Utah is going to be Houston's rival for a long time. I don't think Yao on Boozer strategy work, period. Boozer is a step quicker than Yao and Yao's heights does not have much effect on his high arching shots. On the other hand, Okur can only shoot open shots and is not much quicker than Yao. Leaving Yao outside may lost some rebound edge but heck it will save a point or two. The history has shown that Yao vs. Boozer is not good match but why we have to do it over and over again. I thought we got a new coach. Comments please
yea lets trade for tim duncan and let him guard boozer... oh wait timmy got burned by boozer too.. That said, i think the reason why yao guarded boozer tonight is that yao is more familiar with guarding boozer than okur and also yao is more effective hovering around the paint rather than trying to stay out there on the 3pt line with okur.
In fact, from this game, we can see that Jazz is not at the same level as Rockets any more. Our goal should be to beat spurs, suns, and mavs.
IMO, yao should play limited minutes against the jazz. he is a huge liability on defense and on offense they force him into turnovers far too easily. i think you just have to go with what works, and against utah we play better without yao.
One win and you think this way? Was it clear from games 1 and 2 in playoffs last year Jazz was not at the same level as the Rockets any more?
Putting Yao on Boozer is like putting Scola on Kobe, it will never work, but at the same time, we don't have any other effective way to defend the Boozer/Okur lineup yet..
Think for a second what are the defensive responsibilities for a player who matches up against a perimeter player. Can Yao do any of that?
Did you have a good history of guarding Boozer? Familiarity is one thing and effectiveness is another thing. 50% of offense of Utah goes through Boozer. When Yao is guarding Boozer, he hardly have time to rebound. Tim Duncan is a power forward, Boozer is a power forward, and Yao Ming is a center.
yea, i think boozer is just a mis-match for yao... but yao gotta payback on the offense end, and i hope to see more of that the next time
It is not just a 'one win'. It is regarding team's talents! Actually, I think Rockets didn't win Jazz in Utah for many years before tonight game.
But Okur is just an OK three point shooter and he is a center. He is not Michael Redd or Reggie Miller. The difference is that Boozer shoots the 16 footer and Yao has to give him space because he can drive to the basket. For Okur, Yao can really close the gap. I can not imagine that Okur blast over Yao, and all the other defenders, all the way from three point line, with a Tomhawk jam. If something is not work, it is time to change. We have to play Utah probably more than 4 times this season.
bad things happen we try to force feed the post against the jazz. they are just a bad matchup for yao. he cant guard boozer or okur so i think he should play limited minutes. i didnt say he should be benched. yao should come in when their starters rest, he could probably play much better against their reserves.
Agree completely. Chuck did a decent job on Boozer, so let Yao guard Okur for awhile and see how it goes. We may lose some interior defense, but we've got a bevy of charge takers to make up for the loss of Yao's long arms. Besides, asking Yao to guard Boozer and score 25 points on the other end is a tall order.
Scola and Hayes is the only way to defend both Boozer and Okur. when those two were in the game the Jazz offense came to a complete halt and we went on that big run. I think Yao should only play limited minutes against the Jazz. it's one thing if he can answer back Boozer's points, but he was awful offensively as well. We can't win trading baskets. We need STOPS, and when Yao is on Boozer its an automatic 2 points.
i dont think putting yao on okur is a good idea. okur is alot more mobile than yao. they can set some picks for okur and he can pop out and get open looks all day. yao is way too slow to recover. plus i dont like the idea of yao wasting energy chasing a guy around the perimeter. i am sure jerry sloan would exploit that match up easily if we put yao on okur.
