Lowry is just a better passer overall. He's really good at keeping an eye on Yao as the offense is flowing and throwing him a pass if he's open. It doesnt even have to be an entry pass/post situation, they may just be swinging the ball around the 3pt line and if lowry gets it at the top he'll throw a bullet to yao instead of just swinging it to the corners. And i still think too much is being made about shane being deep in the corner. I think there's a reason why they want him that far or otherwise he would have stopped doing it a while back. I think they just don't want to make it easy for defenders to guard Yao and Shane at the same time and give Yao more room. Unfortunately defenders stick to yao regardless. The pass itself isn't as hard as it seems for Yao. Remember that the ball to him is like a childrens soccer ball to us normal folks, throwing it isn't difficult for him, the problem is getting free to throw it. He keeps the ball too low and gives the defenders time to double him so he doesn't have an open lane to throw the ball, whether shane is 3 feet away or 20.
The Lakers defense closes off passing lanes to the paint and opposite corner. Check out clips 35 and 40. In 35, the Rockets have a 4 on 3 advantage with Yao doubled, but nobody's open! In 40, Wafer is open up top, but he's slow to get into a good passing lane and Yao nearly turns the ball over. I think Yao needs to try to get a shot off before the double comes (clip 3 is a good example). When he does gets doubled, the other Rockets need to counter by moving to open spots in passing lanes.
In some of those clips, the entry passes are completely lazy, therefore easy to deflect. However, there are some clips that show Yao's man being able to move around and in front of Yao. Obviously, both situations need work, however, these are ******* fundamentals. I dunno, that just seems so sad to me. Maybe Yao should get some lessons from Kobe freaking Bryant cause he can seal off his defenders better than Yao can in the post. He gets the ball in the post against the likes of Artest, Battier, Bowen, etc.
it seems like yao can't handle the double teams very well, i'm used to watching the dream hit the open man for the 3 but our players weren't hitting them the other night. one thing i noticed was everytime he was single covered and he got a good look, they all went in. so opponents double team him, therefore leaving someone open, we have to hit those shots in order to win games like that. ron ron and battier throwing up bricks all night.
awesome work. durvasa's my man. noone said yao played bad. he played the best he can. it's not great. it's good. now if you wanna blame his teammates for that, well, his teammates played hard too. they played the best they can.
When you can't hit the open jumper, it makes the entry pass that much more difficult. It is already challenging with passing to Yao because of his slowness. You've got to hit that open shot so the defense can't pack it down like that.
How about video of how bad our pg's passes are and all passes into Yao. Like the bounce passes to a near 8 foot giant. That is ridiculous, but the bashing threads do not exist.
Great work, durvasa, much appreciated. Seven, you're right on point with your assessment. When the Lakers played the Spurs the night after beating the Rockets, Kobe tried the same double-team strategy on Duncan. The difference is that Duncan had Finley, Mason, and Bowen to throw it to on the opposite sideline. If Shane had been hitting his shots, he becomes much more dangerous to leave on the double. Basketball is a game of confidence and repetition. Duncan knew he had a guy on the opposite baseline that could knock down that shot, so he was a much more willing passer. Also, a slight difference I saw in the Spurs/Lakers game was that Duncan was more posted up further away from the baseline. This meant that Kobe had to come further to do the double, and Duncan had a better angle (re: less distance) to kick it to the opposite corner for the open three. I'm sure it helped Duncan recognize where the trap was coming from and better see the open shooter in the corner. I'm sure the Rockets will see the same thing and make the appropriate adjustment.
