The Yao problem - why the offense stagnates

We all know fronting is a bigg problem, but if Yao is the only problem for offensive struggle, can you explain why the following are happening?

1. Before Yao being fronted often, Rockets offense was average as well.

2. According to 82.games, Rockets' offense was much better when Yao was on the floor.

I believe besides fronting, our guards' inability to facilitate a fast break, we get blocked inside way too often after penetration(lack of athleticism and size), we live and die by 3s ,we don't have a guard who can find others easy shots consistently are all big problems, if not bigger.

 

The problem is artest and battier. Artest is a black hole and battier just stands in the corner, and if you front yao then the rockets just run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

 

In essence, under JVG, T-mac was the pg, the main ball-handler and assist man. He didn't bring the ball up the court, but his drive and dish to Yao or other forwards accounted for a lot of the offense.

Since then we have struggled to get Yao the ball. The irony of the situation is T-mac and Yao are most effective on the floor together, since they put a lot of pressure on defenses. With those two guys, you are forced to double down low or at top - but not both....and that's a big problem.

Aaron Brooks is the perfect compliment to this, since teams can not leave Yao on the low block, nor can they leave t-mac open either. This will generate a lot of freedom for Brooks...he is the third threat we were looking for.

Luis Scola - because of his game, may never be great at putting pressure on Defenses while Yao is IN the game, his effectiveness will be more in leading the second team inside offensively. But he still should be a starter as he can cut and very active. In some ways, Chuck Hayes is a better compliment to Yao then Scola....

As for the OP, I disagree. The Kyle Lowry and Brooks are a great pg pair, and their troubles getting the ball into yao had more to do with the way defenses were playing him then the actual entry pass. Once you have a true wingman threat (which Ron is not, and T-mac is) back on the floor, that will do a lot to alleviate the problem.

I think our biggest need is at back-up C. We need some height on this team other than Yao - that much is clear.

As for the pg position...the fact that this team didn't look any worse without Rafer - who is a pure pg by definition, says a lot about our needs there.

 

Well they can create shots for others by recognizing the defense immediately ... either by attacking the angles created by it or by moving the ball as soon as they see it. When that is fixed instead of over-dribbling or stopping the ball movement on the strong side of the court for long periods of the shot clock is when it will get better.

The goal of the offense isn't for get Yao the ball every-time. Yes he is our best scorer but it is a much lethal offense when everyone is involved. If the guards attack the angles created by the front, then when the defense commits to stop the drive they can dump it off to Yao for a dunk/layup or pass it out for a three. When the guards quickly swing the ball and it gets to the weak-side, Scola has a wide open jumper or the team can find Yao with his man sealed behind him. And then there are offensive rebounding opportunities. When there is good decision-making, there are many options.

I believe Yao should work on a improving his jumper this offseason but the guards also have to work on improving their decision-making too.

Maybe these issues is what has Morey looking for a veteran point guard? I was kind of surprised to hear him say it as one of the things to do this summer.

 

1. Even after Tmac went down, I don't think offense was that good. They only score 100+ against really sucking defensive teams. More often than not they scored in 80s and 90s.

2. If a fronting Yao is still better than no Yao, that means there are more problems than just Yao being fronted on offense.

3. Lowry ran fast break well, but Brooks didn't. His tunnel vision had a lot to do with that, and his decision making certainly didn't help.

4. We need guards who can create for others because Yao can't play too many minutes and RA's system doesn't focus on getting Yao the ball that much anymore.

5. We don't have players with athleticism and size to finish around basket. Everybodygot blocked inside way too often.

 

From what i have observed the problem is Ron doesn't demand a double team and teams can tend to slack off of Shane as he isn't aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. we need a real SG/SF who not only attacks the rim but has good ball handling abilities and is a great shooter.

The reason why we need a shooter on a team of "shooters" is with Yao being the center piece of the offense we need someone reliable on the kick out to hit shots. Michael Redd is actually the perfect player imo for this role or even possibly a Joe Johnson (realistically both of them wont be available). The main issue as stated by the OP is the lack of execution on the offensive end, alot of times they do not capitalize on the fast break opportunities that they have the best at attacking the defense to me is Lowry but his lack of shooting/scoring hurts him at times.

