We all know that fronting Yao will be part of any teams strategy in the playoffs. We're going to have to deal with it, and our perimiter shooters need to bring their A game. I'd like to see Ron post up some and Wafer take it to the hole....preferrably stuffing it down, and sometimes dropping it off to Scola or Landry.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hsk5rNFGBko&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hsk5rNFGBko&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
According to the sideline reporter last night, RA didn't have any strategy to counter the fronting and he was acting like a cheerleader IMO, RA is just too slow to make any adjustment.
QFT. Lobs just don't work with Yao, neither does depending on him to get the offensive rebound from a missed shot. His lack of both vertical and horizontal make him a poor rebounder unless the ball goes right to him. Even when he gets his hands on the ball trying to rebound, it's stripped away half of the time. I hate to sound defeatist, but the best way to beat the Rockets is to let Yao go ballistic in the 1st half while hanging close. In the 2nd half, keep the same strategy for as long as you can, then suddenly start fronting. The entire offense up to that point in the game is "get the ball to Yao" and when that option is snatched away, every other player is so ice cold and deferential that the Rockets offense grinds to a halt. The Rockets are at their best when they diversify in the 1st half and Yao doesn't rack up 15 shots in 18 minutes. When teams start the game denying Yao the ball or double-teaming hard, it allows Scola and the others players to go off early, which is a good thing. They get warmed up and can be called upon later. When Yao is the only player shooting in the 1st half, you can rest assured the offense will crash sometime in the 2nd half when the defense toughens up on him. Some solutions? 1 Diversify the offense from the beginning of the game. Running every play through Yao in the 1st half is a recipe for later meltdown. 2 Yank AB out of the game sooner when he stinks. In the playoffs, Lowry should get 30 minutes if he's effective and AB is not. Lowry can take the ball to the basket and finish. This is crucial to beating a fronting defense on Yao. 3 Adelman is going to have to control lunatic Ron. Yank him out and put in Wafer to see if he can shake things up. The problem is Wafer is so pathetic on defense that a well-coached team like the Mavs will abuse him. In many ways, Wafer is like a rookie. He has a low basketball IQ. 4 In the 4th quarter, the Rockets cannot continue using 20 seconds of the shot clock watching Yao unsuccessfully fight for position and then jack up a low percentage shot. The other players must have the guts to take crunch time shots with confidence, or at least do something aggressive and positive with the ball. The Lakers didn't win championships going to Shaq in the 4th quarter. In his prime, Shaq was stronger, faster and much more mobile than Yao is now. Another player or two must step up in crunch time and hit open jumpers or attack the rim. 5 There are situations where Yao must come out. Not sure that will apply against the Blazers, but clearly there are times when the offense does better without him on the floor. 6 (And this is key). The Rockets must maintain their defensive intensity late in games when their offense sputters. It's natural to let down when you can't score but they have to suck it up and shut down the other team to stay close. As has been mentioned before, Adelman is not the most creative coach when it comes to play-calling, especially with the game on the line.
Last game against the Spurs we brought Yao up to the high post/ft line, once off an AB pick&roll and Scola got two easy buckets. Or have AB drive off a Scola p&r to the basket, and Yao has the inside position for an offensive board. This really shouldn't be an issue.
These "risky" plays( the lob pass to Yao) are usually best suited when your team is down by a lot because it gives the team a chance to quickly make a come back, but it also allows the other team to quickly extend the lead. Unfortunately, the lob pass gives the other team a much bigger advantage because it's not a play Yao is effective at. The Rockets need a less "risky" play to go to when Yao is being fronted. After 5 years, I think it's safe to say it's a bad idea to attack the front directly. When Yao can't get the ball in the low post, the Rockets need to do something else. What we don't want is for Yao to be a non-factor on the offense. Yao needs to put himself in another scoring position. I think the pick and pop is his next best move because it involves not only himself but his teammates as well. If the Rockets can make the other team adjust to this, we might be able to go back to posting up Yao.
Dealing with the front is a coaching issue...a strategy for your system. 1 player cannot adjust to the front and make it work. there have to be adjustments made to every offensive position on the court and when center position is fronted the other players must be well coached enough....and smart enough to adjust. once the front is broken....the defense will change to something else and we must adjust again. It is simple....but it is obvious our staff has not prepared for adjustment away from our regular mode of operation. we live by the sword and die by the sword.
The solution is simple, but it may be too late in the season to do anything about it. The Rockets need to stay POISED AND EXECUTE when the fronting happens. 1. Quickly move the ball to the other side so Yao can use the fact that his defender is out of position to his advantage. 2. Set cross screens and have the entry passer ready to dart the pass when Yao is wide open. 3. Run the pick and roll. Yao sets GREAT screen which will get the ballhandler to the rack or set up Yao for easy jump shots. All these are obvious solutions, but the problem is in our poise and execution....or should I say lack thereof!! When the fronting starts, especially when we haven't seen it all game, we all act as if it's the first time we've faced it. We end up playing ragtag jack 'em up streetball. We simply don't have enough disciplined players to remain calm and execute when things get tight. Of course, it all starts with the PG and ours is just not up to the mental task at this point in his career.
I agree. Fronting is not the issue, although it seems to be an issue. It is about execution. When Yao is fronted, there is another Guard behind Yao to double him. We should have a guy wide open. Why the ball is not going to the open guy? If AB or Artest had a high percentage, would they keep fronting? Its a team ball. I agree if not broken, don't fix. But if broken, how to fix? Well, it is just one game, but a crucial one.
There is no solution to fronting because Yao is too slow to recover. We just need our other players to step up and make baskets and stop trying to force the ball into Yao. This only causes turnovers and uses a lot of the shot clock.
This post should be stickied and made required reading. I don't know how many more years/losses it will take for people to realize that these creative lobs/passes off the backboard that are being conjured as plausible solutions simply won't work.
The Rockets should maybe consider going small when teams try to front Yao. Something like: Brooks/Lowry, Wafer, Battier, Artest, Yao. That way you have outside shooters at all other positions, which make it difficult for other teams to front him. You have 3 other players who are capable of putting it on the floor and creating something going to the basket. Of course, the drawback is we give up rebounding (on both ends), and defensively we may not be as good either.
Here's what I see. The entry passer is on one side while Yao is fronted and doubled from behind. To get the ball to other side, the ball needs to travel around the 3 point line or over the defense on a cross court pass. The first option gives some teams time to recover and the second option is always risky. IMO, some teams are just well equipped to handle our offense. Our execution could be better if we had better players, but that's not something we can change right now.
Do you know why fronting wasn't that effective against Shaq? Because the Lakers ran the triangle offense very smoothly. Fronting does not require lobs, it requires: 1. Yao sealing off his man in front of him 2. Someone flashing to the top of the key 3. Quick pass to the top of the key (or the weakside) 4. Quick pass to Yao, finish or dish off to PF when help defense comes It's not that hard, the Rockets just suck at efficiently running plays. I guarantee you if Brent Barry was out in the 4th we wouldn't have been so crippled by fronting, a smart player plays well off the ball and knows how to beat basic tactics.
This was much easier to do with Shaq than Yao, because he was vastly better at controlling his space and catching passes and finishing in traffic.
