I don't think it's necessarily beneficial to have both Steve and Yao on the bench at the same time during critical stretches late in the game. In fact, I would limit them both being out of the game to emergency situations during competitve games. It seems like when Yao and Steve are both out at the same time, there is absolutely no offense to be had and momentum is lost.
Memphis hit a 7-0 Run the second Francis went out and Yao was already out Made a 8 pt lead a 1 pt lead which lead to the loss . . . Rocket River
Yeah, JVG said that when he took Steve out, Memphis went on a 7-0 run. I think Steve really needed a breather, I noticed earlier in the game he was talking to JVG, then Mike Wilks got up to come in. But then it looked like Steve waived him off.
Did Mike Wilks do anything wrong yesterday? He just played...we lost because we missed free throws and could not rebound..mainly.
Those definitely hurt us, but Mike Wilks doesn't exactly demand the defensive attention that Francis does.
JVG put so much emphasis on role players this offseason and surrounding Yao and Steve with smart players. Yet, JVG basically has a 2 person rotation (MoT, Padgett). Sure, Pike and Boki may not be 6th men of the year, but our rotation is messed up and fatigue is going to hit this team soon.
