Excellent read, I bolded the more interesting parts, including comments from JVG that especially caught my eye. Shaq had some nice things to say about our big man... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3670107.html Centers getting blocked out Players like Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson once brought new hope. Today, the dominant big man is a dying breed By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle They once loomed over the game and this city, grand and dominant. From Moses Malone to Hakeem Olajuwon and now Yao Ming, they were centers, wishing to be and pretending to be nothing else. They are also dinosaurs, awesome in their time but moving toward extinction. Yao will jump against Shaquille O'Neal tonight, starters in the All-Star Game in the city that for so long celebrated their type. The matchup has seemed certain and right ever since Yao came to the NBA to face such challenges, calling O'Neal "the mountain in my way." Yet the age of the center is done, ended in an era of rules changes and interpretations that has taken the game from them and given it to the smaller and swifter players who fly rather than punish. "My spot will never be taken," O'Neal said with typical bluster, but perhaps not inaccurately. "I'm going to keep it, take it to the old-age home." Only Los Angeles — with a line of greats from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and O'Neal (with George Mikan in the Lakers' Minneapolis DNA) — can match and surpass the Houston legacy of centers. O'Neal is playing in his 13th consecutive All-Star Game, a streak just one shy of the record held by Jerry West and Karl Malone. Yao is making his fourth All-Star start. They remain central figures, as celebrated and recognizable as any of the players around them. But neither is his team's leading scorer. Yao leads the centers, averaging 19.6 points per game. O'Neal is averaging 19.4. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is averaging 16 points. Shaqproofing O'Neal's explanation is simple: The NBA changed defensive rules to stop him. "The Shaq rules — not to get rid of the big man but to get rid of the dominant big man," O'Neal said. "They're the Shaq rules. Like (allowing) front and back (defending). That's a terrible rule. That rule was designed for me and me only." The NBA would argue the changes were designed to remove the often confusing illegal-defense rules and tendency for isolation plays, and that barring hand checks and holds on the perimeter was intended to bring more quickness and athleticism to the game. That has helped scoring, but only for perimeter players. For the third time since 1981, three players — Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and LeBron James — reached the All-Star Game averaging more than 30 points per game. But the young stars throughout the league — save the injured Amare Stoudemire, who moved to center last season — are perimeter players. "They have the ball," O'Neal said. "They have the freedom from their coaches to do that. There are a lot of guys getting to the line a lot. When you see guys get 40, 50 points, you see they went to the line 20 times." The big men who do lead their teams — Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal — more often now get the ball outside the paint and shoot from the perimeter or drive inside, rather than post up and catch in the paint. "The rules that have been changed have been for the perimeter players," Jermaine O'Neal said. "Zoning is a big difference that is tough for post guys like myself. But they don't let you touch guys (on the perimeter). You want to be able to be physical, especially when you've got offensive studs like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, who can do such great things on the wing but you can't touch them. "They can still arm-bar the post. They can still lean on you. They can still ride you out with a knee. But if you change the perimeter play, change the post play; cut down on the contact. I like contact personally. I think we should get back to being able to ride guys on the perimeter. That will allow you to stop guys." Beat the clock The movement away from low-post scoring is not only a result of the ways scorers are defended. It has become so much more difficult to get the ball to big men inside that teams risk running out of shot-clock time if they work too hard to get the ball to the post. "You have so many more options versus straight up or straight double team," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "With the clock being short like it is, 24 seconds, to get the ball in on the strong side on the post is much more difficult, so when you do get it in on the weak side, when it doesn't lead directly to a shot, you watch the shot clock wind down. The post men that are most effective today are the ones that can catch at 12, 15 feet, face up and drive it because you can always get them the ball. "The guys like Yao that have to rely on the ball being brought to him versus being able to step out, face up and isolate from a face-up position are much more easily defended, so it does make it a lot harder on guys like him." Changing attitudes There was a time when the right big man could change teams forever. The 1980s influx of Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson changed their teams and the league. "I don't think guys want to be centers anymore," Jermaine O'Neal said. "They want to be on the perimeter and shoot jump shots. You've got 7-foot guys that want to put the ball on the floor and make moves. That's what the game is evolving to. "There's no post-move guys. There are guys that do but have to step out like Duncan, KG (Garnett), myself. Dirk Nowitzki can shoot the 3 and put the ball on the floor. The game has changed." For Yao, it seems, the time is wrong. He has been criticized for what he has not done in his four seasons. But no other throwback center is doing what his predecessors could, either. Shaquille O'Neal, however, offers hope. "Yao Ming is a great player," O'Neal said. "He'll be put on a championship level when he starts winning and competing for a championship. I wasn't put on that level until I started winning. But he's a great player."
