Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you wanted throw Hawes into a trash can. That just seems to be the attitude of some of the posters. I guess I'm just surprised at how angry some of these people get. I just don't get the name calling. I certainly understand people's frustration. I get frustrated too. But if I got frustrated with someone that worked for me when I had my own business, I didn't go out into the shop and call him a ***** or a wuss. I never thought I had to go punch an employee in the face to get is A** in gear. Thats the kind of crap bully's or children do. Not adults! Of course, I'm not refering to you, but others on this fourm.
Anyway, as far as Hawes conditioning goes, I have no idea what kind of condition he's in. He's certainly in good enough condition to run up and down the floor without getting winded. How hard he worked out during the offseason, I have no answer for. Some people have a difficult time putting on extra muscle. I'm sure that Marcus Camby has been in a weight room or two, but he hardly looks like superman. He is an example though, of a player thats a very effective defender without looking like Dwight Howard.
Which to me means that there's no excuse for Hawes not being at least a decent defender. There's no reason he shouldn't be able to grab at least 8 boards a game. Thompson and Brockman get rebounds because they block out under the basket. If they don't get it, then usually one of their teammates will get it. Hawes seldom blocks out. When he does, wa la, he rebounds better. Its all about effort. When he puts in the effort, he has games like the last one. His problem is that simply doesn't do it every game.
So agree with most of your premise about Hawes. I just don't get angry about it. And if I start to get angry, I just grab a cervesa and go out and watch the seagulls fly over the bay. I wish they would quite crapping on my patio table though.