Onless teams double team Yao before he got the ball, they won't be able to do that. But if they do that, the floor is already opened up. When Tmac was injured under JVG, Yao still got plenty touches despite being the only defensive target by opposing teams. It all depends on the mindset of other Rocket teams and Yao himself.
If Yao is fronted, the opponent usually needs a backside defender to take away the lob pass over the fronter. The Rockets haven't been able to take advantage much over the course of Yao's career. Yao is effectively one and a half teamed, so someone (usually the PF) is reasonably open. The Rockets used to flash J. Howard to the foul line for a J to combat this, but now, I'm not exactly sure what the Rockets are trying.... Like it or not, Yao is the most efficient player on the Rockets. By not going through him on a half court set, we are certainly decreasing our efficiency. (Note that I've been as hard on Yao as anyone!)
You know what? Yao is averaging 24.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.7 blocks on 60% shooting in December, playing only 33.4 minutes a game. That is after other Rockets players realized they need to pass the ball to Yao as much as possible. Earlier this season, Yao was not the focal point, not nearly as many plays ran for him as now.
i think you're seeing more dependence on yao to start the year b/c tracy and artest are not fully healthy. once they are, it won't be as much. i agree, living and dying by yao isn't a good recipe b/c there are teams he WILL struggle against regardless of what we do. but in the denver game, a lot of his points are putbacks or when he got great post position and the guards passed the ball to him. i mean, if he gets those deep position and offensive rebound, you go to him. when he struggles, trust me, we won't just pound hte ball to him.
Adelman said Yao is the focal point of the offense and I think he should continue to be as long as he is effective. Hakeem’s Rockets and this Rockets team's offense are different. The 90s team was the Hakeem offense, the present team is Adelman’s offense with Yao as the focal point. Yao is averaging the least amount of shot attempts of the big three … there is now way they’re asking Yao to play Hakeem’s end-all-be all role. It can’t happen under Adelman’s balanced scoring concept that has six players in double figures and 2 averaging 9 points. In terms of the fronting defense, I think the last couple of games the team has shown improvement. Last year the team figured out how to be effective against it and burned teams who did it. Like Adelman said as the team and Yao keep seeing certain defenses, they will get more comfortable recognizing where to attack.
I don't know about this selfish offense dominating McGrady you are concerned about. T-Mac has always been a very good and very willing passer. He's only averaging 13.5 shots per game on the season which is crazy low for him. Since returning T-Mac has put up 15, 17, and 17 shots respectively. So he's actually shooting more now than he was pre-hiatus. I don't see T-Mac's playing style as as much of a concern as many of the OP's points.
if u watch the game, tracy is playing the same way he has played every year. a lot of his assists were off the dribble, not any adelman's offense. his usage rating has gone up significantly in the past 3 games. the reason he looks better b/c he's actually healthy enough to be a playmaker now. his stats and effectiveness is not due to some adelman's offense.
Have to disagree on a few points here... I am actually *not* bothered by Artest's perceived "low percentage" shots. The reason why he hasn't been making his pull up jumpers and other "tough shots" at any kind of respectable rate is because of his ankle. That, in my mind, is the primary reason why his field goal percentage has been so low this season. He was making shots on Tuesday simply because he was healthier and had finally gotten a chance to rest the ankle. That's not to say that there isn't more work to be done in integrating him into the offense and getting him easier shots, but I see do see progress. Furthermore, what we saw on Tuesday was exactly what we envisioned -- down the stretch, defenses having to pick their poison between Yao, McGrady and Artest. In this case, Artest was the one getting the easiest shots down the stretch because he drew the least attention. Also, on Yao ... I'm not sure how you missed the memo, but Yao is the most dominant offensive center in the league and is our biggest mismatch whenever he is on the floor. You run the ball through him, you get results. The video proves it. The numbers (adjusted plus/minus, on court/off court efficiency) all agree.
My impression was that he was throwing up a lot more shots in garbage time and that was inflating his shot totals. From what I remember his fga's through three quarters for at least a couple of those games was remarkably low. I predicted that when he came back T-Mac would do a much better job of playing within the offense. It's also obvious that the Rockets' coaching staff is preaching "Get the ball to Yao" during practices.
Good thing for us this is Rick's specialty. In fact, he eluded to this many times during his first training camp as our coach. He said he especially wanted to make things easier for Tracy; make it where he didn't have to work as hard to get a good look..... I would say up to this point there is still room for improvement though. Tracy needs to stick to the offense and be a facilitator , and Coach needs to keep harping on what he's been saying for weeks, "Move the Ball, Move your body." It takes time to adjust to his style. Clyde, John Barry, and Shane have all mentioned that Rick's offense takes more than one season to master. This is why up to this point we only see it in flashes, or halves of games. It's coming though. With good health, is gonna be STRONG in May. Great post
I almost fell asleep in the middle of your post and your post is even shorter!!! All jokes aside. C'mon man...no need to be rude when someone actually puts some thoughts into a post. I actually enjoy threads that start with some reasoning as opposed to a one liner. Great job thacabbage.
in the warriors game, he did jack up 3 shots in garbage time. but not the past 2. he took his shots within the flow of the game. as long as tracy minimizes those heat checks (unless he has a good rhythm), his shot selection has been superb.