Another Yao-related article, I only included the part dealing with the Rox... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/sports/19hoops1.ready.html?pagewanted=3 In Houston, the Way the Cookie Crumbles By LIZ ROBBINS Published: February 19, 2006, Houston Fame and fortune are in your stars, predicted a fortune cookie that seemed especially apt at Yao Restaurant and Bar in Houston during All-Star weekend. Yao Ming's jersey number — 11 — was in the series of numbers on the back of the fortune — even if he, his parents and the Houston Rockets already won the lottery four years ago. While their 7-foot-6 son and his team were losing badly in Phoenix on Thursday night, Yao Zhi Yuan, Yao's outgoing 6-7 father, and Fang Feng Di, Yao's more reserved 6-3 mother, walked around the restaurant they own in a strip mall north of downtown Houston. After dining in a private family room equipped with oversized chairs, Yao's parents — each a former star center on China's national teams — posed for pictures in the sports bar and then the dining room for more than 100 journalists from China. Yao's $1.5 million restaurant, open for nearly a year, has drawn mixed reviews, much like its namesake. Despite his iconic status in China and in Houston, Yao is trying to fulfill the expectations placed on him since his arrival from Shanghai as the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft. "He's still climbing the mountain," his father said, through a translator. Yao, a four-time All-Star, was the top vote-getter in the balloting for the second straight year, no doubt helped by the surge of Internet voters in the world's most populous country. In the N.B.A, though, because of his lack of speed and his perceived lack of toughness, Yao has often heard that he is overrated. "I cannot make everybody happy," he said. The Rockets (22-31) have the second-worst record in the Western Conference. Yao missed 20 games with a toe injury yet is still averaging 20.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, better numbers than those of two other All-Star centers, Shaquille O'Neal and Pau Gasol. "They want him to be like Shaq," his teammate Tracy McGrady said. "He's not Shaq. He's not dominant like that. He's not that type of guy. Regardless of what everybody else says, he's a guy you win a championship with. "That's all that really matters. All the other hoopla about what they want him to be, he needs to be himself, do what he does. He's getting better every day. At 7-6, the kid can play." Yao admitted that he felt badly that the hoopla surrounding him this weekend coincided with the Rockets' losing season. "I don't feel good when the team doesn't have a good record," he said. To take refuge from the attention and expectations, Yao will enjoy his favorite dishes at the restaurant (orange peel beef and walnut shrimp) or retreat to his parents' home in Houston. "My parents build a place to let me feel very quiet and very safe," he said. "Whenever I feel pressure on the outside, I go back to home. I close the back door and lock everything out." The Yaos never play basketball in the backyard, though. "It would take all day just to score 2 points on him," Yao Zhi Yuan said, smiling.
I am not sure if Yao "has to" rely on the ball being brought to him. He has pretty good mid-range shooting. He can surely catch and shoot. I think it's JVG who is reluctant to let Yao get out of the paint. I bet Yao can have the same efficiency and accuracy in terms of mid-range shooting as Juwan does if he is allowed to. Yao should mix it up more to make guarding him much harder.
The first article completely supports what I've been saying for years. Thank you, Mr. O'Neal and Mr. Van Gundy. The rule changes have completely crippled the center position. And not only that, they've removed about 60% of the game strategy and changed the game from a chess match (lots of strategy) to a sprint (almost no strategy). But the NBA's primary market is kids. Kids want to see a sprint. Kids don't appreciate a chess match (to them, it's boring). ... and that's a shame.
