I don;t wanna make this a long drawn out argument because we probably agree for the most part. Yao can dominate if they dedicate to "single coverage". If they run a on-off double single on him he is slow to react to either and turnovers start. Most people do this now but if Andrew comes back they may HAVE to go one-on-one due to a lack of speed. To double on and off you have to have speed.
I love you Zboy. But Yao owns Bynum, and the Lakers are gonna have some trouble figuring out how to make that roster work. Teams can easily clog the paint with the zone because Bynum, Gasol, and Odom have limited range. This would force Kobe to stay out on the perimeter, and chuck 3's. If Odom learns how to consistently catch and shoot the 3 pointer, they could be deadly with their good rebounders. I don't see that being the case. Gasol and Bynum aren't going to operate the paint together because they are subpar passers. Our starting 5 is better offensively and defensively, and our bench is much better. Artest and Battier are going to give Kobe fits. I am sure they will have a game within the game to see who can make Kobe miss the most. In the West, New Orleans is the team to beat. Posey made them that much better. He fits right in with Chris Paul and David West. He is exactly the player they needed to take them to the next level.
I think that swagger displayed by Spain (though I think it's just their national pride) gave them a disadvantage. If Spain plays the gold medal game against the U.S, the Chinese will be rooting for the U.S. giving them a homecourt advantage of sorts. p.s. I hope Kobe, Lebron, and Wade dunk on the Gasol brothers
I just dont think Yao can dominate if Pau is the one doing single coverage. I am simply saying this based on how Pau has played Yao in the past. I havent really seen anything else on the court to change my stance. Yao has abused Bynum in the past though. However, Phil is a pretty smart coach. Phil will keep Pau on Yao on defense while let Bynum cover any of the Rocket's PF. This does not mean Rockets cant beat Lakers. All I am saying is that Rockets cant rely on Yao to dominate and carry them past Lakers. Yao becomes just another piece of the puzzle.
If Pau Gasol give Yao fits in the NBA, Yao must return the favor because his head to head matchups with him are pretty much a wash. Yao Ming vs. Pau Gasol Head-to-Head Matchup
That last basket by Spain... absolutely disgusting and disgraceful. Just shows the lack of respect and arrogance by this Spanish team to try and humiliate the Chinese players in front of Chinese fans..
International basketball is kinda like soccer. If there is a tie in records after pool play is done, the team that scores more points gets the higher seed. But even though it's in the rules, I still thought Spain was rubbing it in. Spain was supposed to blow China out, they do not need to go to those antics and respect the Chinese for playing their very best.
Which is why I dont buy the Rockets have a clear advantage with Yao arguments that's often made. How is it an advantage if Pau vs Yao is a wash? Yao, the best center in the game should be destroying Pau Gasol, a PF who got completely shut down in the finals.
china lost their heads there in the dying minutes. they should have kept an eye on protecting their points difference instead of all those desperation shots one after the other. the last quarter final spot could be decided on that. was yao just breathing heavily in an awkward fashion or was he limpimg slightly?
because it is a wash in points scored with Gasol being on the Grizz. Yao is scoring with him and Yao has TMAC on his team. Kinda like when Mike James went and started scoring 20+ a night.
The Lakers don't have a PG that can burn us. We have 2 Kobe stoppers, and they don't have anyone who can guard T-Mac. If Kobe guards T-Mac, he will have nothing left on offense against Battier/Artest. Yao and T-Mac always have good games against the Lakers, and Landry and Scola are going to bully Odom down low. They lose a lot of rebounding doing that, but their offense would be smoother. I see them doing that against the Rockets. Chandler West Peja Posey Paul That is the only roster I see that could give us as well as the rest of the NBA trouble.
I am looking more from a defensive point of view (how they can stop Yao). Or conversely, if Yao can dominate Pau on the offensive end or not. Stopping Gasol is not as much a problem. Our defense is darn good. IMO, It hurts us more if Yao and Gasol cancel each other out. We need Yao to dominate more more than Lakers need Gasol to dominate for them. Our offense depends a lot on inside/out and Yao commanding double teams. As I said, and it pains me to say this but Gasol gets his fair number of blocks on Yao and plays him very well.
Well Yao shoots a high percentage and Pau Gasol shoots a lower percentage when guarded by Yao. The Rockets will be better than the Lakers by defense alone cause the Laker's can't play it.
But would you call that difference a clear cut advantage for Rockets? As a team Rockets might be better. As I said, Rockets have better defense and Artest is a huge problem for Lakers. I was just brining up the Yao thing because people just assume that Yao will kill Lakers, which I dont completely agree with.
