I disagree with this. You are describing a normal center (Howard, Shaq, etc) but Yao Ming is not normal he is a freak of nature due to his good free throw ability for a man of his size. You want him to get the ball at end of games to close the opponent out because at end games teams will do hack a shaq to extend the time. If Yao has the ball though hacking him would be useless because he's a great ft shooter. On the other hand if they don't hack him Yao will use his height and post moves to score over his man anyway. The problem is stamina...IMHO Yao should get less minutes the 1st quarters and then more in the second half. Basically, you invert Shaq and Kobe roles...Tmac is the "workhouse" and go-to-guy for the 1st 3 quarters, then Yao should be the closer/finisher at end of games
Seriously, this is a idiotic complain, 8 shots are few shots? did you see the game, Yao was given the ball in non-risk situations, it ended with Yao being very effective, imagine that if yao got more touches forcing the offense he would have 5+ turnovers per game as a result.
For Yao to be a closer would take a lot of changes in his game, for example more mobility as Yao would have to be force feeded, secondly he would have to be a better dribler than he is because most likely he will get the ball on the elbow due to the defensive sets, and thriid he would have to be faster enought to spin over his defender and go to the rim, because i am not going to give the ball to a seven footer for him to shoot a pullback jump shoot. Big men are never go to guys at the end of games unless you are Duncan (it is also rare to say the truth) or Garnett (also quite extrange), and those are two of the most versatile power forwards. Yao is like the nemesis of versatility.
JVG had gotten much better at getting Yao the ball in the deep post. With Adelman, it's still a work in progress. Take that across the lane pick move to get Yao in the post. Does it ever work? Frankly, more often than not, it helps Yao's defender get better fronting position. In his early years Yao couldn't just walk down the court and post someone up, but if that's the goal of the play, these days, I'd really just prefer Yao do that. He seems to get better post position that way anyways, plus you are into your play earlier in the shot clock. Where the across the lane pick would/could work better is if they faked this. As mentioned, Yao's defender typically sees it coming and jumps the pick. So why not swing the ball halfway across the 3 point line and have the pick set and Yao start to move, but then come right back to the same side of the court as they start and have Yao post there - he automatically has deep position, and is now guarded by either the other, smaller, Rocket player's defender, or his defender has to scramble to get back. They also need to take advantage of more Yao flashes. This is what JVG had started to get good at. The mis-direction where it doesn't seem like he is part of the play, then he flashes right into the middle of the paint. Yao seems to be doing this solely on his own these days, but when he does, he ALWAYS gets great post positioning. The good news from last night, and hopefully this isn't just a one game thing, is they really started to figure out the high post a little differently. The double high post play, or just where Yao is on the extended high post and gets the entry pass and moves it along, don't seem to result in great plays to me. Look, Yao is a great passer...but NOT at the high post, and it has nothing to do with his passing ability. The problems with Yao at the high post are two-fold: (1) his FT line out jumper just doesn't seem to be working this year, and honestly seems to have been getting worse over the years. Check out his hotspots - www.nba.com/hotspots (2) He doesn't have the ability to put it on the floor. He isn't the best dribbler and even with him being decent at it for a post-player, he is just too tall and slow. Vlade, and Miller to some extent, though not as much - could get that ball at the high post and dribble in. The classic Vlade/Miller play would be a high post catch and then fake a handoff/pass and do the back turn dribble in for a layup or pass out to someone else open. The best way to describe it would be crafty. Vlade/Miller had size, but no one has Yao's size - it's impossible for him to be crafty - he can't do it. He is too tall and too slow. So now, you have a defender who can either sag off Yao and not worry as much about an 18ft jumper he isn't hitting consistently, or conversely cover him tight and not worry at all about getting blown by. The defense can play Yao in the high post however they want, or frankly, not at all, all to equal and good effectiveness. What did we see last night? Scola more and more in that high post position, and it worked. Scola flashing to the high post for an open jumper. Scola flashing to the high post for a quick move inside. Scola flashing to the high post to hit a flashing Yao down in the paint, etc. Adelman needs to keep Yao in the low post while still utilize his "awesome" high post offense with the PF's. I think Landry can be just as effective as Scola in this position. Even Hayes, who can't shoot, at least has the ability to catch at the high post and quickly drive (and typically pass off as the defense collapses on him) in if his defender is sagging off. Sort of long and rambling post, but in summary, for Yao and the offense in general, I'd like to see: (1) More effective plays to get Yao in the deep post, or elimination of plays at all if they don't do what they're supposed to. (2) More recognition of (or plays designed) to get Yao the ball when he does his highly effective flash into the deep post right in the middle of the paint (3) Much less use of Yao in the high post. Use the PF's in the high post, allow Yao to stay in the low post (when not using the pick and roll). (4) More touches per possession. I'm not even focusing on shots. Yes, Yao should have had more shots last night considering they were all going in...BUT, the offense as a whole is more important than Yao...if he gets more touches, whether he scores more or the team does, I'm confident one or the other will happen.
Yao doesn't control whether or not he gets the ball back if he tries to repost. It's not just an issue with Yao--the whole offense has been misfiring with substandard passing and movement without the ball.
Boy do I agree with that comment. The guards (particularly Alston) really amaze me at their collective lack of timing in getting the ball to Yao. Every time he makes his move to the post they are either not in a position to feed him the ball or have already swung the ball to the weakside. The football equivalent to this is the draw play or the screen pass. If the running back rushes either play or mistimes the blocking it just won't work. If the running back waits for the play to develop, it usually works very well. I just don't understand how they can always be so out of synch. Yao isnt the best at sealing his man down low but he is adequate enough that he should be getting the ball in scoring position far more often.
yeah, thunder doesnt have anybody can stop yao at low post. sometimes RA 'slow reaction really kill us. he just sticks on one tactic all the game lol.
