wat the hell is JVG doing?? how can you NOT see YAO?? the guy is 7'6 for christ sake?? is he turning into larry brown?? trying to undermine the team?
Relax man. If Yao can not sustain JVG's step, how can he survive the real games? Better find out now than later.
Don't get too excited yet.. He'll be on the floor for a brief period I guess. Probably 12 minutes at most.
Yao will once again prove us wrong and play two quarters of b-ball. This guy must be an X-Man(Mutant).
Yao has to be in the game to let the new guys learn how to play with him. It's not like "We'll space the floor for Yao", "We'll knock down the open shots that are created by Yao". Most of the young players in the league have absolutely no idea on how to play with a dominant center. I'd be impressed if any of the new guys can play repost with Yao, or pass the ball back to Yao off a PNR. I know Spanoulis can and I'm expecting him to do it but will he get the chance is up to the coach.
I would expect to see Yao play his normal rotation minutes, especially in the first half. Depending on what JVG does in the 4th with the backups Yao may be rested the entire quarter. No time to be easy on them now, get them into game shape. The start of the season is just two weeks away...
A question for fellow Battier fans; Why doesn't Battier have his typical #31 this season? Or is the game incorrect with the #41?
I sure hope not. You can't take the same kind of 'ease him in' approach to Yao's preseasoning (i made up a word), as you do with T-mac. With T-mac, you're not figuring anything out. He's a premiere perimeter player with excellent court vision. If you can make a shot, get open, or hang out in the post with leaping ability, T-mac will do the work.The ball is always in his hands. Not the same with Yao. You have to know where to pass it to him, how to pass it to him to avoid deflections and putting him at a disadvantage, know his rotations on the low post, his lack of leaping ability (how often have we seen new guys throwing high alley oops to Yao?), his exceptional mobility, passing and style of play and how to take advantage of it when slashing to the basket with the ball in his hands. There's also plenty to learn when playing with yao on the defensive end. Taking advantage of the way he boxes out, keeping him from cheap foul calls, help defense etc. Most importantly, they have to learn to TRUST Yao 100%. It's always taken a bit longer for new players to trust Yao than it has with T-mac. You want the rust off, trust embedded, and comfort levels intact by the time the season starts.