This is a great thread! I think the first article hits the nail on the head with why Yao hasn't been as effective, as say some of us old foaggies from the '80s would have envisioned him back in the day. The one rule change that I'd add to the list is the butt-backing tactics of Charles Barkley which has since been made illegal alongside the hand-checking rule. If Yao could body up on people in the post, I actually think he'd be more effective. How many times have we seen Yao lose his balance on the account of the post defender suddenly giving way? One solution may be to play Yao much like Brown did Smits back in the day on the Pacers. Although Yao won't be driving one on one face up to the basket 12-15 out anytime soon. What he can do is shoot a high percentage shot over others. PLUS! b/c of his height he's probably a great passing option to cutters from the high post. to do better in this league, i think coaches have to be more creative and think out of the box much like what D'Antoni brought to the Suns. Yao should represent the biggest mismatch problem night in night out. Yet instead of Yao being the point of advantage, he can become the point of disadvantage as with our last game to the Suns. I think Rudy had it right when he let Yao shoot that 15 footer straight up. b/c Yao shoots so well, defenders are at risk of fouling him. And with one large jab step to open space, there's no reason Yao can't shoot plus 50% from 15 feet out if its a clear look everytime. the notion that Yao is only good within point blank range is overrated and limiting his true overall offensive prowess IMHO. theSAGE
Bingo. This is what I don't understand. Why doesn't he think Yao can face up from 15 feet? BTW, what happened to that pick and fade play Yao was supposedly practicing all off season? I haven't seen it run yet.
Think of it this way: it's been said that Yao hasn't been effective, hasn't met his potential, or isn't championship quality.... yet he's the best center in the NBA. If Yao's 20 and 9 are much better than most other centers, yet are "disappointing", what does that say about the center position in the NBA? And honestly.... you've got Yao, Shaq.... and maybe one or two other centers in the NBA who are "good" players. That's about it. There are almost zero good centers in the NBA with today's rules..
In situations such as this all you can do is adapt. We all know if Yao played in previous generations when double-teaming wasn't allowed, illegal defenses existed, etc he would be a monster of a player statistically. Now that's not to say that his current 20/9 is unacceptable, far from it. But he can do better. Bottom line: JVG needs to allow Yao to get looks outside of the paint. Sure, the highest percentage shots are the ones closest to the basket, but you simply cannot depend on Yao being able to get position every time. He can shoot the mid-range jumper, let's not forget. Let him shoot the jumper, work on his pump fakes, attack the basket, etc. It's all about becomming a smarter player. You become a smarter player to find ways to beat the system and ultimately expand your game.
I posted this in another thread, but the NBA should go back to the rules of the '90s. Allow hand checking on the perimeter, don't allow zones, have a deep 3 point line, don't have a five second backdown rule. The game was great back then, and both the perimeter players like Jordan, Drexler, and Miller, and the post players like Olajuwon, Barkley, and Shaq flourished and dominated. Now, having an unguardable post player like Yao is only good for pulling one extra defender a couple of feet away from his man. Yao would destroy the lineups that teams like Phoenix are throwing against him under the old rules. Now, you can't even get him the ball. The new rules are to highlight Kobe, LeBron, and Nash, not Yao and Shaq. Colangelo (who is connected to the Suns, surprise, surprise) has put the clamps on Yao and Shaq far more effectively than opposing centers ever did.
Man after all these post i'm starting to believe you guys. It's true, if they always feed yao the ball in the paint, he'll become too predictible. Let him shoot some perimeter shots to scare the defender to commiting to him. After that, he can fake like he's going to shoot, drive, post up, fake perimeter shots then drive, etc. etc. etc.
The rule changes certainly affect Yao's play. However, if Yao can play 38 minutes a game effectively, he can impact the game more because with his size, he can wear opposing players down and create foul troubles for opposing teams. Right now, it seems that Yao's game has not much impact, like a KG.
Completely agree, dunks and 3 pointers. Even now, in the young generation, kids don't know how to move w/o the basketball. I am an assistant basketball coach for a boys team. My brother plays on that team. I was watching one day at my house practicing in the frontyard. Instead of practicing moves and getting footwork down, i saw him shooting imitation 3's. Then, on the court, I was watching him, and he shot 3 after 3 after3. I swear, he would shoot one, go get the back, walk back, and shoot another, and so on. So, I told him, for every 3 he shoots from here on forward, he has to run 5 full court horses. Now, he is deadly from midrange. Its terrible what basketball has become. Only the old school coaches try to teach basketball the right way. I miss the old Rocket days, and Rudy T. I think I was born in the wrong era.
WTF is JVG saying? He's saying all that yet refuse to let Yao play more high post, or take a few midrange jumper?
