Play Dike and Yao Together Playing Yao and Deke together IMO worked great vs. the Heat. Think about Duncan and Robinson or Sampson and Dream, etc. I think the matchup problems this combo would cause to all of the teams would be scary in the low post. I think JVG should do this more often and I beleive this would really work. Any opinions on this???
Yah, my opinion is that your opinion is wrong. Deke is there to back-up Yao, since Yao tires out quickly and Deke actually plays a decent number of limited minutes in which he can be extra aggressive on defense and not have to worry about foul trouble and fatigue. Lets not forget that he is effective because of these limited minutes he plays, and that despite looking like a young kid out there with the energy he plays with, he is a senior citizen by NBA standards. It won't work, it would only work and can be utilized for a limited number of minutes during certain stretches within certain games to attempt and create matchup problems for our opponents. Otherwise, I don't think it is possible to play them alongside each other every game.
Absolutely, especially after Dirk drops 50 points on Deke and fouls Deke out in 5 minutes, JVG will be so glad that Deke can only play PF 5 minutes into the game. Oh, wait, JVG will let Yao play the PF position and be fouled out in 5 minutes against Dirk.
i think this could work against certain matchups where they don't have a slashing/long range power forward like a dirk (who is a rarity). further lets not forget that yao did dominate amare when he played him one on one, so don't be too hasty bashing his suggestion.
I think Dike has more energy and strength than you give him credit for. I have seen him guard and go out to the perimeter. I think this could be done until there was foul trouble. Hey, I like it since we don't have Dirk on our team. But the inside presence with Dike getting all the rebounds and scoring himself or passing to Yao for the dunk. They could both dunk all day like how Shaq does.
What would it look like minutes-wise? Yao 32 min, Deke 28 minutes, Spoon and Padge 18 minutes each = 96 minutes at C/PF. Puts the twin towers on the floor together about 12 minutes.
They were effective together when playing against scrubs. Yao HAS to have a backup. IMHO it could work....but then who are you going to get to back up Yao? Deke can't play 45 mpg anymore. Yao can't even play 35.
They were really effective together when they played vs. Shaq big time IMO. Shaq is no scrub. But if we used them as an opposing threat offensively, I like it. We got plenty of forwards to experiment with this idea.. if someone would be nice to Vin and train him and give him another chance + Torraye and 3 others not inc. Juwan when he gets back. That's plenty of guys to come up with combinations to make it work. It doesn't have to be the full game.
oops. must have been outside smoking during that part of the Heat game. I thought we were talking about the Spurs game( I quit watching when we went down by 13 in the fourth)
We can't do it against teams with quick PF. We might be able to do it for short stretches against teams with big and slow PF. When we played Miami, it was against Shaq and Doleac, who is a center. We actually let him make some outside shots when we dropped back in the paint to double Shaq. We can also play Deke and Yao against Duncan and Nesterovic some. The problem is we don't have any backups. What we really learned from watching Deke on the floor with Yao at the same time is that a long, defensive minded, tough rebounding PF will go a long way for our team. Deke helped to guard the paint and saved Yao's fouls trying to stop guard penetration. He also grabbed defensive rebounds that Yao couldn't get because he was out of position.
Exactly.. well can Vin Baker if he was his old self do it? I remember watching him in the old days.. he used to battle for the ball in offensive rebounding (kinda how Barkley did when he was here in Houston) and make sure he scored.. he's 6'11.. are Vin's days over?? JVG thinks so. I don't see how if he was that good one day that he can't be like that again.. he is not that old either. We have 6 forwards... too late to trade this year.. hmmm?
Even though it seems as if most people don't like the idea, mark my words, if we meet the Spurs in the playoffs, you'll see a twin tower lineup for as long as Dikembe's legs can take it. Question his quickness all you want, but if you watch the games, Deke's still our best big man defender on the perimeter. Period. (compared to Yao, Juwon, Spoon, Padgett, etc.) Check out the last Timberwolves game. KG was tearing us a new one, I think against Spoon, which forced Van Gundy to put Deke on him in a twin tower lineup. I'll admit it surprised me a little bit (I thought Garnett would light Dikembe up quick), but Deke's presense made a big, big difference. Although I'd never suggest Deke could keep up with KG in a seven game series, I still feel he's our best bet to guard Tim Duncan/Rasho/Nazr, especially considering that the current options are Scott Padgett and Clarence Weatherspoon (sorry 'Spoon, but "Charles Barkley's body, but without his talent", is not a half-compliment, it's a double slam). Dikembe takes great pride in his defense. Ever since he's left the 76ers, everyone has thought he's been washed up. But if you've watched the games (Nets in the 2003 playoffs, Knicks per minute production last year), you'd see that he's never fallen off and is still as effective as he's ever been (albeit with less stamina). Don't underestimate heart or hustle. If we play the Spurs, I want to see the towers for at least 15 mins per game (with an additional 10 minutes of backup duty for Dikembe).
IMHO Dike is just as good or even better than he ever was (besides missing those passes the other day)! I think he just wasn't expecting it. He has a nice offensive game when he wants too. I think if he knew the team had him in mind, he can pick it up offensively. I hope you are right about JVG using them together as you stated. That shut down Shaq. Even Spoon and Yao worked great on Shaq. Yao needs another big tower in with him to pick up what he lacks!!! The way you divided the minutes sounds good too. What I don't understand is how we (or JVG) puts in a line up to match the other team. I wish he would throw in the twin towers so the other team would try to match us. Anyway, I agree with everything you said.
I dunno. I think Yao could play 35 if he could stay out of foul trouble. I would not be surprised to see him play that much come playoffs.
Playing Yao and Deke together would make us the slowest team in the league. We're already up there in age, no need to show it. I doubt it would work against the spurs either. Manu and Parker would put on a 2 man full court highlight marathon. And i'd still take Duncan's legs over Yao and Deke's anyday. Then there's the matter of Yao picking up those petty fouls. Next thing we know Vin Baker would be on the floor. It only worked with Kato because he had decent endurance and wasn't as tall as our 2 centers.
You must have not seen the Heat game. Yao and Dike worked great. It totally took Wade out of driving to the lane just as it would do to Manu. Dike and Yao took out driving to the lane period. It also took the fouls away from Yao b/c Dike doesn't pick up the fouls like Yao does. Dike is not slow like how you state. He is in amazing shape for someone his age. I think you are totally wrong! Our guards and Tracy can handle the rest including Manu and Parker on the perimeter b/c the lane would be shut off! I wish JVG could see this. And to even mention Cato in the same breath as Dike or Yao- thank God we traded him is all I can say. I think Cato is a detriment to a team that wants to go somewhere.
