, which he is doing regularly.
He models his game after Brad Miller, so it is convenient he can watch the original with the Kings.
There is one other thing I can say about him. He has a 'tude. He should hit the weights to back it up, but for now, he just has not looked at all intimidated playing against anyone he has faced so far. Unlike what you might expect with a rookie big man, he just has not looked lost on the court, but plays the pick and roll like a pro, and has not gotten in the way of the offense. Teams will need to learn to respect his mid-range and three point shot, just like Miller. He has more quickness then Miller, however, and at times finishes with a flourish.
I would rate his basketball IQ in the upper realms of all rookies.