Another critical piece would have to be a back up C for yao who could also possibly slide into PF if i were Morey i would have my eyes on Rasheed Wallace (yes i know of all people), the reason being is with Wallace who can stretch the floor out to the 3 point line we also have a Scola who honestly is better in the paint at times than Yao as his mobility and ability to get his man in the air is almost 2nd to none in the league the only issue he really has that's holding him back from being "top tier" in the league is his lack of athletic ability (dunking, hops, blocks, etc.).

of course that is my personal observation i think that PG is ok for the time being i wish Brent would have seen a little more court time but i know he is somewhat a liability on the defensive end at this point in his career.

 

If offense is bad, it's more often than now starting with PG, who's main task is get offensive flow going, unless the system is designed for certain player to dominate the ball.

 

Once again in Adelmans system there is no real PG everybody plays PG essentially on the court. Adelmans offense is a Motion/Princeton/Triangle offense fusion its hard to explain but fun to play in and watch. The only real plays they run are out of time outs, and the plays the team calls are mainly for what positions the team should be in so they can "read & react" to the way the defense is playing them

 

AB is a shooter not a passer. that's why he avg. 3 assist!~

 

We need to stop with the excuse. BOTTOM LINE YAO IS NOT ATHLETIC ENOUGH TO GET AN ALLEY OOP, CATCH A LOB PASS, MOVE HIS FEET TO GO GET THE BALL. This isn't AB's, Shane's or Artest fault. It's just Yao's make up that limits him.

We can't get everything from sweet shooting 7'6" center that's shoots 90% from the free throw line.

We need a coaching staff that can figure this out and REDUCE the effort required by Yao to get the ball. Too many times, I see Yao not in the right spot after the PnR to get in shooting range, he's always about 2 feet outside of his range.

 

I said it many times, Start the offense by posting Scola one on one, if he is scoring effectively one on one (most likely) the defense on Yao should be reduced by then.

Most likely what we did against the lakers in game 6, a lot of Scola to start with, and then many doors were opened.

 

As the great brooksball has said , i and a few others have been hammered, hammering this point. Its hard to play with a guy like yao and set plays up when his feet are so slow. People b**** and moan, but you pretty much have to spoon feed yao when teams play active behind him. Even when he post and has position ready for the pass, a guy like gasol is quick enough to get around Yao to knock the ball away. Thats why i laugh when people bring u[ brooks not passing to yao or the turnover thing. Brooks or any other guy can throw it to yao and if its not perfect or yao lets his man around him because he cant pick his feet up and reset them, its a to's on the passer. Well, once you get a couple of them in a tight game, as a player, you don't want to risk it. Thats why i made the thread about yao being a playmaker or play finisher. I think because of his limitations in this area, he should be used more as someone finishing a play. Thats why i think its imperative that he gets used to shooting the mid range jumper. That way when teams start to front, he could just slide up the key to the elbow, which would bring his man and open the baseline. If his man helps on the penetration, he's open from 15ft for the easy look. Just watching hedo throw the ball over the top of koe smith or whomever when they front howard makes people see that there are some plays that the rox cant use at all. In fact, i cant remember the last time someone caught a ball over the top. Trying to establish yao on the front is like watching paint dry and usually ends in a shot clock run down and bad shot. I forgot who posted it about ignoring yao in the forth or in when being fronted, but that pretty much what you should do until he gets comfortable shooting the jimmy from 15ft. Invert the offense and he can get offensive rebounds from the front or we get a penetrating wing to replace shane or a rangy 4 that can create distance.

 

imo,the poor offense has something to do with Artest/Battier too.
These guys rarely move without the ball.
If TMAC was himself,that's fine.
With TMAC injured & out,they have to do better to keep the offense running.

 

I hope next season Rick would play Wafer more(provided we re-sign him).
He's a much bigger threat than Artest & Battier imo.
You can't expect him to be consistent if you play him like 10 minutes per game.
Wafer was doing great when he was the starter.
His defense is not as good,sure,but that's the chance u need to take if u want the offense to be better.