Our success down the road and into the playoffs begins with Yao. I would like to have a good discussion about his moves, efficiency and best path forward. The conclusion i have reached is that against good/playoff teams, yao must change his approach. Here are his left block moves (ie, if you're facing the basket, he occupies the left low block) Move 1: Yao dribbles/powers it to the middle for a hook or turnaround jumper. Move 2. He turns baseline for a jumper (aka "shanghai shake"). A variation on this is where he turns baseline with a power drop step to the basket. Move 3. Face up jumper from the post, no dribble. Right side moves: Move 4. He dribbles to the middle, then turns baseline for a hook shot. Move 5. He dribbles to the middle for a turn around jumper/fadaway. Move 6. He pump fakes his man in the air, then drives to the basket up the middle. Move 7. Face up jumper from the post, no dribble. My first point is that Move 1 is his bread and butter move. But it is high risk, high reward. He gets stripped at a very high rate, but he also tends to get deep into the paint. The very good teams make this move very difficult, by sending in guards to dig out the ball, by having the post defender push Yao into an off balance/fading shot. Also, this is the move that results in the most successful flops against Yao, particularly against playoff caliber teams. In the playoffs, these are huge momentum shifters and we need to avoid them at all costs. I think you establish Move 1 early, without the costly offensive foul. That setups the Shanghai Shake late in the game. Second point: I woud like to see him on the right low block more often. I haven't been able to find his efficiency numbers (some site has "hot zones"). Move 4, the base line hook, seems to be very high percentage. On the right side, he doesn't seem to get as deep into the paint, but also, his turnover rate seems much lower. Yao should get more comfortable in this area and we should emphasize this down the streth in the regular season. Third Point: with Yao on the low right block more often, I would like to see scola or Artest in the low left block. that way, if Yao is covered or doubled, we can swing the ball and get it to Scola/Artest with less than 10 seconds on teh clock. Fourth Point: Yao needs to practice his face up jumper from the post, with no dribbles. It can be deadly, but he needs to get the timing and rhythym down. he often hurries it, and looks like he makes it harder than it needs to be. This is a low turnover move, that can be executed at a high percentage rate in the playoffs, particularly if the defense is expecting move 1. I would very much apprecaite someone with more computer skills than mine to dig up yao's hot/cold zones to see if there's any statistical support for what I think I'm seeing. [edit] I found the NBA Hotzones feature but i can't figure out how to post yao's hot zones. I think the data supports what I'm saying. Yao is a good shooter from the right block -- .490 from outside the paint on the right block. The data does not show his turnover rate from the low left block. However, it is clear from watching him and seeking the stats that he is best able to get to his deep post area from the left block. My theory remains that against the top teams in the playoffs, we need to look at the right block more.
The very best spot for Yao to get the ball is right in front of the cup in the middle of the lane. If we're getting him a lot touches right there, then our offense is working great. But, generally, he's going to get it on the left or right block. And I agree that Move 1 is his bread and butter move, but I'm not sure if its his most effective move overall. I like his Move 2 (second variation) where he spins baseline and towards the basket. It's great for drawing fouls, and if he doesn't draw the foul and he misses the shot he's in great position to tip it back in. I happen to like his Move 7 quite a lot. If he's on the right block, it's very easy for him to face up and just shoot it over the defender. He shoots a very high percentage on that shot, and the nice thing about it is there's very little chance of him turning the ball over with it. If the other team isnt double teaming him on the catch and is instead waiting for him to put the ball on the floor, that should be his goto move.
He should add the bank shot when he faces up... I think Hubie Brown pointed that out in our last ESPN game, not sure who it was against though. I would really think Yao would be even more effective if he used the glass instead of trying to swish it all the time.
I think his best move is his behind-the-back dribble from behind halfcourt and finishing with a dunk in transition. Beyond that it's fruitless to try to narrow it down to a best move because it'll depend on our actual playoff opponent's personnel and defensive philosophies. So let's revisit this thread then.
Dont forget the baseline spin move that has dominanted lots of familiar faces~ Great research, appreciate your effort!
as a right-handed player, yao is obviously a bit more comfortable on the left block. i think before he can come up with new moves in the off-season, he just needs to quickly read the defense and take whatever the defense gives him. e.g., if they double on the dribble (ala utah jazz), then maybe he'd take some more face up jumpers.
Well two moves I really don't like him doing are the pump fakes and baseline spin moves. Both used to work great for him a couple of years ago. His opponent these days rarely bite on the pump fake and he just pump himself out of the rhythm and rushes the shot. Also his baseline spin just too slow these days to work. To me Yao should just stick with turn around shooting over. He doesn't need a lot of moves down low. A TO is worse than missed shot. Just turn and shoot be assertive, that's his best move. Once while he can try the power move to middle to mix things up. His bread & butter should just be simplified jumper like Hakeem used to do. I am really tired of him TO or committing offensive fouls by moving too much down low.
I hit the Print Screen button on my keyboard, pasted it into MS Paint, cut out the portion I was interested in and saved that to a jpeg. Then I uploaded it to my photobucket account.
The graph shows more shot attempts on the right block than the left, as well as the higher percentage. Perhaps he is getting more shots off from there? Or perhaps he's is posting up an equal amount of times on the left, but gets stripped more often before the shot attempt?
i remember in the utah series all yao did was catch it on the elbow and shoot jumpshots. he had to because if he even dribbled it once he would get swarmed and lose the ball.
I don't know what a high rate is? He average 3.2 T.O. and half are offensive fouls the other include bad passes or 3 sec. violations. So about 1 time he gets strip out of countless time he make the move. I don't see any high risk most of the easy basket are because he is sucking the double team from that same move and Morey said that hook is the most efficient of his shoots. He need to keep going to that move and passing went double teams coming or just split it them or use the counter Shanghai shake move. I don't know why ppl still think he is getting strip a lot? He no longer have that problem, his bigger issue is securing the rebounds or passes that just bounce from his hand like he got butter on it.
I think if you ever wants to be considered great, you hae to beat double teams. Some doubles are made to make you pass and some are made to give the illusion of pressure. Yao needs to attack the soft or small doubles with the hop step to the middle he likes to use or the spin baseline. We can offer all the points and counterpoints, but its all dependent on Yao being aggressive or not. When he attacks quickly and is aggressive, its not a lot you can do with him. If he sits,reads and wonders, he's not nearly as effective.
