V Divac: Yao Ming Will Thrive to Become Better Under Adelman

I believe Yao Ming will thrive under anyone who knows how to coach. So this statement is easy to say.. nothing new.

If Yao does bad, then you can blame the coach for not using him right.

 

thanks man.... i appreciate the translation.

 

thank you very much pryuen. that is a uplifting interview. is it november yet?

 

Thanks Pryuen for the translation. BTW, I occasionally post your translated articles to some other forums, but I make sure to say who is translating and from what forums, including link to the original article.

I love the way Divac expresses himself towards the way Rick Adelman adapted to his players. I loved JVG, but he made players adapt to his system. I'm excited to see how Rick Adelman adapts to his players. I wonder if Tracy will be driving more and I also wonder what percentage of the game will Yao spend in the mid-range or in the low post.

Divac is very thankful for Adelman. I'm glad we got Adelman as a coach. I've coveted him for a long time. JVG developed further Yao's low post game, now it's Adelman's turn to further develop Yao's passing game along with his mid-range game.

 

Thanks pryuen, great read.

 

i hope he can make tmac train hard on his game and not his muscles. and i hope he can make him play with passion.


"DIVAC: Too many things. First, of course, it is about basketball. He is so different from other coaches; he has a unique perspective and vision towards basketball games. He lets me understand how I should treat my game and competitors. If you want to achieve something from your game, you have to give your all with passion in competitions; you must diligently prepare for every of your game; and if you want to be great on court then you need to work diligently starting from the training court. He is so full of wisdom. During our training, he would teach us how we should respond given certain situations; and then during the competition, those situations really happened, and therefore we knew how to handle. "

 

This is a really encouraging interview from Divac, and I'm really excited about the Rockets next season. Four more months to go......

 

I hope Yao gets enough touches next season. One GOOD thing about JVG was that he ensured that Yao's teammates got him the ball. If Adelman sort of let's players play freely, and let them decide, then I'm afraid guys like T-Mac will shoot 35x per game, and Yao only gets 10 touches. IF that happens, what will Adelman do? According to the article, Adelman will do nothing as long as they win. This isn't right. Yao at this stage of his career should keep getting at least 20 touches per game. He should be scoring about 25+ points per game. It would suck if players like T-Mac, who has a tendency to try to take over games, and shoot way too many shots, forgets that he has a great center. If that happens, I hope Yao complains and makes an issue out of this, rather than just staying quiet, and being the good team player. Yao has to be along with T-Mac the main two offensive options.

 

i wonder if he flopped at any time during this interview.... very likely

 

Umm... who gives a crap as long as we win. I'm a Yao fan, but a Rockets fan first. If Yao ends up being the consummate team player and plays like Bill Russell (not likely, I'm just throwing out a team-oriented center) and we win 10 titles, who are we to complain?

 

did u read what u just wrote? plain stupidity. obviously if we keep winning, who cares who's doing what?

the point of the game is to win. not for yao to get 20 touches. not for tmac to get 20 touches.

if anything, tmac overpasses to yao at times so i dont know what u are talking about. aren't we complaining that same thing in the jazz series? why was he deferring down the stretch in games to yao and others?

and to the 2nd bold, there's a reason yao is liked and fans like you are pooped on. when u win, it's b/c u did ur job. yao will sacrifice everything to win. he's that unselfish of a player. i dont know how some yao fans don't recognize that part of him and wants him to care about his stats. thank god yao doesnt have ur attitude.

 

appreciated you effort pryuen, was kind of repetitive with the Q and A, but nonetheless a good view out side the rockets organization.

 

The thing I'm most worried about Adelman is his defensive strategies. I have no doubt he'll fully tap into our players' potential in terms of offense. There's no question about that. T-Mac will get better looks. Yao will get better shots. The offense will be more cohesive in general than it has been under JVG.

But what about on defense? That's a whole different matter. Will players keep up the intensity there? I don't expect the Rockets to be a top 3 defense like it has under JVG. But if they remain in the top 10(adjusted for tempo), I'd like our chances in the playoffs next year.

 

pruyen is right, just because Adelman's philosophy is to let the players play doesn't mean he just sits there the entire time...he's going to make adjustments, anyone would know that.

 

If intensity is our only problem on defense then we will be set. Everyone turns up their intensity in the playoffs. Take the Warriors for example. They couldn't play a lick of D in the regular season, but they had a bunch of lengthy defenders and a coach who knew how to use them. Their defense in the playoffs was the reason they beat the Mavs.

 

I'll say it again, the idea that those Sacramento teams couldn't play defense is bull****. Those scores were a product of the system they played in.

I believe one year, they were #1 or #2 in defensive efficiency and were by far the best team at stopping 3 pointers, (something we weren't that good at)

I'm sure it will be fine. We won't be as good as in years past, but we're not going to turn into Golden State and just not play defense.

 

Golden State does play defense, they might not have the biggest line up, but do to their small ball they are able to rotate very quickly on help defense which is why they were able to shut down Dirk during the playoffs.

They obviously suck against players with traditional post men, but to say they don't play defense is a complete lie.

 

Why should Yao Ming complain? Because he is not some 3rd string Center. He's the best center in the league, and he HAS to get his share of shots. He HAS to be #1a or #1b option. If he isn't getting at least 15-20 FGA per game, then it IS a travesty.

Absolutely a travesty.

And Yao Ming should complain. We're talking about his career, which is very brief. In the NBA, you are judged by your stats. History will judge Yao Ming by his stats.

I don't care if the Rockets are winning with Yao average 13points. I don't care. I want to see Yao scoring at least the same as last year.

T-Mac has a tendency to take over games and go on a shooting spree. JVG was very good at controlling this.

Based on YOUR translation, it sounds like Adelman is less demanding and controlling to the plays on the court, and while this is good in some respects, if players like T-Mac play like Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley did, by ignoring Yao purposely, then it is wrong.

It is wrong for Yao to be getting < 20 points per game. At this stage of his career, he MUST average 25 or more points. More than that, his talent gives him that right to be the #1a or #1b option.

Anything less, and his talents will be wasted.

Something that worries me about Yao Ming is that he is passive and unselfish. He has to be selfish. He has to complain if he is reduced in his role either by the players or the coach. He has to be more selfish. For his career.

JVG would not allow this to happen. In that way, JVG was Yao's best friend. I hope Adelman also recognizes Yao deserves a lion share, yes, a LION SHARE of touches.