Yao is having problems in the paint but he needs to mix things up with his midrange shots and also attack inside when he gets the opportunity to score. No one can just depend on jump shooting alone. I would like to see Francis and Mobley and even JJ attack the basket more often but they must also be looking to pass the ball as well or otherwise we will have the same problems over the last 4 years. Driving has also become difficult with the zone but I agree that we need to push the ball up more quickly and look to score.
There is a lot of truth stated here. Mind you I don't agree Yao has no inside game. He may not dominate inside but he does have a higher percentage than anybody in the Rocket inside the paint, in particular, when he is guarded only one-on-ond. IMO, his inside game is among the "very good" category for centers in the league. All we need to mix it up (with guard penetration and Yao's outside shot and pick) to get the other team's double team honest.
I think it is also fair to say that one of the years they had the best record of any team ever to not make the playoffs. C'mon .. The West has been super tough and you can't say that they were total failures. It's like Francis gets criticized for not being in the playoff, but players in the EC are better because they have been in the playoffs. Francis could probably single-handedly carry a team to the playoffs over there. Yes they havn't made the playoffs, but they didnt play terrible by any stretch of the imagination.
Bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh. Irrelevant. And it won't lead to better baskets. A perfect offense puts the defense in a position where they have to choose between poor alternatives. The inside-out offense is more effective in doing this, because it utilizes more of the court and forces more reaction from more defenders. Essentially, a perimeter offense is inherently going to require players to use athleticisim and shooting to out-skill the defense. This is a poor option, partly because our guards (while good) arent' the best in the league. They can't always just out-play the opposition on the perimeter. Therefore, we need to be strategic. That involves playing inside out. This doesn't minimize the guards role, but rather puts the defense in a more awkward predicament. All that is required to do this is a C who is a legitimate threat. Yao, while not Tim Duncan, certainly is such a threat.
Yao against a team that has physical defenders inside is NOT that much of a threat. He has proven that thus far this year. Yao is more of a threat from the outside and the Rockets should utilize that more.
I never said ELIMINATE YAO, all I said is our offense, for now until Yao become the superstar we need him to be, should be split into both styles, sometimes go inside-out, and when the inside is struggling donot just ignore that fact and insist on dishing the ball in to Yao, then start using your guards to keep THEM also happy. Let's try this and I guarantee you better results. Even Yao would be happier this way, it will take some pressure off him.
Haha this is the dumbest post I've ever seen!! You've seen the guards run the show. No playoffs for you!!!! But hey, if you like missing the playoffs every year and just want to see the guards run the show, then you must be a guards only fan.
I have a better idea. Why don't we just trade Yao and stop all this stupid crap once and for all? God some people are dumb. Name one jump shooting team that ever came within sniffing distance of the championship.
an inside-outside offense may be ideal, but it's tougher to attain and we/yao certainly haven't attained it. one big advantage is that you don't really have to double team perimeter players, merely shade a guy over towards them to prevent the drive but still have defensive balance whereas with a dominant inside guy you have to double all the way and essentially leave one guy completely open. of course, we have a problem here. yao is terrible at handling hard double teams. he doesn't create space with his body and has to worry more about getting the ball stripped than making a good pass. usually, he's just gets the ball out as fast as he can to the nearest teammate, who isn't usually open. now does it work sometimes? of course. but it isn't like it's beautiful. had yao made more progress from last year we might be ready for an inside-out game, but he hasn't. our guards still create more open jump shots for the rest of the team than yao through driving and kicking, but jvg has tried to take away as much of that type of offense as possible, which isn't exactly working based on our usual scoring output. our guards are still extremely dangerous to any defense and with any sort of outside shooting from the people they kick it too we are hard to beat. until yao learns to handle double teams better, we are not helping ourselves by trying to constanly run inside-out. hell, as soon as yao leaves mo t is in and then we just run it through him (though he posts up better than yao so it's partially justified). it's like it's never our guards turn to iso and score. steve mostly just takes jump shots after going around a pick. as for the argument that the guard offense got us 4 years of playoffs. it wasn't our guards that held the offense back, it was the fact they were the only thing that gave our offense a chance. i mean look at the piece of crap frontcourt we've had prior to yao coming. 4 years ago we had so many frontcourt injuries that bullard and pig miller started several games together. the next year we had mo t and hakeem showed up for about 6 weeks and what do you know during that 6 weeks we were 16-4 and on the season won 45 games, not exactly terrible. then the next year i believe we ran with a cato/collier center position, eg/mo t pf position, and rice/tmo sf position. stellar i tell you. oh and even better the only guy to back up steve and cat was moochie. how could steve and cat fail to make the playoffs in the super loaded west dominated by big men with this all-star cast surrounding them. clearly it was their offense that killed us, not kept us afloat. another tmo clanger was the tonic our O needed. i'm thinking if yao was surrounded with the backcourt equivalent of our frontcourt the 3 years before he got here (instead of a top 3 or 5 backcourt) he wouldn't exactly be flying into the playoffs. so the notion our guards don't produce on offense and help us score simply b/c they coudn't drag a worthless frontcourt (and it was pretty much worthless outside of yao last year until mo t finally got going about 45 games in) to the playoffs in the best conference ever is fairly devoid of logic. our guards are outstanding offensive players and shouldn't be pushed aside until it's proven yao should push them aside. anyone who thinks this season has proven that =wrong.
More guards fan only talk. I don't know how you can be content with missing the playoffs just so you can see the guards run the show.
Yes, let's give up on Yao after his first 1 and 1/2 years while we still haven't given up on Steve and Cat in their 5th and 6th respective years. That makes sense.
Chicago Bulls. But that is not the point at all of my thread. I think most would agree that the last 2 years we have had much more REAL competition in the West who occupied the top 8 slots. Blazers were a real contender, Minnessota was better than us slightly, The usual Dallas, Lakers, Kings, Jazz, Spurs, Suns, T-Wolves made the playoffs and there was only 1 spot up for grabs in the West pretty much, may be two. Now, about three spots are up for grabs. So the West has more slots for up-and-coming teams to make the playoffs. The second point is that I want Yao to get the ball, donot get me wrong, I just think that Van Gundy needs to lighten up a bit during some games and let the guards also have some freedom to play their styles, at least until Yao becomes a true dominant force alas Duncan and Shaq. Other than these two teams, name one more team that makes the playoffs in the West who pound the ball inside to their big man? None. All pretty much rely on shooting and running the floor. I think we are fortunate to have a player as good as Yao on our team, however we must give the guy room to grow. How can you expect a 2nd year player to carry the franchise? I think it is rediculous to expect that. Besides, it is not like we have nobody on the team with talent, I think this is the most talented team we have had since Pippen was here. Just give Yao some room guys, be realistic and wait for the guy to grow, he is going nowhere and we will DEFINITELY make the playoffs, no worries unless Francis is injured or something.
