The defense that they run against Yao is no different from the one they run against Shaq. With the lakers their secondary poison is Kobe. Most teams would rather have Kobe run rampant than let Shaq destroy them. Shaq gets a lot of second chance points around the basket from putbacks. Yao needs to do the same. You will see teams do it against us more frequently than the lakers because thye haven't realized that we have something better than kobe. Francis and mobley and a array of sharpshooters that will light them up. Once they start guarding our guards and forwards you will start to see Yao getting more one on one opportunities.
In Dream's day, you couldn't double team until after he got the ball, and then you had to double hard (so to speak) meaning you had to commit to the double team. Yao is being double teamed before he gets the ball and usually has a 3rd man coming in soft to take away his ability to pass to an open man near the basket. Having said that why would you want to pass to a man being double teamed and drawing that much attention?? All the Rockets need to do is get better at exploiting that defense by finding the open man and having him MAKE the shot. Once they get respect from the league in doing that you'll see a lot more open space for Yao to work in. Right now with all the centerless teams the Rockets have played the last games (Orlando and Miami). their opponents have had to over compensate with their defense on Yao. It'll be interesting to see what happens when we start playing some of the bigger WC teams and how they do this year against Dallas' zone defense.
Depends on who the open man is. For example, I've got more confidence in Yao double teamed than Cato unguarded from 15 feet.
If you were the opposing team, which would you rather take your chances with, Yao going 1-on-1 in the low block, or a perimeter player getting an open look at an outside shot? From the Rockets' point of view, which would you prefer? There are probably lots of variables here to consider, but in general, would you (anyone in here) consider these equal percentage plays? I'm not too sure myself. Probably been asked before though. If so please ignore.
The solution is to force the pass into Yao and risk the TO anyway. I've seen the light, illuminating by those that want Ming to shoot every single time down court. It doesn't matter how well he's guarded, what kind of position he has or doesn't have, the ball should still go into Yao Ming. If Ming in his benevolent generosity decides to pass back out then either make the shot, to give him the assist, or get back to Yao at all costs.
One thing that could help is to have the entry passer fake a quick entry pass, and get the fronter off his feet. Then throw the ball in when the defender is coming down. But if Yao is doubled before he has the ball, it's going to be hard, there is no easy solution. It's a team game, so the rest of the team will have to make the defense pay.
I agree that defenses have been geared to stop those entry passes, but I don't think the only solution is good outside shooting. JVG said so much himself. Even when Yao is fronted there's an opening to throw the ball in, particularly when Yao flashes across the lane. Padgett hit Yao with this pass in the 4th quarter last night. The window just isn't very big so the pass must be thrown quickly and with good timing. If they can practice doing that well, it's money in the bank. Fronting is a gimmicky defense that we should be able to pick apart with practice.
Looks like teams are determined to not let Yao beat them. The only way to loosen up the middle is for the perimeter guys to hit their shots. Mobley is hot. JJ is not. Francis is on and off. Nachbar is streaky. I hope when Pike comes back we'll have more dependable outside shooting. Maybe Padgett's value on this team is more than we originally thought.
the importance of shooting in beating the zone is one reason why I don't want Cato starting at PF longterm. It's important to have a defensive-minded big man that can board, play tough defense at PF and maybe block shots, but it's also important to have someone who can hit a mid-range jumper consistently and won't drop passes or blow dunks at point blank. If Cato can improve in that area, great. But if not, we should try to find someone who can.
That was before the adoption of zone defence. You can't do it now as the other team defend their zone and effectively double or treble team Yao both front and back (definitely when Yao had the ball).
Another solution is to have Yao at the high post instead of keep fighting for the low post position. It's very hard to double team at the high post without exposing a big hole in the middle. Make Yao the point center. He can shoot from there or pass to cutters, kinda like Sabonis. Or he can also drive to the hoop if they guard him too close.