I can only hope that you're joking, unless you really meant "we" as in a collective effort by other board members. That would be way too time consuming for one person, and would be much more involved for players like Tracy or Rafer who dribble all over the place and may get the ball 3 or 4 separate times each time down the court. Usually, Yao is only going to touch the ball once, maybe twice in a single possession, and he very rarely covers a significant area while dribbling.
I chart probably 75% of the games. I have touches,positions on the floor, all kind of stuff. When a poster said yao controls his shot attempts, that's the truth. We can't say that about scola,rafer,landry and guys like that, but yao can control it. Ur not going to get perfect post position and you're going to have to work ur ass off. Tbats why a guy like shaq avg 30. You have to work hard and quick and be aggressive and decisive.Adelman isn't telling yao at the high post to never pivot and face up and shoot. Adelman isn't telling yao not to set his man up on the lane screen and seal. Those are iq issues. Yao made a step through on a double last night that resulted in him drawing a foul. That move is there all the time for yao, but he doesn't do it consistent enough which will set up his baseline turn around. Yao can basically eliminate doubles by being aggressive and strong. If he's strong with the ball even during double teams, he should be in balance, hold and see over the double and make the correct pass as he did to svola on the cut. What happens with him is he gets high and off balance on the double then tries to make a pass with no juice or get the ball stripped. Go watch shaq or dream how they would hold the ball strong with 1 hand, hold the 2nd man off with the off arm for space, and make a balanced pass. After awhile, teams would either stop doubling orcome up with another way to double. The step through power move is a move yao can use to get more shots. He just needs to make a quick decsion.
I don't quite understand why Yao can control his shot attempts buy other guys can't? I'm guessing because they aren't one of the offensive focus points of the team and therefor have to take what is given to them...is that the thinking? I understand that, but would argue that the conclusion that there is some kind of IQ issue with Yao and his lack of shot attempts is incorrect. Read my last post...Yao isn't being stupid by not being more of an offensive force in the high post...he is actually being smart. He is just not talented enough to be that force. His outside jumper (at least for now) isn't there, and he just can't be the triple threat player from that position that would make him efficient. So, to the extent that Yao is in the high post too much (or way way too much, depending on your perspective), then to that degree, yes, Adelman is controlling Yao's ability to shoot more (the same way Rafer could theoretically shoot every possession if he wanted...he doesn't, because it is far from effective). Yao isn't Shaq or Dream. I don't think he'd tell you he is though, either. He works plenty hard, but just doesn't have their talent level. But heck, Dirk is plenty talented, and you wouldn't try and turn him into Hakeem or Shaq, either. I think Yao has enough talent to be dominant at times, and is effective enough the rest of the time to be a (or the) central focus of the offense. But he isn't talented enough to just say "here's the ball, go make something happen." In addition to him working hard, he has to be put in position to be effective. Perhaps this is what ultimately sets him apart from the true dominant, best of all time type players. You could just give Hakeem the ball. You could just give Jordan the ball, you could just give Shaq the ball (in essence, just wait for him to get wherever the hell he wants and give him the ball), Kobe, Lebron, Larry, Magic, D. Wade. You just can't do that with Yao. I think everyone would agree, though, that he constantly needs to work on being more forceful with his play...the step through move was great last night. On the other hand, it is still just 11 games into the season, and, at least when all are healthy, part of the concept of the Big 3 is to take the pressure of any one player having to be that way all the time.
What? Scoring in the end game is the same as scoring in any part of the game. The lack of mobility that you describe is legit, but Yao Ming faces with that issue every single time he has the ball, although he has been dealing with it pretty well since he posted up MVP numbers prior to his injury last season. Pull up jumpshot? Yao Ming has a pretty good jump shot but he's also the best post player in the game today. He doesn't need to shoot a jumper; he can rely on his post up game to score or get fouled. I don't know why you say Yao Ming isn't versatile, he has both a face-up game and a back to the basket game. What more do you want? Maybe you meant agility or athleticism instead since that's the major hole in Yao's game. I said it before but the reason why big men are never closers is because they are terrible free throw shooters. Yao Ming is a great free throw shooter, and because of his height you can reliably throw him the ball in end game situations. Just lob the ball at your big man let him go to work. The key is for Yao Ming to get healthy and improve his quickness to where he was prior to his injury. Right now he's moving so slow its like he's using the matrix slow time ability lol.
I think you're kinda agreeing with what I'm saying, but I'm not for sure, so let me say this. I never thought Yao was a great player. I think he can be great at times, but there was always something missing mentally. Not to sound cavemanish, or insult someone's culture, but the training and ingrained mindset of total team ball kinda eliminates the thinking to be dominant. Like I don't think yao ever want to destroy another player. I think to be great, you have to have it in you. You have to want to embarrass and dominate the other guy, that's what great players do. I don't get that with Yao. So when I said he controls how many shots he takes, that's part of it. Especially as a post player, yao have to make guys think its going to be a long night in the post. When we talk about bbiq, a player has to be able to process things quickly and put the body in motion. I think yao is a smart guy, but his bbiq isn't as fast as it should. That's not a knock, its the truth. There is a saying if you think, you stink. Basketball is natural and reactionary, but when your reflexes don't match the thought process, then a player don't play "fast" as its called. Its really being sure and decisive and making the proper basketball play. That's why stockton and guys like that could play at a high level even when they were old. Their thought process was super fast and they could actually get the body in motion. There are plays yao can make fr sure and maybe as the season go on he will. I'm staying consistent that the adelman offense has many opening and flexes running at the same time. Some guys can see it, but can't process it.
