If this makes sense, the area Yao still needs the most improvement on was the area he happened to improve upon the most last year--defense. The refs were A LOT better about not calling that sh~~ when teams (like the Bobcats and Grizzlies) based their entire offense around their smallest player charging into Yao to shoot free throws and get him in foul trouble. It was almost annoying as watching Kobe Bryant shoot 23 FT's against the Jazz when T-mac couldn't even get 10. Almost. But I digress. Yao needs to make sure that whatever gains he makes on offense can in no way be given back on the other end a la Novak. Part of that will be the continued improvement and consistency of his defensive game, but a big part of that will also be solidifying his reputation as a defensive presence rather than liability. Real crappy how the NBA revolves so much around officiating, ain't it???
Yao is underrated on the defensive end. How often did he just stand there and opponents didn't even bother driving inside? Look at the stats of points in the paint against Rockets this year, especially before Yao got injured. We have a huge differential of something close to 20 pts (high teens). It is not all due to Yao, but a lot of it is. To get technical, the defense this year is better than last year (yep!) because JVG likes to play 1-1 defense, while RA is more open to using zone (or hybrid zone). RA's zone works as follows: - perimeter players start with 1-1 defense - Yao basically stays close to his man (other center) 1-1, while keeping an eye to the penetrator, whoever that is. - So does Scola (or Hayes or Landry) - If the penetrator gets past the defender outside (via PNR or otherwise), Yao simply slides over a bit, and so does Scola (or Hayes or Landry). It is a bit like a trap, but this only happens inside the paint area. Yao never needs to go outside to trap or show. - Normally, a penetrator can get inside or pass the ball to whomever Yao is defending or Scola is defending, but because Yao is so big, and he has help on the other side, the penetrator can't usually shoot inside. - the penetrator could pass the ball, but since Yao is so big and just slide over a bit, but still guarding the basket, the opponent's center will still have problem scoring inside. - The only prob is when the opponent's centers can shoot from outside. That's why Yao still has prob with Okur (Yao basically doesn't guard Okur when they play). Other than that, pretty much no one can score easily against Yao this whole year. Last year, many scored against Yao inside because JVG made him trap outside, leaving the inside open to backdoor cutters.
Yao, we all know how hard the feeling is. It's too sad that Yao just aren't capable of controling the situations. I'll give him one more year and if it still doesn't work, he needs to go.
Pretty much what I wanna say. Yao is one of the greatest centers and he does have some disadvantages. You simply cannot expect everything from a big man like Yao as his size. Meantime, Yao have been improving his performance all time during his NBA career. The only thing I am worrying about is how to keep him healthy during the season and be well ready to play for the playoff, though all I can do is to pray.
