That was a good post, plutoblue. In my mind, the problem isn't simply that Yao is a poor defender so Boozer eats his lunch, it's that Yao matches up poorly with him on defense AND the Jazz have a capable defender in Okur who plays Yao better than anyone in the league currently. Those two players combine to seriously limit Yao's effectiveness on both ends. Boozer gets Yao in foul trouble so that he only plays in stops and starts, and when he is in the game, Okur (along with help defenders) frustrates him in the post. That doesn't mean Yao is bad, it means the Jazz have his number-- twice. I give them full credit! I was hoping that using Yao in the high post would help generate some opportunities for him to contribute more against Utah, but no one is really yet comfortable enough with Adelman's sets for that to work yet. I still advocate the use of Hayes and Scola on the floor together to help slow Utah when they're threatening a run. It seems the best way, to me, to force the other Jazz players to beat us.
See, I don't buy into that at all, I think Yao is a lot about confidence, and right now he is still finding his way in the new offense. He got GREAT looks that he normally makes, he could have easily had 20 points last night in limited minutes. I just chalk it up to a bad game. DD
I understand it wasn't his best effort, but clearly there's a pattern emerging of Yao being less than his dominant self against these guys. I think it's worth discussing why that is and possible (even crazy) ideas to maximize his effectiveness against the Jazz, because I figure we'll have to play these guys in the playoffs at some point. I'd rather think of ways to help Yao out than tell myself he just had an isolated bad game. That sure isn't what I was telling myself after Game 7.
Another factor that no one has mentioned yet is that AK47 blocked about half of Yao's shot attempts his first few years in the league. It wouldn't surprise me if that was still somewhere in the back of his mind, maybe causing him to rush.
Offensely, I agree Yao can do better last night. His rhythm was off for the reason we all know. Defensely, it was not just one bad game. Yao had problems with Duncan, Brand and Boozer. I understand the speed mismatch but I do not understand why Yao never learn and improve. Coach A just let boozer eat Yao 10 consecutive times. Boozer had big troubles in game 1 with Yao's defense. But now he figured Yao out. Whenever Yao gets close, he just shoots, taking Yao's hand as a aiming contrast. Yao had same problems with Brand. Can Yao get closer to these PFs to defend their shots while gets help from teammate to block their penetrations. I saw Yao and hayes had one successful cooperation to cause a foul on Boozer. Yao also should change his defense style. Stationary defense only means stable shooting for Boozer. Boozer now has a huge psychological advantage over Yao, and more PFs will follow the pattern. If Yao breaks this vicious circle, the next will be Boozer not the Yao and his fans.
you made it sound very easy for a 300lb 7ft guy guarding an athletic power foward that got touch and explosiveness
If you review the tape of game 1, you will find Boozer is still a human. Trust me, Yao could do better. He did it on Amare who is also a good shooter.
I didnt read all the replies so what I 'm going to say might have been said. 1st off y'all people need to understand Boozer is an all star, when he gets hot, well it's not as bad as Tmac but there's not too much you can do. 2ndly Boozer does hit more when Yao guards him, I figure there 're 2 reasons, 1 is the mental thing. Boozer just feels better about his shots when Yao's on him. It's not like those shots he took on Yao were easy ones, those were actually well contested shots, higher arc and further away from basket. When Chuck's on him, he missed quite a few easier shots. The other thing is, Yao is slow so he stays away from Boozer, so Boozer has all the time to mentally prepare and physically launch the shot. Last if we do have to put Yao on Boozer what we do about it? Help defense. I think Yao should try to stay CLOSER to Boozer, dont be afraid he will drive by you, if Boozer puts the ball on the floor, Rafer or MJ can step in try to strip it away, even not successful, Yao 'd have time to recover and try to block his layup. The bottom line, just putting up your arms aint gonna do any good, Boozer 's so good at those high arc shots with your arms up is just setting a shooting mark for him. Yao has to mix his defense moves against Boozer.
Utah is a poor 3 pt shooting squad. except for Okur there's no legit 3 pt shooter on that team. Besides playing Zone doesnt mean you have to play it 48 mins, you can mix it up. The reason fans were so frustrated with JVG was he ever changed anything, even if it aint working.
Right, Lebron has 10 pts in game 1, VC 7 pt tonight. The board is getting over-reacting with Yao's 1 bad game. BTW, who actually can guard Boozer in this league? Nobody, he's Malone like PW and very difficult to defend. Biedrins is good defender, but he got burned v.s. Boozer in the season opening game.
5 blocks (2 against Boozer) are what constitute a huge liablity on defense? If anything Yao at least has a game-changing presence in the paint to make up for when he is not shooting well from the field.
Option D. double Boozer Option E. Play zone Option F. Play combination zone/man to man From what I can tell so far though, the Rockets do better without Yao against Utah. Guaranteed...if Deke played more against the Jazz in the playoffs, the Rockets would have advanced. JVG had the same stubborness that Riley had in 94 when he could have expanded his rotation when certain players were not playing their best. Sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling--Rudy T was great at that. I'm hoping RA isn't a rigid coach and will call on players 9-12 on occasion depending on matchups and if certain players are having an off night.
...you want an ancient center who barely has any mobility left to guard Carlos Boozer? Seriously? Mutumbo is great for rebounds, but I wouldn't count on him to defend one of the best low-post scorers in the NBA reliably.
u want to shut down, not just slow him down, boozer? put chuck hayes. boozer can't do crap against him
u can't just let yao sit on the bench and scola play... yao need to build his confidence to play with jazz... we still need yao on the offense
i never said to not let yao play. but maybe not as many minutes as against other teams. prollie 30 mins v. the jazz.
Good heavens, Boozer is not a basketball god. Change up the D. Go smaller on him. Put Chuck on him. Put Bonzi on him. Put Battier on him. Keep coming at him in different ways. And watch for final scores with Rox having more, and Jazz fewer, points regardless of Boozer's output.
