This is why we still need T-Mac. It's impossible to run the whole game, you still need a good post up player who can create and attract double teams. Last night the whole second half was a post up game, players get tired so they slow down at the end of games wich is what happened last night.
For a 7 footer he is an excellent passer primarly because of his height and the ablitly to look over the double team to find the open man. You can't just throw everyone into the same group because different positions can do different things better the others. I always said Yao is ideal for Adelman's sytem in the high post because he can hit jumpers and with his height he can pass out of the post. Problem is he is/was to valuable in the post scoring on anyone 1-1.
Good thread. I've been wondering too whether Yao can fit in. I don't know. I go back and forth on the Shaq-Suns type argument. WRT to TMac it is also hard to know if he can fit in. His passing is great, but is he going to be willing to run continually? Will T Mac trust his teammates or will he always have to take the last shot with the other guys just standing around as we saw a season or two ago. Overall these are good dilemnas to have and it may turn out that we were lucky to have a chance for the role players to develop individually and also with their chemistry, when it would have take much longer to develop, if ever, with Yao and Tracy demanding to be the focus of the play. It is sure fun to watch the young running Rockets.
The first 3 bulls championship had Horace Grant as the post player - and he wasn't bad. You know, the bulls are the exception because they did have the greatest basketball player of the era and perhaps all-time.
Why on earth would you want a guy 7'6" who can hit a 15 ft jumper like a ft to put the ball on the floor from there?????? Of course he doesn't dribble it, he just shots it when he gets it there.
Thanks for the compliment by the way. As I mentioned, the first 3 champs for the Bull had Horace Grant as their primary post option - Bill Cartwright was defensive purposes. The next 3 championships - Michael Jordan was actually so dominant and intelligent it overcame a the lack of a post player. Also, a couple of things to keep in mind. MJ actually had developed a very effective post game himself by then - an Hakeemesque turnaround jumper....and the Bulls had one of the greatest offensive rebounders to ever play the game to make up for not having a post-player. Greatest player + greatest offensive rebounder can do a lot.
First of all, I would still pick yao over tmac at this stage for the simple fact that we have yet to see him play with these guys in this style of play. Secondly, I agree with you that this style of play is great to watch and so far into the season has proven to be successful to a certain extant. I am not going to agree with you on the fact that Yao does not fit in this system. Who ever said that a slow center does not fit in a running system. When have any team in recent times where they had a fast running center and used a fast break style of game won anything? I have stated this before, the show-time lakers are the best fast break team in the history of the game for the simple fact that they achieved the best success. In fact both of the centers they used were just as slow if not slower than yao; Old Kareem and Divac. The success of their fast break was largely due to the fact that they had a go to center if things fell apart. Look at our game against the lakers last night. It became ugly when our fast break is not clicking or our shots are not falling. We had no one in the middle to go to. That is the problem with any fast break, shooting team. Look at the suns, when they are clicking they are great, if not, they are plane sad. I stated this before, I feel that the use of yao should be changed. no longer a 1st option under all circumstanced. but a safety net for the rockets. let the other four run the floor and see what happens. If nothing there, we always have yao to go to. Let the other four run the pick and roll with yao on the weak side. It would make the middle of the opposing team basically open cause their center is not gonna leave yao. This way it would be energy saving for yao and our team still using the fast break style of game. Off course this is based on the fact that i feel yao is going to retire a rocket due to him making so much money for the organisation.
how is yao going to fit? it'll be hard the yao ming era is over, he'll come back as a role player today's nba is about speed, yao ming needs to study films and figure out how he is going to contribute on the court. *he'll stick around because we all know he is going to bring more cash to the rockets.. my fondest memories of yao will always be the his matchup against shaq for the first time. the first few plays was awesome, the crowd went nuts good ol times lol
Apparently we still need Yao in our lineup,'cause you won't get an opportunity to make fastbreak points in the whole game.Remember the last 10 mins in the Lakers game?we only got 12 points including the Ariza's 3,it was due to the half-court play Lakers pulled us into.I gotta say it will be hard for us to go ahead if we were trapped in the defense like that,Brooks won't get space to run,Ariza won't get sight to shoot...AND do not forget,Laker was short of Gasol last night.Even if we made at the peak like 04-05 Suns,they yet were stopped by Spurs with Tim Duncan.
Funny I can't recall any teams (in the last 10 years) that won the championship that relied on Speed. Most of them required great half-court execution at the end of the game. Maybe i missed the Year the Suns won a championship....oh wait Golden state beat Dallas (that was their championship)
You do not need 5 men to run a fast break. You actually need someone to get a rebound to run a fast break. Rox still do not have a go to play when the team is cold. Rox plays alot of pick and roll, with the roller going outside to shoot, instead of rolling to the rim. Rox move the ball side to side, then make the cut. Rox is getting kill in the paint in both the games that Rox lost. All this points to Yao will and can make a telling contribution to the team. The only fall back on Yao is that instead of attacking with 20 sec on the game clock, Rox will have to slow it down to 16-18ish to let Yao set his post.
I agree we don't need 5 men to run the fast break. I agree you need someone to get the rebound to run a fast break... Right now the team seems to be doing find in both areas.. But I don't agree with the Yao statement.... Yao is going to hurt this team... Everyone wants to point to Divac or the Old man... But they could do something that yao just can't do and that's be mobile. Yao is not mobile, when he made it down the floor he basically planted hisself in one spot and he had a hard time adjusting to anything else. That's why he looked so lost in the offense lasy year. Look at the guys who are playing the Center position for us now, they are making picks up high and then rolling to the goal. Yao just doesn't have the mobility to do this. This team has something a lot of teams wish they had and that's chemistry and everyone on this team knows their role.
If you want a championship, you will need a big man down low. History has proved itself over and over and over and over again. Team without a big who run fast pace never win a championship. The closest team ever was prob the Suns but they still couldn't beat a team with a solid Center. Good defense generate offense. Period. We are a playoff bound team right now, but we will turn into champ caliber upon T-mac/Yao return.
