You guys are going through the exact same growing pains we are experiencing with Pau (except Stro Swift is our scapegoat while you guys choose Francis/Mobely). The fact of the matter is there are two types of dominant big men in the NBA: the Shaq/Duncan/Webber types who come in ready to play physically and have the mentality to want it in the post. Then there is the Jermaine O'Neal/Dirk types who have to be developed into that type of player. I even went through the gambit this week: Pau got dominated by Lamar Odom and TimDuncan and played like crap in crunch time only to totally dominate Sacremento in the post. I have wanted Pau traded but I would only give him up for a legit top 10 player because I know that when we get the Pau vs. Sacremento for 82 games we will be a championship team. Now you guys have a different problem because Pau is clearly our best player and we were not expected to do anything as a team. You guys have Steve Francis who is a better player than Yao even though in the long run everyone knows that the Rockets can only be a championship contender if Yao is the focal point. We can afford to throw it in to Pau because we don't have Steve Francis who is capable of dominating a 4th quarter and bringing home the win. We can afford to throw it in to Pau because nobody expects us to make the playoffs so the lessons are easier to swallow. IMO JVG needs to swallow the bitter pill and let Yao get embarrassed like Pau did earlier this week. Keep running plays for him, force him to shoot, keep calling his number. He needs to tell Cat and SF that when Yao passes it out give it right back to him and force him to shoot. Either he is going to continue to fail or he is going to show some pride and get it done. However, Francis and Mobely are making it to easy for him by taking the tough shots, they have to let Yao do it. It will help the entire franchise in the long run.
I disagree with u in the aspect that Yao should keep getting the call if he is not bringing it that night. He is just not ready yet. And yet, the whole offense is focused on him. I think we need to mix it up a little more. If we didnt have expectations and were a lottery team then yes, give it to Yao every time, even if he sucks that night. But the reality is, if the Rockets dont make the playoffs this year, this team will get broken up, and u dont want Yao responsible for that. The solution is to get Steve more involved in the offense. This whole 'steve can get his when he wants' crap is not going to work. Obviously he is lost. He shoots when he shouldnt, and doesnt shoot when he should. Get him averaging 20 a night. Hey, we won 45 games w/o Yao not too long ago. I say we focus on Yao, but use more, and better guard play. Get Steve, Cat, and even Mooch going, cause believe it or not, we will need all 3 of them to play good to win in the tough West this year.
MemphisX makes a valid point. In spite of how poorly Yao appears to be playing, he is still the 25th most efficient player in the NBA. http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_regular_season_leaders/LeagueLeadersEFFQuery.html And Yao has a higher efficiency rating than Rashard, Dirk, LeBron, Vince, Bibby, Payton and Andre Miller. Yao could stand to take a few more shots. People can not grow without risking failure.
Pau always seemed like a confident person to me. If he gets embarrassed, he’s got enough pride and confidence in himself to come back strong the next game. I have very little faith in Yao ever being that way. He’s a mentally weak person. He second guesses himself. He gets discouraged and frustrated easily. He’s simply not the type of player that’s ever going to shoot the ball every time he gets it’s, no matter how much people plead. I don’t think Yao could play that way if his life depended on it. He’s just too afraid of making mistakes and losing the game for his team and letting everyone down.
Great post, MemphisX. Thanks for some perspective. It can be tough watching this team, because when they suck, they REALLY suck.
I have to agree. For Yao to succeed he can't be afraid to fail. He has to bring it each night. The more work he gets, the better he will become.
Stro had some super-duper dunks this season....I think he's the most underachieving player in the NBA.
You have to accomplish something, just enough to believe yourself. However, i do think a 20/20 game is enough for a player to be confident (not cocky) in the NBA, like Yao was in China. What more does Yao need to build up his confidence? The freaking KG acts like he's the best player in the universe, man he hasn't even won a playoff series yet.
I pick Memphis to be the dark horse this year, they could make the playoff this year. Jerry West is a genius, he picked old school Brown to be the coach, had the courage to admit his draft mistake and traded Gooden when he only played half of his rookie year, got Posey from Rox and Wells from Portland and cost almost nothing. Now they have all the talent needed and seems they will rock NBA this season. Ugh.
This is a myth, urban legend, extreme exaggeration, bald-faced lie, fairy tale, ....etc. How can anyone possibly believe that the whole offense is focused on a player that takes 7 or 8 shots (depending on the 2-2 free throws) in 28 minutes. If the whole offense were truly focused on Yao, there would be total effort on getting Yao in position to take shots. He gets a lot of touches, but, obviously kicks the ball back out way more often than he shoots. To say the whole offense is focused on Yao is entirely wishful thinking. If the Rockets did as Memphis suggested, then you could start to make an argument for it. If the Rockets ran lots of plays to get Yao open coming across the lane, you've got a start. Tossing the ball in to Yao when he has posted too far from the basket is a wasted exercise.
Teams know we aren't an outside shooting threat. Minimal perimeter defense against us is all that's required. It has been pretty easy to cheat off our perimeter players and force yao to pass it out.
Well now we can't even get the ball to him! Screw it! Just let him take outside jumpers! I think we need a balanced offense with more running...we lost it when we lost James Posey...and we need to have guard play and teamplay! Patience...and they need to at least look like they are trying very hard! I love Padgett and Nachbar and Ford because they look like they are hustling... But I would like to see us force Yao to just dominate one game. Just tell him to shoot unless he is like quadrupleteamed.
Moe, just because he doenst shoot the ball doesnt mean the offense is not focused on him. See, thats what i mean by he's not ready to carry us yet. If he misses a shot, he doesnt shoot as much any more. He looks to pass first, shoot second, which is a PG duty, not our all-star center's. If he becomes aggressive, like Hakeem, and demands the freaking rock every time, and shoots it, then HELL YES, give him the ball. Even if he keeps missing, feed it to him. But if he is just gonna hold it and wait for the double team so he can kick it back out.......that aint gonna work on this team yet, cause he might not get the ball back on that certain possesion. Until he is ready to become the center Hakeem was, even early in his career, we cant just rely on him to carry us. Steve has to get involved a LOT more and so do others. We need balance. Not to mention a little running.....
Rockets tried this last season and they usually got something out of the possesion. Wonder why JVG is so reluctant to adapt.
I agree that at this point, Yao is not ready to carry the offense. I do not agree that the entire offense is focused on him. It's more like "toss the ball into Yao, if you can, and see if he wants to do anything with it. If he tosses it back out, just do what you usually do."
You're right, with the added factor of by then there are 3-5 seconds left and the player who gets the ball has to do some sloppy dribble move and jack up a last minute shot. I think the plan would work if they could get it started 10 seconds earlier....
