The question at hand is whether or not our current hot shooting streak is the team's assumption of a new identity or simply a hot streak. Are you confident that Rafer will continue to put up 20+ points at a 45-50% clip? Same goes for Tracy. The other question is whether or not we have enough size at the front court to stand up against the big boys of the West. If you think that we have transformed into an offensive juggernaut, and that our defense will not be problematic against the SA/LA/Phoenix's of the league, then you have all the right in the world to believe that we are a better team without Yao.
You really need to stop this. You need Yao against Duncan. You need Yao to prevent Tracy from playing 45 minutes/game. You need Yao for defensive rebounding. You need Yao because he is your most consistent scorer. And in the playoffs, when every team plays with the energy and verve that the Rockets have been playing with during this winning streak and everything because harder and harder, you're going to realize it.
you are very confused. Yes it's because of Dampier He will abuse EDamp just like he's always done in teh past. You dont know you're NBA...stop bumping this thread Yao demands a double team. It's as simple as that. He creates most of the open shots Battier, head, alston, and mcgrady get....Teams gameplan for Yao Ming making it easier for McGrady. If Rafer plays like the Rafer we know and most of us hated, you wouldnt have even started such a ridiculous thread. Everyone has stepped up, especially ever since Yao has left. Yes it's a guards game, but you also need an inside presence, and i'd much rather have Yao Ming be that presense along withLandry and Scola rather than just Landry and Scola You dont know much about basketball....it's pretty obvous. Are you the piont forward guy?
EXACTLY. i kept thinking..man if tracy sits down..we are screwed. people playing diff teams here and there is different than winning 4 straight games against a playoff team like lakers or spurs. you need a scoring big man.
I agree. RA is smart, I'd say this, he knows how to maximize Yao's contribution while minimize Yao's drawbacks, this is so called optimization. In quite a few games, RA went small when it came to crunchy time, let TMAC to close the game and our rivals couldn't take advantage of Yao's TO. But I simply failed to understand why consecutive wins make Yao useless. OP mush have failed his logic course in college.
The offense flows better without Yao, no question. It was the same thing last year though JVG is nowhere near the offensive coach like Adelman. However, Yao is our most efficient player and if our shots aren't falling which can happen anytime, you still need an inside presence both offensively and defensively. Not to mention the double teams T-Mac will be getting because many of our players need to be set up to be effective.
To the first question, I totally agree. We do get open jump shots when opposing teams collapse on Yao. It's a philosophy that has worked for many a team that builds around a strong franchise center. However, it's for this same reason that I believe our team got TOO dependent on perimeter shooting as in the case of our low scoring JVG offense of old. To your point, the open shots should be there. But with the exception of some truly pure shooters like Reggie Miller and Allan Houston who could consistently knock down the open J at percentages above 50%, these shots tend to be made at "average FG%" than not. If you don't believe me, check out the FG%s of our players last year and their 3 point shooting and ask yourself why in this stretch, we're shooting consistenly higher %s? My take on this is simply we're getting lots more easy baskets, much more ball movement, and more opportunities for players to get into their "grove" and up their FG%. With Yao, short of a few cuts by Head, how often did we see strong cuts to the hoop with Yao assisting? From time to time maybe, but nothing ESPN would write home about as Yao doing a double double in points AND assists. So yes, while Yao can make his teammates better by drawing attention, in imho, a Rockets offense built around him doesn't get as much benefit as one might believe it to be. Other considerations... However people want to believe otherwise, Yao is/was a turnover machine. Turnovers coupled with average to below average FGAs per year means we have to be all the more efficient on offense. Yao sure has the offensive scoring efficiency, but what of the rest of the team? What happens when everyone is cold? Or alternatively, to the aforementioned point, what if few players ever get a chance to get hot? So to you question, the answer is "yes" I do believe we are a better team without Yao. Why? b/c with Yao, I think some areas of the offense becomes imbalanced. (In contrast, today's team is so very very balanced in so many aspects fo the game) I didn't want to believe it. But when T-Mac went down and we struggled with Yao and Yao only, it raised a "?" in my mind as to whether Yao can be a franchise center that one can ride. It's the same question posed to other high skill centers like Patrick Ewing, Rik Smits, and others. They can only carry a team so far imho. That said, I DO believe Yao has great value to this team and has a distinct role on this team. The challenge is striking that ever elusive balance of minutes, FGAs, positioning, etc. Here, Adelman's done a truly remarkable job. So while it's still early to say, pls note that my remarks are just based on observations across not just this winning streak but across multiple seasons. Specifically recalling instances where Yao was out and when Tracy was out. I don't think it's unfair to pose the thread question given 3 years of watching this Team in all its incarnations. -theSAGE oh btw - to your middle question, I think "yes" we can win w/o Yao in the low post. why do I believe? b/c Adelman did just that with Portland (Duckworth? c'mon give me a break!), and Sacramento (Vlade?) Instead, I expect more top of the key and high post schemes where our PFs can come into play. Besides which, given that Yao is out of the season, any true believer in the Rockets this post season NEEDS to believe that "yes" we CAN win in the playoffs without that low post presence. So "yes", I BELIEVE THESE ROX CAN DO IT... I BELIEVE THEY WILL ADVANCE!!!!
