I believe yao is smart enough to know this as well. it's plain as day light. the problem however is, will JVG be flexible enough to allow yao to 'slack' a little on the defensive end to avoid fouls? That will be a great adjustment, but I do not see it coming from JVG. and as long as JVG does not allow it, yao, as the obedient player he is, is not going to do it.
Yao has the passion. His conditioning really needs to be worked on this summer. I really would like to see some elbows thrown or some monster jams on Dampier, Bradley, Stackhouse, etc.
Do not confuse good defense, with silly fouls. I think that Jeff knows the situation and has told Yao to hold his arms up and let some dunks go (be smart). But when Yao is on the court he's trying to balance intense defense with smart defense. And I think that at times, Yao instinct takes over. He REACTS. This has nothing to do with Jeff being flexible or not. It's about Yao being capable enough to make the decision on the court HIMSELF. So, this is not an *all or nothing* situation. This is about a players ability to adjust to the conditions around you.
this is theoretically true. but in practice, I think it's hard to distinguish between a smart defense and an instinct defense. for example when you go up to challenge a dunk, often it's hair thin whether the official will see it as a block or a foul. and I also recall numerous times this year that jvg will go bombastic because yao allowed an paint move by the opponent. so I would say this is easier said than done. I do agree that yao needs to train hard to change some bad habits, things that lead to silly fouls. as much as some of the actions are of instinct, it could be changed by training.
Ok, so, let's see, you're stupid...insecure, probably uglier then a troll, and probably just an overall sh*thead. Don't worry Clutch, he won't see any of that - I'm on his ignore list
Well, this is the problem that makes all this so difficult. Yao said it himself. Speed is his next priority in training. He needs to work on his speed! If he improves his lateral speed just a little bit, these fouls would go down significantly (total).
Were going to need Yao down the stretch in future games, the effort tonight isn't going to cut it. He's a big part of this team and I hate to see him go out like this numerous times, he's gotta step it up.
He's the wingman and he wasn't needed tonight. When T-mac is off Yao will be asked to step up. Then we will see what he is made of.
and??? I dont see anyone suggesting we dont need Yao...we do.. Even when he isnt making a recognizable impact on the stat sheet...he is affecting the play on the court in a good way for the rest of the Rockets.
Yao had a few dumb fouls, but my god, will they let the freakin man play some basketball out there? First play of the game, Dampier forces the issue, falls down, and gets the call. You could tell what kind of game it would be for Yao right there. His 2nd foul occured when he's backpedaling with his hands up. Dampier has nothing, and throws up a wild shot, only to be bailed out AGAIN. 3rd foul was dumb, Yao tried to stop a dunk but was too late. 4th was a weak loose ball foul call. I don't know why, but Damp just gets the weakest calls against Yao. His 5th was even worse. Dampier boxes Yao out, Yao seals him, ball bounces over Yao's head, who turns to go after it, and boom, 5th foul. I have no clue what even occured on that play. It was just a run-of-the-mill bounce that should have netted us a posession, instead it somehow staples Yao's butt to the bench. I have great confidence that Yao will have a huge impact in this series. However, that's going to be tough if they keep calling the game like a regular season game instead of a playoff game.
I think we have different interpretation as to the thread starter's intention. He was talking about Dikembe subbing for Yao to finish the job when Yao is in foul trouble or tired. So it's not restricted just to Yao's defense and foul problem. I'm interested in the discussion on the recent recognition of Mutombo's game, sometimes to the point that seems to be able to replace Yao's impact, and therefore, a degrade to Yao's perceived status as team leader. That's why I think it's apt to talk about Yao's offense given the thread title "has Yao been reduced to role player". Plus, Yao has not been in foul trouble recently, and the thread starter is clearly referring to a recent trend he perceives. To limit the discussion to Yao's defense and foul problem in the last game seems to be out of place. I agree with Yao's need to stay on the floor, but disagree to use it to set the scope in this thread.
