Why do TMac and Yao have problems running the RA offense?

Props to this post as well. Insightful. You're not the first to mention it here, but it is true - its unlikely that Adelman would blindly pick up "his system" from Sactown and apply it here (as fans are prone to do ... Yao==Webber, etc..). Instead, he's got his philosophy of what's important and looks for a way to apply it to the personnel.

 

I agree. Today the rockets offense system is not simply "motion offense", or "princeton system" It's actually a mixture of 3 player's game and 2 player's game. It's a mixture of Princeton and Triangular.

The main purpose is to let Yao get ball at low post without a double team(ideally on the left side). If it's not working, pass the ball to the weak side to play a 2 player's game. They can do Pick and Roll, or sideline or whatever. Or even can make Yao to move to the ball side to create another 3 player's game.

That's why the ball movements are quite good without Tmac. When Tmac is on the floor, he is not fit in both 3 player's game or 2 player's game.

 

I think as a coach, you either be hard and enforce your "system" or you trade for guys that can run ur "system." It seems Adelman is in the middle because his best players aren't really fitting in. When phil got to La, he traded better players, jones,campbell, and nve, for better fit guys. I think if healthy , Tracy can run any system. I think Yao is too good to try to make him do something he's incapable of doing. Its up to the coach to adjust to the talent and make it work. He needs to adjust and utilize the talent. I'm not saying there shouldn't be motion or some kind of flex.

 

Yao is a poor midrange shooter and too slow to pass to fast cutters in the lane. the defense can react to what hes doing before he even thinks of what hes doing. he's also a very average passer.

 

He is not an average passer. He is one of the best passing big men out of double teams in the league. He is also our main source of scoring. If he gets the ball in his comfort zone, he usually finishes the play or gets fouled and makes his free throws. His game isn't pretty, but it is highly effective. He is easily the mvp of the team.

 

If we get rid of Yao, you better get a player that can score in the paint. If you watch games where Yao doesnt play, we are so dependent on the three point shot, and that simply does not work consistantly enough.

 

I didn't say get rid of Yao, but in fairness, you don't have to have Yao to have a low post threat. Boozer,Bosh,Aldridge, Jefferson are all examples of low post threats that aren't centers. What I said is the coach needs to adjust to the talent .

 

Those guys you mentioned are all great players.

 

Well, we don't really have 'the guy' either. T-Mac, as most will agree, is barely a shell of his former self and Yao doesn't exactly make opponents fear him.

 

It appears to me that with out TMac the rest of the team will pass the ball around trying to get the defense out of position until the ball finds someone with a high percentage shot.

that is what I worried about Tmac now,and if he do not deal with it well,he might be lost much more credit.

 

With Yao in the low post normally drawing double- triple-teams, his team-oriented plays and unselfish passing of the ball should fit with Coach Adelman's motion system, provided that his counterparts play in a smart, patient and consistent manner following coach's game plan throughout the game.

However, most of our players are still streaky shooters. They always become panic and revert to their own plays under pressure especially during 4th quarters. When their shots are not falling, Yao has to take highly-contested and low-percentage shots especially when he is exhausted in 4th quarter plays.

We are still seeing a lot of bad shot selections, forced/hasty 3 point-shots, iso plays with no regard to other players spots, almost zero-offense contribution from players like Shane and Chuck etc etc. Unless the Rox has a vast improvement in these drawbacks, otherwise their chance of winning the first round playoff series is quite dim.

 

That's a good question. I too thought that both of our guys would be great fit for Adelman's offense.

Well, the short answer is: JVG. I know, I know. It's not totally fair. At least for McGrady's case.

Yao has been conditioned during the JVG years to be a low-post-only player. That has its merit, of course. If not for JVG, Yao might not be the dominant low post player he is now. BUT, it also stripped of his creativity and spontaneity as a play maker. A lot of us still remember how we were wowwed by Yao's eye-popping passes in his rookie season. It has all disappeared after JVG took over.

I think Yao still has the potential to thrive in Adelman's system. He needs to recapture his mid range jump shot though, in order to be a double threat. (Yeah, forget about triple-threat. He ain't gonna be a good driver.) But if he can hit his mid range shot to keep his defender honest, Yao in the high post can create a lot of back door opportunities for cutters.

T-Mac is another story. JVG did not create T-Mac's mentality. But he reinforced it. T-Mac is the starter of most of the offense. He either passes it to some to finish or finishes himself. He is seldom the receiving end of a play, or the middle guy in a hockey assist.

That habit has been ingrained in T-Mac's game ever since his Orlando days. It doesn't help that JVG's offense simply milked that habit to its extreme. So looking back, it was probably too naive to have believed that T-Mac would thrive in this offense, at least not as fast as it was expected.

Like Yao, I think there is hope for McGrady. I remember for a while, when T-Mac was used in the high post, he did pretty well. So instead of using Yao, perhaps we should use T-Mac to play the proverbial Webber role in Adelman's system.

 

don't think Yao has problem w/ RA offense. TMAC does have.

 

I rather have Gasol than Bosh. Gasol would fit here.

 

the only player that Lakers would like to trade for is YAO.

 

I agree with both points, especially Yao. Early in his career, it looked like he was more natural passer and it came very easy to him. I would say he's not too old to become an even better passer right now, he's only 28. Without injuries, he can play at all-star level for another 5 to 6 years and possibly be and pretty good role player for a roster with other pieces in place.

 

gasol is a nice player. but he only suddenly looks much better than his days in memphis because he's now on a premier team.

think this way. say we trade yao for gasol. he might be able to fit in a "motion offense" better. but all of the sudden all we have are players average in athleticism. if gasol didn't achieve anything in memphis with a much more athletic group, what makes you think he'd have success here?

btw, bosh, like some other bigs (such as david west or lamarcus aldridge), is just a borderline all star. he is one notch lower.

 

because JVG.

 

Passing is like rebounding, anticipation and angles. If u see it open, its probably too late. I think the best thing Yao can do to really be a fit is the knock down 15ft er. If he can consistently hit that shot, it allows the offense to flow without force feeding him. Then he can be multiple in his chances and become less predictable. So now, late in the game, it can be pick and 10 ft pop instead of pick and post to get swarmed. The coach has to mold his offense around the talent especially when you have star quality players. The triangle in chicago was different than the triangle in La with shaq and is different now. The coach should keep some principles, but adjust other things or change the talent. Rafer with Tracy makes no sense. Get rafer out and had a sg/pg and its a lot better.

 

I don't think a a current 20 points 54%FG player has problem in the system.