OK i was not participating in this thread, and i don´t want to make any noise so i will say what i saw, i think both our offense and our defense are more beautifull to watch without yao. i don´t know if Yao would make this team better because i see a clear thing, he cannot play at this speed, he is a great player of course, but the team has not suffered yet his absence. Still i think Yao will be most missed when we play a team with a great inside presence (San Antonio, Boston, Orlando...) I must say that i have the feeling that Yao makes this team better at some aspects, but also worse at many.
Last Post by Me Yao Bettering our Team in Ironic Ways With Yao... 1. The team has had to compensate for his turnovers by playing mistake free basketball 2. Battier and whoever plays PF has had to compensate by being a stronger rebounder 3. Rafer has had to compensate by becoming a better shooter 4. The team is still of the mindset of high offensive efficiency 5. The team remains defensive minded Basically, we've retained all the good things while shedding some of the bad things that come with relying too heavily a supremely talented player. Believe it or not, I think we actually inherited a lot of good virtues about handling the ball and the importance of efficiency from JVG. theSAGE
I obviously know a little more than you do, everything I said in my original post is proving to be true and now other posters are starting to see the same things and backing me up. People are actually taking my analysis personal. I'm not trying to bash Yao, stop being so defensive. I'm saying based on the players we have, our speed, our lack of turnovers and our new ability to get to the hole with Yao out, we are a better team. I mean, we are only winning by 20 points per game. Everything I said has been true so far, so quit knocking me until I'm proven wrong. My analysis is spot on so far, admit it. I said the same things in the original Yao injury thread before even 1 game was played without him - go look it up. It is comical how people attack me for giving my optimistic analysis of my favorite basketball team.
One more thing. Our shooters stay in a better "flow". No more slow motion post moves and turnovers trying to force the ball down there. We also are faster to get back on defense after a miss. We are a new breed of the Phoenix Suns. I guarantee you the suns would give Shaq back for Marion in a heartbeat if they could.
We are not playing better because Yao is missing, we're playing better despite it - because guys are still learning Adelman's system. Next year will will be even better. The future is bright folks.
If we lose to the Spurs, Hornet, and Lakers, will you shut up? When our shots aren't falling, and we don't have a low post presence, will you shut up? When in the playoffs, teams up their intensity as we have in the past 20 some games, will you shut up then?
Understand that some might not take it as optimism. Read Sweet_Lou 42's post. That is optimism. What you post is polarizing BS that really has no good evidence (12 game winning streak > 5 game winning streak) other than your own shoddy analysis.
OK I lied. That wasn't my last post. I'm just flying high right now after 17. The future will be incredible! Can you imagine? Instead of using Yao in the low post, that we use him in the high post as many astute posters have been clamoring for years? Adelman is bold and creative enough to do it. He did it with Vlade and a broken Webber, he will milk it with a healthy Yao. Think about it! The shortest reasonable stretch for a center working both sides of the court is to from the top of one key to the other. Yao shoots FTs like nobody's business. Why not let him take a few jumpers from there? And like spots at the high post? Long rebounds, short rebounds, we have forwards with a chance of getting the rebound. Then Yao can backtrack back to defense in the shortest amount of time. This is how I see Yao fitting into this offense in a BIG way. Heck, let the big man pass the ball too. Give him more cutters and let him pass while face up to the hoop. I feel like with these Rockets, the sky's the limit b/c we've just seen v 1.0 of Adelman's offense. Hakeem could run with these guys right now. Yao? Not so sure. But I do think Yao' can be a big part of the future system in a Vlade/Rik Smits/Webber/Ewing hybrid kind of way. Nothing wrong with flexibility. -happySAGE
From the very first day, it has been obvious that "he cannot play at this speed", the question is why bother to draft him if "he makes this team worse at many aspects" because of his speed? I'm feeling so bad, Yao fought for this team 6 years, even contributed a lot during most of this winning streak, now he got injured and people say, hey, we'd better without you because we didn't lose since your injury..... I would be more than happy to see Rox win the title or make conference final even without Yao, if that is the case, trade Yao, otherwise he will labeled team cancer.