Warning: long post coming. Overrated or not, Yao is still a shooter and passer above average centers. Establish him in those aspects and it'll come in handy. Restrict him then that facet of game is gone waste. If we are not winning rings, there is no reason to settle down for what is working now. The problem is we don't know how good we need to be to get a ring, we can only try to get better as much as possible. Also, I'm not saying we have to change now, to incorporate Yao into guards play takes time. Yes, if things aren't broken, don't fix it. On the other hand, it can be improved upon. Good point.To set up the perimeter game, and in turn, Yao's post up game requires hot outside shooting, yet as we all know outside shooting goes hot and cold in quarters as well as between games, especially so given some of our streaky shooters. There was a stretch of games we shot so so and had troubles winning games just a while ago. To incorporate Yao into guards play will give us one more backup plan when our perimeter game fluctuates. Compare to the current plan, it's like landing a 7'6" shooter and passer out of nowhere. To rush Yao into the paint when our outside shooting is cold is invitation for double teams we can't take advantage of, in short, a waste of time. That's not conflicting with the point I'm trying to make. Yao can't go posting up all the time. It's better to figure out what he needs to do other than setting a pick when he's not posting up. I've responded to you point by point, but I don't think the problem is so simple. Limiting Yao's role in offense has more impact in terms of other things, among which Yao's psycological approach to the game. Expectation on Yao is huge, yet his role on non post up possessions leaves him out cold for stretches. It's almost to the point that Yao is regarded as players with little offense, like Mutombo or Bowen, of whom the only use is to set picks and score on random open buckets. There is two ways for Yao to score, the hard way by going one on one in the post and the random way. There is no designed plays for Yao to score or utilize his other skills.Look at leaders like T-Mac and Kobe, they get plays run to get open and shoot. Not for Yao. Being a leader isn't just all about creation, but also finishing. The leader treatment is to maximize their ability to finish by excecuting plays for them to score. Not for Yao either. The consequence is Yao is regarded as a leader without necessary support. The narrow, rigid and restrictive role limits his ability to fully exert his impact, and rests his success only on one pivot.When one is standing on one leg with the huge weight of expectation he is bound to feel restricted, unsure of things to do, unless that leg is as thick and stable as Shaq's. The fact is Yao doesn't have a leg of steel in terms of post play like Shaq. And his success on standing on that one leg is further disrupted by unfair reffing, foul problem, cold outside shooting and failure on post entry. Upon failures of standing on one leg Yao blames himself too much for not being able to help the team. The anxiety builds up and the long term effect is the robotic and mechanical way to play the game. Something happened and was severe enough to make JVG talk to Yao about it. Now back to the discussion of Yao's being reduced to a role player under the presence of Mutombo. When Yao's impact on offense in limited by his unstable role, it's easier for him to fail and for Mutombo to replace him with his defensive impact. Deke's defense holds the opponents down and lessens the scoring pressure. His offensive rebounding gives the guards more chances. His lack of post game speeds up the game and brings more ball movement.All good for the guards to get back into their grooves.Since Yao isn't as good as Deke on defense,a good way to remedy the situation is to broaden Yao's role on offense. More Yao in the system helps Yao to get into a rhythm with increased touches, which is also good for his post game.We saw Yao can dribble from behind and have success rolling to the basket after a pick and roll. We saw things we didn't know he can do before given a chance. Only those things are de-emphasized and made far in between by his role in offense. Blaming Yao is not going to put those things into use, re-evaluting situation will.
Relax everyone--Yao will play better in Game 2. He hasn't had 2 bad games in a row for a long while... Y'all need to do some lurking on the Mavs forum--funny stuff... -
I would blame some of this on JVG. What happened to the world declearation to play Yao regardless fauls, and let the refs dare to call ? If you show weakness, and back down then that is what you are going to get. Play Yao, let the ref and himself adjust to the game !!!!! JVG...
I visited their boards before and after the game. It's totally different and yes, it's prime entertainment.
After the game, ESPN show that same stat from "twin towers(that's what ESPN called them)", then show the dumb face of Dampier...I basically can imagine what ESPN wanted to say "do you really think you are the best centre in the west?" Yao had a bad night, true...But they still contributed.
