Nobody expects him to be something he’s not. He is expected to improve in the areas he’s weak in- rebounding and interior defense. Those expectations aren’t unrealistic or unfair. Perhaps his strengths lie elsewhere, but he needs to shore up the weaker parts of his game as many many before him have had to do.

could perhaps have been Spencer referring to when he has been successful in the NBA. His best games he has really been a force on offense with his passing and scoring. We haven’t really seen many successful defensive bruiser games from him, and likely won’t , because as he said, he doesn’t do that. He has stepped up his defense in the past few games as well as his rebounding. So I just hope that this trend continues. Confidence on both ends of the floor

I was thinking, “I hope someone is writing about how crazy it is to be starting Brockman and giving him big minutes at the expense of Hawes’ long term growth.” The Kings badly need Hawes to develop get better, in fact many of their hopes hinge on him getting better.

But on the other hand, you read this post and Hawes’ quotes, and you think that maybe in order to get better Hawes actually needs to be benched and cut down to size until he starts to get it.

And yet on the third hand, in some sense he’s right: he’s never going to be a very good defensive rebounder or defender. This has been apparent since the moment the Kings drafted him. He doesn’t have the physical gifts, and people don’t just turn themselves into Dennis Rodman.

On the fourth hand I’m going to shut up now.

I certainly agree with you, Ziller, listening to Hawes speak is rarely disappointing. One thing Hawes is not – he is not guarded in his words. He will tell you what he is thinking for anyone willing to listen to him. He does not seem to think like the other members of his team, which IMHO might explain why he frequently seems like the odd man out in post-game celebrations, distancing himself from his teammates.

There is a certain narcissism he projects, with the certainty in which he makes his proclamations. His statement, “I do what I do, and that is what has made me successful” is basically affirming that he is the one who is right, despite what others say or think about him. It makes it difficult for him to change and grow from the advice of others, because he is always thinking that he is the one who is right. That mentality closes off hearing what other people are saying to him and puts blinders on him as to what he needs to do to improve his game.

There is some truth to his thinking that Brockman is built for certain tasks. The two players are physically built differently. Brockman’s stature may make him better for diving at balls and generally playing with more scrappy efforts. However,it also can be a built-in excuse. By saying that he is not built like Brockman, he is also saying that he does not need to play with greater physical aggressiveness because of their different bodies. One could infer that he is giving himself the go-ahead to work on developing his shooting, while minimizing his need to assert his physical presence on the floor. Better to dunk on someone else than worry about being dunked upon. There are things that Spencer can do to change his body. While Brockman can’t grow any taller, Spencer can workout in the gym and develop greater muscle mass. Just as you pointed out, it is an “I can’t” statement. I will take that one step further, it is an “I won’t” affirmation.

I agree with you, Spencer can continue to improve his game. His words also suggest that he intends to cherry-pick the skills he wants to work on. There has been a tendency for him to work on his offensive skills at the expense of his defensive assertiveness. While others around him see the need for him to concentrate more on improving his defensive skills, Spencer talks about working on what he does best. Hawes can and will improve, but there is no doubt in my mind, that the learning curve would hasten if he were more open to the advice that his coaching staff is trying to give to him.

The win improved the Kings to 12-15 when Hawes is in the starting lineup. So why did westphal fix something that wasn’t broken? I don’t know.

Westphal commented that in the last few days it seemed like a light had gone on for Spencer. Maybe that’s what we saw in the Warriors game. I’m hoping that it’s a new beginning for him, that he plays around that level from here on out. That he gets it now.

I hope they open a spot for sergio at the deadline by trading Beno. Sergio has been electric this year and he really deserves to be the backup for this team. The offense performs so much better with him in the game.

Petrie may have never drafted Brockman! Spencer refuses to work on the things that his game lacks, so maybe he pushed for Brockman to be drafted because he does everything that Spencer doesn’t?

Spencer Hawes plays in the NBA. That means he is one of the top 200-ish basketball players in the world. It’s probably not a stretch to say he could be in the top 100. That’s a level of success most of us will never know in our professions.

What will differentiate him is whether or not he has the drive to be one of the best 30 players in the game, or higher. That’s what we want to see, that’s how we would define success. We want him to be more. But let’s not let that overshadow the fact that Hawes has led a successful life thus far.

If only Spencer had Brockman’s motor…or desire. Or if Brockman had Spencer’s height and offensive gifts.

I have seen Spencer rebound, block shots, defend, & score. That is what is most frustrating. He can do all of it I believe his only problem is simply consistant effort. Plain & simple. No need to analyze his game. Spencer does not give enough effort every night. I really don’t know how else to say. He ALWAYS has a great game against LA. That is not coincidence or match-up .He gets up for that game everytime.

sound the alarms!

I agree with Slam about some narcissism being revealed and with ExG’s Definition of success. They are both truthful indictments of where Spencer’s head is right now. It is odd, however, for a 21 year old to talking limits. Weren’t we all invincible and ready to rule the world at that time?

