This article by Wang Meng appeared today on Titan Sports/Tom.com, about Yao Ming told by Rick Adelman that he will be freed from limiting his plays only down in the low post in the new season.
Wow, I can't wait for the season to start and its still so long away. I just hope Yao doesn't settle for too many mid-range jumpers. I want Yao to get a minimum of 20 shots per game, and no more PGs shooting more than Yao(although with james, that probably won't change). No more than 3-4 mid-range jumpers.
as long as yao gets the majority of his touches w/in 10 ft of the basket i'm fine. he can shoot the occassional mid-range jumper just to mess w/ the D but don't fall in love w/ it. yao is great b/c he's a force in the paint, not outside.
seein as how the Starbucks part of the article ahd nothign to do with anything, it is equally likely that the writer just pulled that from here...
Agreed. I'm willing to give this expanded range experiment a chance, as Yao can shoot and pass. But I'd really much rather see Yao on the low block. That's where he has the highest shooting percentage and attracts the most attention from the defense. Yao is NOT Divac or Brad Miller.
Yao Ming passes and assists Tracy McGrady cutting into the lane; Yao Ming rushes in from the exterior to grab offensive rebounds.....so shortly 1 month after the arrival of Rick Adelman, a beautiful blueprint in its embryonic form had slowly formed. well if we could get TMAC cutting into the lane, we would have gotten past the first round...lets see if Adelman can get tracy to get off his ass and actually penetrate
it was an effective part of his game when he entered the league, and it's never been said he will abandon the post completely. I agree that limiting the wear on his body will do alot to help the longevity of a center who has a hard time staying on the floor. also moving him to the high post will give our bigger guards an opportunity to take advantage of match-up problems down low...as t-mac, battier or bonzi (that fat b*stard) will have almost every game.
As anyone who has played basketball knows fighting on the inside takes a lot of energy. Sometimes it is a good strategy to shoot from outside, especially if you can hit a high percentage, that also make your defender wonder what you will do next time down the court. So now when Yao get the ball just above ft line, the defender has to wonder should he come out to guard him or not. Sounds like a good idea to me. Yao does not have to shoot a lot from the outside, just enough to put some doubts in the defenders' mind.
I can't wait to see the new Rocket's offense next season. Also, next week will be the week that the roster will again be changed with the draft day and the week after that will be when free agents will be able to be signed. 4 more months to go.
I can't wait for Yao to establish his perimeter dominance. I'm also looking forward to next year when Yao can embellish his rebounding stats by snaring offensive rebounds from the perimeter. I also like how Starbucks was mentioned in this article.
I bet it's Wang copied the Starbuck story from here. This guy may be close to NBA insiders but sometimes not creditible at all.
Just like MJ or Kobe would be super agressive in the 3rd and 4th quater, TD only in the low post when it really counted. Yao should save his post moves for the 4th quarter and the playoff. it's also good for tmac, or james/wells/battier in the lesser degree, let them attack and get going early.