They were abused by Zach Randolph not long ago. I suspect the Utah combo, Boozer and Milsap are going to abuse them. But yeah, considering we only spend less than 7 mil combined in Scolandry, they are pretty good for the value. Now, JVG did't have lots of weak side picks going on, I think that was very effective in getting Yao the ball single covered. JVG's idea about using Yao is deep paint catch, no high post fancy-schmancy pivot play fake offense. At lease Yao is not effective there as of right now.
Excellent thread. In terms of health, yes. The big three are clearly better. Yao looked horrible early. TMac was dragging a leg around, sad. Artest has been shooting a career low percentage. The Denver game was the first time to see them together and healthier and the results were impressive. As to becoming a "well oiled machine," that may take awhile. I like what Brooks does in opening up lanes and being a real scoring threat. His speed makes a difference. As to defending Yao, a great deal depends on his concentration and aggressiveness. He can't be effectively defended even when fronted if he gets aggressive, uses his giant butt to push people around, keep his hands and the ball high, makes quick decisions and moves quickly, gets deep, and uses his elbows to get space. The results Yao gets also depends on finding him at the right place at the right time, but it depends even more on his mental state of mind and his physical stamina.
i don't think we are. bad game, good game, bad game.... just don't feel right. for me, our team is trying to shake off something.
ThaCabbage, huh? Well...whatever fries your bacon, I guess... Excellent post, kind person. I'm not a tit-for-tat type of guy, so I won't nitpick as good an observation as this... ...BUT... I've held the opinion myself that Yao Ming can't be the type of offensive anchor the Rockets need and expect him to be, because I always felt his game was more finesse than power. Power doesn't mean Shaquille O'Neal-like...more along the lines of a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to me... ...anybody with any kind of knowledge would tell you that, for all the fluidity and grace of Kareem, he was as strong as anybody. Once he got position on you, you weren't moving him. Yao spends more time on the court than the parquet tile. For somebody his size, that can't keep happening. I know how hard Yao tries. I know he's officiated about as fairly as a Blagojevich campaign. But coupled with Yao's suspect hands, a 7'6" floormat isn't exactly what the Rockets are going to need from him. I believe that Yao is probably the most difficult player in the league to guard. His size is the difference, and he still isn't using it as effectively as he probably could as consistently as he probably could. And he's still an all-NBA center, Chinese voter-box stuffing or not. On a team with a more diverse offense, FINALLY (thanks to someone finally gaining consciousness in the front office), Yao will be asked to do what he absolutely HAS to do for the Rockets to win. And that's to defend the basket and rebound. What all great centers HAVE to do. There's a reason that Bill Russell was a better center than Wilt Chamberlain (not PLAYER, mind you...CENTER...there's a difference). It's why there's a mild panic setting in around here about Dikembe Mutombo taking a job somewhere else. We all got spoiled around here, watching Hakeem Olajuwon be the best center AND power forward on the team (and the league, for that matter), so we kind of expect Yao to be the same way. I know I did. Yao will always impact a game offensively. Just as he's done for the better part of his six seasons here. He'll create offense for himself or his teammates just by being on the floor. Nothing's going to change that. Not a gimmick junk defense, anyway. Yao will get his, or his teammates will get theirs because of him. That's easy to figure. Yao can't get outrebounded by guys 6" shorter than him. Tracy McGrady can't block more shots in one game than Yao does in 3, I don't care how inspired McGrady plays. Yao's the man in the middle, all right. As soon as somebody tells him that, the rest of the league is in serious trouble...
Yao stamina has improve since coming into the league, but not where he can dominate on a consistent basis. Some nights he's going to have it and some nights he wont. And this is what worries me about the Rockets reaching their peak. When your center who is the focal point of the offense keep having these up and down performance how can you peak as a team.
If the opposing C is athletic enough, sometimes all it takes to deny Yao is fronting. Other times, teams double Yao off the catch, sometimes off the dribble. Teams hardly ever double Yao before he gets the ball because it isn't necessary. When Yao went off under JVG when Tracy was injured, he often erupted in the 1st half and scored very little in the 2nd half after teams made adjustments.
Enjoyed your post, thecabbage. They may not outright double Yao before he gets the ball, but I've seen plenty of opposing guards "cheat" off their perimeter defensive assignment in anticipation of the pass into Yao in the post. That way, they can double Yao immediately after he receives the ball. In those situations, the Rockets perimeter player has to take advantage and make the opposing guard pay for "cheating" off him, or Yao has to make the correct pass back out to the open man. It's when they don't do this correctly, Yao struggles and the Rockets' offense sputters. Many of the turnovers I've seen Yao make were of this variety as well.
