Throughout his tenure in Houston, has JVG ever openly critizied TMac in public (I mean directly name his name), even just once? How many times has he critized Yao in public? Is making his critizism of Yao known to the public JVG's way of helping Yao improve? I just don't get it!
been watching for awhile now, boby. trust me on that one. and what i used is commonly referred to as "hyperbole". of course more than "zero" challenge shaq at the rim. however, have you noticed that when the big man comes over, the offensive player usually shies away from shaq? have you noticed guards and forwards (hell, most centers, too) do not try dunking on shaq? that's because of a natural fear of getting hurt, since they know shaq will "bring the wood".
I'm quickly falling into a JVG bashing mood. WTF is this guy moaning about. I wonder if his idiotic defensive strategy of having a 7'6 guy chase a guard around in a pick n' roll situation has anything to do with wearing Yao out and help causing his foul problems. Can this defensive genius find some other way to wear out Yao besides having him chase much smaller players around the top of the key and then moan and groan that he's not quick enough. Can you imagine Shaq chasing C.Paul around the top of the key. What a jerk. Maybe its time for an inventive coach to take over that has more than 1 way of getting things done.
That used to be the case, yeah. But the refs blow everything against the big man now. So, all the penetrators do is get in there and look for the body contact. They aren't even trying to dunk because they don't have to. They can create the contact, protect their body, throw up the shot, and if it goes down, they have the and 1. If it doesn't go down, they are on the FT line with one more foul pegged to the big man. All those hard fouls would do today is earn Yao a flagrant. Don't kid yourself, they will call a flagrant if Yao really put a body on somebody. And frankly, because the game is called that way, it makes it conducive to big men reaching. They know they've got to avoid the body contact at all costs. So, what do they do next? Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeach.
Yes, he has. He talked about him needing to have a better shot selection. Also, Yao responds better to direct criticism and T-Mac doesn't (see Weisbrod). Doesn't mean JVG never criticizes the Mac (he does) and always gets on Yao's case (praises him constantly). It just means that he's smart because he knows exactly how to deal with the personality of his stars. Same thing with Wells. Compliments him on his BBall IQ, but also emphasizes that he has to get into shape. Some coaches are not as good at this- Don Nelson, for example, who is a great strategist, has not always done a good job of handling his players (e.g. Tim Hardaway)- his lack of communication with selected players has been well-documented. Same with PJ Carlesimo. Others, like Chuck Daly and Phil Jackson, were/are very savvy when it comes to the player-coach relationship and motivational techniques. I think JVG's only problem is that he tends to be too critical at the wrong times- but he's handled T-Mac and Yao ideally.
Shaq was waaaaaaaaaaay overrated by you. Check out these pics of Tmac dunk on Shaq's fat face. Derrick Coleman, Yao, even Swift they all dunked on Shaq's face before.
well, you know, first of all, you gotta understand what a dunk is.. a dunk is a basketball move where the offensive player forces the ball in the rim with direct contact with his hands.. now that's different than a layup you know, it's pretty close but not quite the same... the pictures u provided were more like "layups" ...
You have a great point. It seems like Gumby protects Brokeback from any tough defensive assignments but hangs Yao out to dry when it comes to his defensive schemes. It sounds like Gumby has a creepy man-crush on Brokeback. If I was considered a defensive genius, I would make Brokeback commit to defense. For all the people that bash Kobe, one thing you can't deny the man, is that he can DEFEND like no other. If Brokeback is as athletic as Kobe, he should be put on the best perimeter defender.
The original question I want to challenge was 'nobody dare to challenge the rim' of Shaq. I think these pics said enough on my point.
I may be wrong, but I think Bonzi is like Rasheed in regards to talking to the press. They just like to say things..not too significant? Just different from how..Shane Battier and Rafer Alston respond. I think things are fine.
Is that you Gumby? Did I hurt your boyfriend's feelings? It's funny how people get so defensive when it comes to Brokeback. You are all becoming Gumby's puppets.
I really hope they can let the big men play down low and stop rewarding guards for driving and initiating contact down low. If the refs started loosening up the calls in the paint the Rockets would stand to gain the most from it for the following reasons. - Yao is the most effecient big man in the game in terms of scoring. - If Yao is allowed to play harder down low and with more freedom the double teams will have to bite harder and the rest of the team will instantly benefit from the added spacing. - Yao can lock down 90 % (i think its more but I'll say 90 to play it safe) of the big men in the league night in and night out is he is allowed to play more aggresively. He normally racks up the most fouls when perimeter players get into the paint and initiate contact with him when they are going for the finish. I really hope that this trend dies out soon, because it could mean the difference between Yao dominating and Yao just being a solid contributor. Ultimately I have a feeling that since the season has just begun, many league officials including the refs are a little trigger happy in making sure their offseason ideas get implemented and applied consistently. Once more games are played the refs will start let the big men play more so that the game will not slow down too much, and so it doesnt seem like the league rules only affect the play of low post players in the league.
Yao should just take it easy on defense then problem solved. I watched Rox vs. Mavs highlight clip and Dirk played virtually zero defense. I wondered why Dirk averages so few fouls a game.
The center is the most important defensive position in the game. Dirk doesn't have to play great defense because he's got Diop and Dampier behind him.