The ironic thing is, one could almost argue that the Rockets were responsible for the majority of the rule changes. Remember the 'uglyball' series between the Knicks and the Rockets? I think that was when Stern decided changes needed to be made. No more uglyball finals. But that wasn't just the Rockets playing ugly. It was Rudy taking advantage of the system, as good coaches are supposed to do, and as the good coaches around the league do to us, making us look silly and stupid, as Phoenix did to us. The biggest difference, I think, between Rudy and JVG is the fact that Rudy was a master at finding the loopholes in the rules that could give him an advantage, and used his personnel accordingly. When he had Olajuwon, when he had Barkley, you could just give it to the big man and let him go to work. Shaq only magnified the problem. Then, when Rudy had SF, the rules as they were allowed for the dreaded iso play, which was absolutely NOT fun basketball to watch. Nobody should be nostalgic for the 'Dribble-for-23-seconds-and-fire-a-fall-away-3-at-the-buzzer' offense. So in that sense, things are better. However, we should all mourn the loss of the potential for any center to dominate. Basketball IS a 'Big Man's Game'. The rule that 'A good little man can beat a big man' is true as far as it goes; however, the second part should always be: 'A good big man should always beat a good little man' Personally, I think these rules allowing zone defenses are the most r****ded thing ever. Of course, it might not be such a problem if we still had a coach like Rudy, who was much more adaptive than JVG. Rudy could make adjustments, especially at halftime, which JVG just seems either unwilling or unable to make. JVG is convinced that if the players would simply do the things he tells them to do, then the team will have success. But that mentality is going to go down in history as squandering the talent of possibly one of the most unique players to ever come along. Yao Ming can do ten times more than he is allowed to do by JVG. How many coaches would have tried to turn Yao into nothing more than a Patrick Ewing clone? Ugh. Other teams don't fear Yao as much as they should, as much as they feared Dream and Barkley, because it's just not that hard to defend a Ewing clone. Sure, he'll get his 20/10, but JVG's system, combined with today's rules, renders the center position almost meaningless. It's too easy to double him down low, and when nobody on the team can hit an open jumper, the whole thing just dies an ugly death. I agree with the other posters here - the rules need to be changed back to some form of the way things used to be. Or else the NBA is going to waste the most popular player on the planet. But we also need either an attitude change from JVG, or we need a new coach. Just for kicks, who might be a better fit, coaching-wise? Donnie Nelson? Mario Elie? What if... ( I know that if JVG gets fired, there is no way in HECK that Stan takes the job, but...) What if JVG just finally throws his hands up and steps down. It seems to me that, not only would it then be ok to hire his brother, shoot, JVG may even recommend SVG for the job. And, given SVG's good work with Shaq and Wade, etc, might Stan be a good fit? Bah. I am just so sick of teams being able to completely neutralize Yao with two 6'8" guys on either side of him. If Yao was positioned out at the high post, WITH THE BALL IN HIS HANDS, as part of an ACTUAL OFFENSIVE DESIGNED PLAY, he could be a lot more effective. Dang, it's not like he's the world's greatest rebounder anyway. It might even benefit the Rockets to get Yao away from the basket, so that Yao's defender is not ALWAYS right there to get any missed shots. Now, once we get a halthy lineup next year, with Reddick and some other guys who can actually hit some shots, then this still may work as is, but still, it's doing things the hard way, the JVG way, and it has the danger of making our special players get frustrated and want to go play somewhere else. Wake up JVG!! Stop trying to clone Ewing!! He wasn't that good!!
Quickness- and he will get fouled on most every jump shot and only about 10% will be called. Yao would make a good high post passer, but he definately is most effective deep in the paint. For Yao to have to put the ball on the floor would be a disaster with his length. Yao could face up at 15 ft. if he is good off picks. But I don't think he will get alot of good open looks if he starts shooting often from that range. He will find out that he is going to get hacked even more than he is already.
The new rules are what everyone wants.. . .they want a morre international game Since Peja etc are not DEFENSIVELY fundamentally sound we went to help them out with this zones Since only 3~4 good centers .. lets help the other teams out it is like football when you make rules to help only one side of the ball . .it sucks Rocket River International rules SUCK!!!
RR, the zone is a myth, if it was a true zone there wouldn't be a defensive 3 second rule and you players like Wade would suffer big time like he suffered in the Olympics, and only the Suns play a zone defense against post heavy offenses. This is the chicken or the egg argument, do the post players suck because of these rules, or do the post players just suck? I mean, if there were more than 3 true low post centers in the league, would people complain about these rules? Do you guys think Hakeem, David, Ewing, Mourning, and a prime Shaq would stink with these rules?
