Does anyone have a resolution to the opposition fronting Yao?

Yes, but as Yao's man leaves him, the two other defenders converge on Yao at the same time. The result: Yao's defender is on T-mac (Tracy being the smaller of the two) and Yao get's double-teamed and the post is all clogged up.

The way to open up the post is to punish the defense by making outside jumpers.

 

No one could help yao on this except himself.

 

As DD pointed out, we need PENETRATION.

 

If the guards do penetrate they could pass off to Yao as they will draw the attention of the man guarding him.
Also our Power Forward could help Yao break away by impeeding the the movement of the man fronting Yao.The ball would be passed quickly to an open Yao who could shoot or pass to an open shooter.[If only we had decent shooters other than T Mac]

 

The solution to getting the double teaming off Yao's back? That's easy. Get three other players besides T-Mac and Yao who can score. That will ease the double teams.

 

Solution: Pass the ball to T-mac. Yao/T-mac pick n roll to create opportunities.

 

The most effective way to deal with fronting is sharp baseline shooting. We just don't have good shooter so they cheat and double Yao front and back. When we get a good dead eye shooter, he will have wide open shot everytime if the other team decide to double our center. That is why Bowen in SA come to play when Tim Duncan is doubled.

 

the solution? package tmac and yao for dwight howard. tmac will approve since he loves orlando and wants to retire there....dwight > yao so the rockets get a TRUELY dominant bigman who can OVERCOME bad refs,or racist refs, or "fronting" or tiredness,....all those sissy excuses yao has

then, dwight will be that "leader" that old man rock wants, and the rockets can rebuild over the next couple of years around the next shaq errrr...dwight

this combo of tmac and yao will not win a championship in the next couple of years, so why not spend that time building around a better bigman in dwight?

i know this is a outside the box solution, and Les would never do it since he is contractually obligated to chinese contracts for shoe deals and for yao to "retire a rocket"....but do you REALLY think Les wants to be paying yao $20 million a year when yao is washed up and slower at age 31? you may think he gets money from china but he doesnt...the revenue is dispersed to all the owners...it only works for Les if he plans on selling the team...but why would a owner want to buy the rockets when he can just buy a a better team since the rockets are average?

 

the thing that you and alot of yof are not understanding , is that the times yao is "fronted" he is NOT doubled teamed...so there is no "wide open shooter" like you and DD talk about...yao is single covered, and the guy is fronting him, ...yao is TO SLOW To get open, and now the memo is out

teams dont have to double him, just front him with a one defender, then at the same time cover all the shooters...

go ahead and trade alston,or battier...wont matter...yao will still be fronted, and he is not fast enough to break away from his man to get open for the lob pass...we are doomed as long as the chinese rik smits is on this team...kinda sad you can trade brokeback and rik smits for dwight howard(next shaq)

 

Most of the answers in this thread seem to be, how does Yao stay involved when he is being fronted.

And, I think there are viable solutions for that. But that should be objective 3, 4 or 5 when Yao is fronted because theoretically there should be a lot of open opportunities for other players when this happens.

Why theoretically? Because either lack of talent, or poor coaching, means that the spacing on the floor has been so bad that there is no solution being run currently. The PF, be it Chuck or Scola, always seems to be in limbo between flashing to the high post or not. The other guards are confused - stay along the 3 point line, cut, go help out on the entry pass...what to do???

I am frankly SHOCKED that a solution to this wasn't focused on and practiced heavily in the pre-season. It's almost as if Adelman thought, "My offense is going to run so smoothly fronting won't be an issue again!"...uh, nice try. Seriously, Ryan Bowen could at least run some plays to get some other people open if you had the right coaching here. When you have an offensive advantage, and you are already forcing the opponent to adjust to try and limit that advantage, other avenues of success are automatically created. Again, I simply find it hard to believe neither JVG or Adelman, too completely different coaches, couldn't solve this.

Nonetheless, I find it even harder to believe that it is a player issue, as opposed to a coaching issue. Why, because it's not like we are getting open shots and missing them when this happens. No, the offense is getting bogged down, backed up against a shot-clock with 5 seconds or less on it, and a bad shot is being forced, same as last year.

Okay, JayZ, you coaching genius, what to do? I don't have fancy diagrams, but some simple solutions.