The positive here is self realization: I am good, but I am not great. The negative flipside is: I have a ceiling and you have seen it, I have seen it, and I am ok with that.

On a practical level: three years into his professional career and though he has the excuse of chronologic immaturity, Spencer is still wildly inconsistent. It is up to him and the coaching staff to follow the path he mentions: let me work on my strengths and hone them to a dangerous point and then I will get to the task of improving my weaknesses.

Another great post TZ, thanks

…Hawes said, " I do what I do and that’s what has made me successful". Well, getting to and starting/playing significant minutes at 21 years of age in my mind is pretty successful for the average person. Maybe not for the average NBA standards, but you’re using a pretty high barometer to measure success by then.

I’m not disagreeing that Hawes can’t improve, I’m disagreeing that the way you define success would mean all but less that 1% of the population are failures.

Hawes is playing under his 5th coach in 5 years – senior year in high school, freshman year in college, Theus, Natt, Westphal. And through this period, he has been asked to change his game significantly.

I think that Hawes does suffer from not playing with a pass-minded point guard. He has looked his best when paired with Udrih, and Beno isn’t exactly Steve Nash. This offense, as constructed, yields fewer low post opportunities for the big men than most teams.

Having said all of this, it is incumbent on Hawes to adapt, adopt and improve. Yes, he is still 21. Yes, it takes big men longer to develop. But we’re getting to the time where we should be seeing a lot more of the “good Spencer” and a lot less of the “Bad Spencer.”

but I’ve been too busy and this looks like as good a place as any.

I was comparing Spencer to other 21 year old guys 6’10" and taller to try to find comperables and I think the results are interesting.

For example, Vlade is generally considered a good comperable to Spencer, but he was much different at age 21. Vlade then was a really good rebounder for example and not nearly the passer he would become.

You can find some guys that ended up being pretty decent rebounders that weren’t great at age 21 like Brad Daugherty, Joe Smith and Andris Biedrins.

If you’re looking to get a feel for guys that Spencer seems comperable to at age 21, the top end you could probably hope for is Brad Daugherty, Andrew Bogut (Spencer’s stats are similar but worse than these guys). The low end is Nenad Krstic.

The interesting part for Spencer, what sets him apart is AST%. The list of guys that pass as well as Spencer at age 21, at least measured by AST% and we know its flawed, is pretty short, only 6 guys are better.

The query I used can be found here:

Hawes Comperables

Bargnani is starting to fulfill expectations of being the #1 pick in the draft for the Raptors. Not in an overwhelming way, but he is no bust. I like this point of comparison to Spencer, since both players are perimeter oriented 7’0 centers with soft shooting touch. Neither plays well out of low post. Bargs is a better athlete (he can pump fake and drive to hole), while Spencer has more length.

Bargs is 24 years old now, and came into the league at age 21. Click for full stats:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/andrea_bargnani/career_stats.html

And you will see at age of 21 and 22 (years 1 and 2), Bargs was considered a big disappointment, scoring around 10 points a game @ 40% shooting, and rebounding at paltry rate: only 3.8 boards a game! Last two years, at age 23, and 24, he is up to 16 pts/ 6 rebs / 46% FG. He has figured out where he can be most effective scoring, learning to play position defense, and helping his team win. Bargs is never going to be a big rebounder, especially with Bosh clearing defensive boards, but he has learned the league and how to play.

Spencer is superior across the board at same age, and there is no reason he cannot show same rate of development as Bargs. In fact, I will predict Spencer will average 16 points and 10 rebounds on 50% shooting after the all-star break. I see this as function of reduced minutes so far this season, which should go up from 27 min/g to around 32-33 min/g, more plays involving Spencer later half of the year, and improved chemistry with guards.

He should be talking more about how hard he working to improve his game, not talking so much about how successful he is.

Talk about arrogant. You can read a comment, with no idea how the question was asked and what inflection was in his voice, and know exactly what was on his mind. Who he is, and what he wants to accomplish. You people need to get a job at Homeland Security.

Do you really think that the other 200 players in the NBA, don’t know when they are entering a contract year. And, it’s not on their mind to improve.

Is is so hard to believe that a player doesn’t want to stop doing the things he does best, the things that got him his job, while he works on making the changes that his boss is asking him to make.

How many PG’s entered the league not being able to shot the long jumper, but learned to shot after they were drafted. So, why is it hard to believe that a Center who was drafted for his offensive skills, won’t learn to be a better rebounder and defender.

I think I’ll make up my own mind about Hawes performance and future based on his performance, and not on some isolated quotes in the Bee.

But, here’s a question: Would Spencer be a better center at this point in his career, if he had been drafted by a franchise that had a winning record, instead of one of the worst teams in the league? Is the team being hurt by his performance as much as his performance is being hurt by the team?