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yao's rebounding/blocking

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by The_Yoyo, Mar 6, 2004.

  1. The_Yoyo

    The_Yoyo Member

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    a lot has been made about Yao's ability to rebound the ball and i am just throwing out suggestions on why he isnt averaging double digits in rebounding, but not trying to make an excuse, much like why his blocks/game is low too for a man his size.

    As for the rebounding i think its has to do with more of the team than Yao himself. Francis despite his size is probably the best rebounding pg in the league behind kidd and mobley isnt too bad himself in getting boards. Jackson has always been a solid rebounder throughout his career and Cato if i am not mistaken was like in the top 10 of rebounds per 48 mins last year and is a great rebounder himself. There is no point in trying to be the best rebounder on a team as long as the team gets the rebound.

    Also the style of defense we play generally forces perimeter shots which lead to longer rebounds away from the lower box area where Yao usually is meaning more rebounds for our guards and forwards.

    Whenever we are playing zone or man at least in the games i have seen Yao tends to play the man and box out the man nearest to the hoop rather than just going after the ball that is probably the only thing in regards i think he needs to improve on but at least when playing zone if the other two forwards worked on at least boxing their man out he probably wouldnt have to worry as much in making sure like he is boxing out his own larger offensive player because if it came down to him or the avg nba center getting the ball Yao is gonna get it. Generally though its 2 ppl and Yao trying to get a board.

    Now for blocking its quite simple the easiest way to get a block is coming off the weak side where you are blind to the offensive player and generally are the secondary defender. For those who saw the laker game wednesday shaq did this twice against MoT coming off the weak side. Its much harder to go straight up and block a guy though possible. The thing with Yao players are smarter to not challenge him and they adjust their shots accordingly since even Yao is coming off the weak side the O player knows and tends to arch his shots higher. Back with Hakeem, being the athletic freak of nature he was he could be at the three point line as the guard drives in and he would come back and still block the shot thats how fast he was. (see hakeems block on KJ where he ran down from about half-court) But almost as important as blocks Yao changes and challenges shots which often lead to bricks but these subtle changes are shown in box score.

    Basically he is playing well and the team is winning its only going to improve but i am tiring of some people saying "why isnt yao blocking 3+ a game, grabbing 10+ boards he is 7'6 for pete's sake" basketball has more to do than whats in the box score (besides the final score of course, i am talking about individual stats) at the end of the night
     
  2. meh

    meh Member

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    I've always found it strange that people equate rebounding to height. Considering two of the most prolific rebounders in the history of the NBA are Rodman(6-8) and Barkley(6-6 officially, although more like 6-4).

    It's unlikely that Yao will ever be a great rebounder. Watching the game tonight, you could see the way Garnett would jump up and snatch the rebound. Yao just isn't capable of that kind of explosion in his jumps. I think that's why Van Gundy has pretty much delegated rebounding duties to other players while putting Yao in the position to box out.

    What Yao just needs to do is make sure to grab those rebounds that do come his way with authority, instead of juggling the ball around. Now, I haven't seen those tipping as much recently, so I think that problem has been corrected. Now I do hope Yao would work on being better at offensive boards.
     
  3. madmonkey37

    madmonkey37 Member

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    and an undersized ben wallace and elton brand who is also undersized rebound very well.
     
  4. Mack

    Mack Member

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    I don't expect him to average 16 boards a game, because while he's quick for a guy his size, he's not quick compared to power forwards, and he's not really that athletic. While he's scoring at a higher clip recently, what is alarming is that his rebounding is dropping off. I know he's capable of more, he showed it for a long stretch earlier this year. He started off the year with around 25 10+ rebound games in his first 50 or so, but only 2 10+ rebounds in his last 16. There's a stat that shows that Houston is 20-7 when Yao grabs 10 or more boards, so it's been a pretty good predictor of success.

    I agree with your point about going after the ball with authority, and getting more offensive rebounds. I saw it in the Hawks game, when he was just ripping the ball away from his opponents, getting the team more possessions and himself some high percentage shots. I want to see it more often.

    The blocks I'm not concerned with. Having watched most of the Rockets games this year, it is obvious the opponents are concerned with him, based on the shots they chuck when they see him in the paint.
     
  5. Fegwu

    Fegwu Member

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    I have often wonder why people have often why people feel the same way too. Rebound and shot blocking are skills every player have to develope and the height of a player plays little to no part about. There is a lot of desire and the 'will to' hussle and out hussle your opponent.

    The fact is this - Yao is not yet a good/great rebounder and shot blocker. He has bad rebounding and shock blocking fundamentals. His timing is all whacked up and his desire to snag or reject everything has not fully bloomed yet (hopefully it will down the road). I am not comfortable calling front court players that cannot rebound decently (at least 10rpg) or block at least 2 bpg great yet. His fartigue or stamin level is a also another bane in this regard. It takes a lot of energy to contribute decent likely offensive and be able to put up an intimidating defense + adequate board work on a nightly basis.

    The comforting thing is that Yao has shown a steady development trend and I we can only pray and hope that this trend extends into his shot blocking and rebounding. One more thing I find dissapointing about Yao's rebounding is how poor he is in the crunch time of the 4th quarter. He needs better footwork definitely and he should stop trying to rebound the from under the basket rather from a an instinctive angle. He also needs to learn to rebound with his upward thrust not his 'height'.
     
  6. scotia

    scotia Member

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    Let's do some maths:

    We expected Yao to be 20/10/2 at the early of this season.

    By now, he is 1053pts/61games, 531rebs/61games and 106blks/61games.

    (20*82-1053)/21 = 27.95pts
    (10*82-531)/21=13.76rebs
    (2*82-106)/21=2.76blks

    So, Yao need to average 28pts/14rebs/3blks for the rest of 21 games to reach his 20/10/2.

    Any chance?:confused: :p
     
  7. prospeed

    prospeed Member

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    Plus YAO has short arms and is slower then everyone around him doesn't help. hehe Have you guys seen Ben Wallace's arms! He has to have a 7-1 wingspan!
     
  8. prospeed

    prospeed Member

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    oh another he doesn't have a vertical. Imagine if he had a vertical it would be over! Have you guys seen the games it seems like his fingers are always 1 inch shy of blocking shots. Hes always there which alters the shot but sometimes it pisses me off cause it just rolls over his fingers! Back in the Day Hakeem had such a great vertical that almost nothing could get by him! He was a power forward playing a centers postion.
     

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