1. Yao sets some backscreens. Put Hayes or Scola in the opposite high post. Yao backs screens for them. They cut. Yao turns around and is potentially now open at the FT line. If Yao is not at the FT line, he continues over to set a screen for the guard at the top corner on the other side of the court, who cuts towards the FT line. Yao rolls to the basket. That's just an option. Alternatively, Yao could go all the way across and set a back-screen for the wing player (Bonzi or Shane usually) on the other side on the baseline. Bunch of back-screen options.

2. Have someone set a screen for the entry passer to dribble towards the MIDDLE of the court. Say Luis. Rafer is trying to get the ball to Yao. Yao is fronted. Scola comes over and sets a screen for Rafer. Rafer dribbles towards the middle. Scola rolls and cuts. Yao steps out and sets a pick on the defender trying to pick-up Scola as he cuts. Scola may pop open. Yao may pop open, or Rafer may be open. I know I know...Rafer is a horrible finisher and mid-range shooter. BUT, it may be someone other than Rafer, and I'd at least like to see a solid play ran. As opposed to jacking up a shot. Again, a bunch of variations on this.

3. Have some-one set a backscreen for Yao. Yao cross to the other block and posts up. This is currently being done too slowly given the poor spacing. So, add some variations. Often, Yao's defender will recognize this move and pre-jump the defense to front Yao on the other side. So, add a "fake" across the lane screen. Yao starts to go across the lane, but stops and goes back, or stops and posts up in the middle of the lane. Or add a quick screen back. Screen on Yao's man one way, then screen on him back the other way. Mix it up.

just some thoughts.

 

one of the things they can do is keep the ball moving. For example, when rafer or mike has the ball at the top and they see the defender fronting Yao, they can't just stand there like they've did in the past. keep the ball moving. drive it in, kick it back out. constantly keep the ball moving. im not sure if thats a 100% solution but it may work. force the defense to keep moving.

 

Sort of but not exactly...

1) Bonzi was never designated as a cutter. He's a low post threat and mid-range shooter who for inexplicable reasons has not gone to his strengths in the current losing streak.

2) James is seldom on the court with Yao AND McGrady. Van Gundy's personnel have played 90% of the 5 man oncourt minutes with Yao and McGrady. Hard to draw any evaluation when he's the #2 option instead of #3.

3) I can't nor won't speak for Francis' conditioning.

4) The sample is way too small. But the most successful 5 man unit according to 82Games is James-Francis-Wells-Scola and Yao. From the same source, James and Wells are also part of a +7 five man unit which (at an estimated 4-1 record) also does NOT include McGrady.

You can believe what you chose. Standstill shooters have NEVER been the answer. I'll take a Mike James drive over an Alston drive 10 out of 10 times regardless of the current success rate.

 

My solution:

T Mac shoots the ball and Yao is in perfect position for the offensive rebound and easy put back.

 

Opponents would take that over setting a effective play. The odds of ball bounces Yao's way is much smaller than an us scoring on an effective play. Plus Yao's isnt a quick rebounder. Plus, that pretty much says put a 6'9 midget on Yao and we give up.

 

Shooting wont be the solution cuz shooting is inconsistent, no matter by whom. How about penetration? If Yao's fronted that means he's closer to the basket than he would be in the normal position. Guards penetrates and mess up the defence, Yao would be easier to get to the basket to grab rebounds or assists to dunk the ball.
just speculating....

 

Unfortunately, I do believe, however we get hung up on this one:

 

no technical jargon needed.... the RIGHT state of mind and spiritual attitude is the deciding factor to elevate and transform yao to the next level.

i am being completely serious.

 

I do have a solution.

But I'm not gonna disclose it here. I will tell the Rockets if they hire me as their assitant coach.

 

trade our "PG"

 

That sounds nice in theory but Yao is not a dwight howard who can manuever around the basket with ease. He has his moments but Yao moving towards the basket is like a freight train. How many times has trmac tried to get the ball to a moving Yao only to result in a TO. That is not Yao's game. He cannot stop quickly and inevitabaly makes turnovers and charges and misses shots. Yao is best when he is setup to make his jumpshots are when he is in position to get an offensive rebound and putback.

SO I would say the best solution is to make them pay for being out of position to rebound. When they are fronting Yao, he has inside track on the rebound so take the best outside shot and allow Yao to crash the boards. He will be in better position to rebound and he should get more of those easy putbacks.

Also I can assure you Adelman is smarter than all of us and with this time off is already developing and teaching equal or better solutions than or being discussed here. The problem is the players have to execute.