The Week Jaxson Hayes TURNED Into RUDY GOBERT. (The Elite Shot Blocker Who Came Out of Nowhere.)

who called the SWAT team because the

Lakers all of a sudden have a legit

enforcer in the paint and he's been

blocking everything at the rim like it's

spam. Say hello to the second most

prolific shot blocker in the last week

behind only Victor Webbyama.

Jackson Hayes. Yep, you heard that

right. Because in case you didn't

realize it, we are currently in the most

prolific shot blocking stretch in

Jackson Hayes NBA career. And after

blocking a Lakers career-high five block

shots versus the Brooklyn Nets, Jackson

Hayes has now amassed 16 total blocks in

his last five games for an average of

3.2 [music] blocks per game. By far the

best shot blocking fiveame stretch of

his career. Now, for someone who's only

averaged 0.7 blocks per game in his NBA

career, while this sudden matumballike

surge certainly seems like an outlier,

what this stretch does highlight is

Hayes's overall improvement in

consistent motor, physicality,

spatial awareness, and discipline. And

during these five games, Hayes has

really put his pogo stick legs and his 7

foot3 wingspan to use. Meeting players

head-on aggressively at the rim,

tracking drives accurately from the get-

go, and being better with timing his

jumps when he does meet guys at the

peak. Overall, Jackson Hayes has done a

commendable job meeting force with force

at the rim and emphatically sending

shots back. Whether it's to muck things

up headon or to sky in from the weak

side as the ultimate last line of

defense that the Lakers modified zone

schemes can reliably funnel players

towards. Overall during this shot

blocking bonanza, the stats have matched

the tape when it comes to Jackson's

general increased engagement, aerial

motor, and competitive fight when it

comes to being willing to put his body

on the line and actually play like a big

man. So, with 16 total blocks and 3.2

blocks per game in his last five,

Jackson Hayes is finally starting to

show glimpses of the elite shot blocking

skill that many thought he'd bring to

the NBA when he was drafted as a lottery

pick number eighth overall in 2019

[music]

out of Texas. And while that skill

obviously never fully manifested itself,

at least for the Lakers, it's now

crowning and peaking at just the right

time. And at just the right time for

Jackson Hayes [music] and his potential

playoff redemption story and definitely

at just the right time for this

volleyball SWAT to the stands.

Sideshow Bob with the full frontal

blocks. Who is this Rudy Gobear version

of Jackson Hayes? But even beyond the

recent shot blocking bonanza, I have the

one definitive Jackson Hayes stat to

rule all Jackson Hayes stats. Personal

fouls for game. And I think this is

actually the stat that defines Jackson

Hayes's improvement the most this

season. Because this year, Jackson Hayes

is averaging less than two personal

fouls per game in 18 minutes per game.

You contrast that to last year when he

only played about a minute more, 19

minutes per game, but averaged 2.4

personal fouls, and the eye test matches

up with the stats. Jackson Hayes has

been a lot more disciplined this season

as it pertains to just standing upright,

absorbing the right blows, taking the

right angles, adjusting his timing on

these shot blocks, and not jumping on

every pump fake. This season is Jackson

Haye's lowest foul rate season as a

Laker. 1.9 personal fouls in 18 minutes.

Now, he did only average 1.8 personal

fouls during his first season with the

Lakers, but he was only playing 12

minutes that season. So, if you look at

this year, this is literally his lowest

foul rate season as a Laker. 1.9

personal fouls in 18 minutes per game,

nearly six minutes more than his first

year as a Laker. And he was already

averaging 1.8 personal fouls. And again,

you contrast that to last season and

Jackson Hayes has just shown tremendous

growth on the defensive end, whether you

actually see that tangible improvement

show up on the stat sheet or not. But as

we've been talking about and as we've

seen in this video, in the last five

games, Jackson Hayes's energy and

activity has started to show up in a big

way in the box score. So, let's take a

quick look at Jackson Hayes's last five

games. As has already been mentioned at

the top of this video, we are literally

in the most prolific shot blocking

stretch of Jackson Hayes's career. Two

blocks, three blocks, four blocks, two

blocks, and then another five blocks

against the Brooklyn Nets. You total all

of that up and that's 16 blocks through

five games for an average of 3.2 blocks

per game. But that doesn't even include

the amount of shots he's deterred, the

good and solid verticality that he's

been able to show by just going straight

up and having his arms high, not

fouling, not reaching as much. And so

that tangible block stat is great, but I

also don't think it necessarily tells

the tale of how active and frenetic

Jackson Hayes has been from a hustle

energy standpoint, but also as I just

laid out, how disciplined he's been as

well in the context of what the Lakers

have been trying to do with their

defensive scheme. And it hasn't even

necessarily just been the shot blocking

and rim protection that Jackson Hayes

has showed. Even though that's obviously

the most glaring stat to sort of point

at, but in this last fivegame stretch

against Indiana, Jackson Hayes put up

his careerhigh with the Lakers. He's had

previous careerh highs with the New

Orleans Pelicans of about 23 points, but

21 points. That was the first time

Jackson Hayes had put up a 20 plus point

game for the Los Angeles Lakers. He put

up 21 points. And then probably the most

important stat, he also grabbed 10

boards. For Jackson Hayes, it's all

about the rebounding and the blocked

shots and whether he can actually

accumulate those big man stats. And in

the last five games, he has played like

a legitimate big man in spite of his

frail stick frame, although even that

he's improved upon this season. So in

the last five games, he's already

recorded his Lakers careerhigh of 21

points. He's grabbed 10 rebounds against

the Brooklyn Nets, 10 points, another

eight rebounds in just 26 minutes, which

is very impressive. And then, of course,

five blocks. Five blocks is also Jackson

Hayes's careerhigh blocks with the

Lakers in any game he's played with them

over the last three seasons. So, he's

been firing on all cylinders the last

couple of games. And I don't think it's

a coincidence that he just looks a lot

healthier since having sat out a few

games due to his like back injury and

some of the additional knick-knack

injuries he's compiled throughout the

season. So with that health, Jackson

Hayes has looked a lot more fluid on the

court. He's looked a lot more mobile.

His motor has run more consistently

throughout the course of all of his

shifts. That Orlando game was a perfect

encapsulation of just his amount of

hustle and engagement, the seven

rebounds, the three block shots,

including all of the shots he deterred,

and how he was able to stick on guys all

the way out to the perimeter, taking

them all the way into the paint. The

Detroit Pistons game, 11 points. He only

had three rebounds, but he had another

four blocks in that game, including one

really impressive stop on Jaylen Duran.

when Duran tried to take him off the

dribble. Jackson Hayes absorbed the

bumps, absorbed the contact, and then

swatted his shot out of bounds. And so,

Jackson Hayes has been very, very

impressive in these last five games. 11

points, 6.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals,

underrated stat for a big man. 75% from

the field. This is also Jackson Hayes's