Why hasn't this been explored whatsoever? He is our best offensive weapon and is the perfect fit for the high post...he is tall so he can see over the defense, he is a tremendous passer, the defense has to respect his jumper and he has the ability to drive past defender if he plays im too close and if no off ball cutter is open. All of those things are essential for the high post, and he is our only realistic option of having an effective player in that position. Now, I know earlier in the year (specifically after T-Mac's elbow injury through the Kings game where he dropped 40) he was playing at the elbow a lot, but that was a set isolation play and not a main set for off ball cutters to get open and T-Mac to find them with a pass. So, what do you guys think? I think this could really be the niche that helps T-Mac fit into this offense, and takes advantage of T-mac's great passing ability without having him dominate the ball and go around countless pick and rolls.
The reason Adelman's system requires that the center play in the high post is b/c that draws the opposing center out to guard him, which leaves the paint open for cutters. If you put Tmac in the high post then the paint is still clogged with Yao and the opposing center.
Unless you run the high low double post with Yao and T-Mac at the high post. But I think this configuration is better with Scola/Landry and Yao.
Because we already have a great post player in Yao. Why do we need to post t-mac when Yao is already taller then anyone else on the floor?
I agree w/ all of the above statements;however, we should use T-mac there at least a little. Run a few plays w/ him at the high post.Especially when we go w/ a smaller lineup and bonzi or battier is our pf. Having him at the high post will probably keep him a little more fresh,less tired, and maybe even a bit healthier w/ less running around potentially injuring himself yet again.
With Yao's poor jumpshooting this season (around 36% EFG) and his inability to put the ball on the floor, he simply doesn't work in the high post. Hayes and Scola have the same problems. Now, while in its most basic form T-mac may not offer the same beneits a Center would in he high post, it can still be very effective with T-mac in that spot. Case in point...the triangle offense. They use many of the same sets Adelman does...high post offense, with good floor spacing and off ball cutting making the offense work. With the Bulls, it was not a Center who made the system work...it was Pippen and MJ's passing/scoring ability out of the post and the overall floor spacing that made it work. With his first 5 years with the Lakers it was built around Shaq (although not in the high post...it was a hybrid system), but in the last few years it has been built around Kobe and Odom in the mid-high post, yet it still works extremely effectively for much of the same reason the Kings' offense worked- It puts the best overall offensive talents in a position on the floor where they can take a high % shot, put the ball on the floor or make an easy pass, and it is a great position on the floor where off ball slashers and spotup 3pt shooters can revolve around. See where I am coming from?
Actually before Tmac was hurt, there were times that we did do this. Tmac Battier(or Bonzi) Mike James(or Head) Rafer and Yao (or at times, Scola) on the court at the same time. Battier was "technically" playing the four but Tmac took the offensive set as the four. It was the small lineup we only saw a few times with different combinations of players. Of course that was back before Mike James was out of the rotation. Its something that could be used depending on the matchup. Most of the time though they want a bigger (stronger) inside player at the 4 to match up defensively with the other team... so its more difficult to do.
We did it last year with JVG. Him at an elbow and Yao at the other was one of the plays we went to down the stretch of games. We haven't seen it as much this year, but McGrady's been hurt half the year so who knows. I agree 100% that he needs to see more time at the high post. He's the perfect fit for that spot on the floor. Get Yao the hell away from that spot and McGrady there instead.
I was watching a college game the other day (I forgot who), and one of the teams had big guards, and they did just this. They set up the offense with the 2-guard and the 3-guard at the elbow, and although it crowded the paint, it put the players in great shape for easy picks and mismatches down low, as well as huge passing lanes to shooters on the outside. They ran one play out of it where the two guard would get the ball at the right elbow, the three guard would come from the left elbow and set a pick for the center who was cutting from the right. The defender would have to switch, and if they didn't send the double team, they got a 3-5 mismatch. If they did send the double team, it had to come from the man defending the 2-guard, so he had an open shot.
well he does play at the elbow extended area a lot, especially in the past. i'd rather see him there than yao...thats for sure
Why would you want a guard/small forward who plays facing to the basket and doesn't even have a hook shot to play the high post???? High post is a big man spot. It's one thing to post up a guard on the block, if they have a height advantage on the other player - but the high post?
The high post is definitely not a big man spot. I don't know where you got this from, but the elbow is generally the best spont on the floor for great triple-threat guys as it gives them an entire side to work their repertoire with, be it driving either way, passing, or shooting a mid-range jumper off picks. I'm not sure where you're coming from with the hook shot, but you definitely don't do hooks out of the high post unless you're Kareem or something. The LOW post would be where you want guys who have a good BtB game at. Tmac is made for the high post. In fact, that's probably the reason why he was such a beast in Orlando, because he got the ball a lot more iso'd on the weakside elbow than in Houston, especially under JVG's scheme. And if you look back at games where Adelman has utilised Tracy at the high post this season, you can see he's dropped some good games offensively on the opposing team. The reason why Yao is not as effective on the high post has been well debated...and no matter how you swing it, the fact remains that he only has 2 out of 3 options at that spot because he isn't able to effectively put the ball down on the floor and get to the rim while facing up without turning it over. That said, great coaches adapt their system to suit their players. Phil ran the triangle with MJ and Pippen at the elbows in Chicago, with the bigs flaring and cutting weakside IIRC. With Kobe and Shaq, he started the Triangle with Shaq closer in. And now with Kobe, the Triangle's tweaked again such that it starts more up top than off to a strong side. Adelman has a similar reputation of tailoring his offensive schemes to his players, but so far, I haven't seen all that much malleability in the offense. Sure, he knows that You can't play the old Kings' system with Yao exclusively at the HP most of the time, but I don't think we've yet to find a good groove in terms of how the offense fits around our guys even though we're running it a lot more now than earlier in the season.
They do play T-Mac in the high post I swear there were plays called where T-Mac would call for the ball from the high post and start from there. I thought fans didn't like that because T-Mac holds the ball and there was not enough movement.
