Building the Perfect Power Forward Next to Yao Ming

thanks CLUTCH for the poll and about yao's info........

 

Kevin Garnett... Jordan Hill has the right body.

Scola is just fine though.

 

I am surprised attitude isnt one of the options...
an enforcer type with some shooting touch would be ideal...cato had alot of that in him. I think artest definitely filled that void last year.

rasheed wallace in his prime?

 

I think we already have the perfect PF in Luis Scola. He might not block that many shots, but he can keep a team honest and from sagging to Yao with his jump shot.

 

height, rebounding and shot-blocking is all we need next to Yao. I also think this person should a veteran and above average shot blocker. Notice I didn't say anything about shooting. Am I asking too much?

 

That attribute is extinct. You can thank David Stern.

 

we have a good rebounding team, therefore i dont think the PF would need to be a terrific rebounder. We can get away with something less...i'd rather have him be a shot blocker to take that pressure off of Yao. Obviously a lot of Yao's injuries involve the pounding from jumping. When he rebounds he doesnt land that hard or jump too high, therefore there's less poundage and less chance of him falling over someone....but when he blocks shots he tries to jump higher, therefore landing harder and is more likely to fall over someone .

 

Some of you wanting a shotblocking 4, you know that there are exactly 9 (or 10 if you count Duncan) power forwards who average over 1.00 block a game this season, right? Three of those block less shots than Shane Battier.

Josh Smith 2.03
- Good luck getting him
Marcus Camby 1.99
-Old as hell, injury prone and doesn't really bring the offense
Pau Gasol 1.70
-I think the Lakers might like him too
Serge Ibaka 1.29
-Not likely to be available anytime soon
Taj Gibson 1.19
-Who? A rookie in Chicago
Paul Millsap 1.15
-Doesn't really help with the shooting, 8M prizetag
Elton Brand 1.09
-If somebody comes up with a time machine
Dirk Nowitzki 1.03
-Yeah right
Jared Jeffries 1.02
-I don't think New York will trade him to us, he's too valuable

That's it, quite slim pickings out there, I would say. I would rather roll with Jordan Hill who maybe has the potential to some day near the 2 blocks a game mark if he gets regular playing time.

This year's draft might be filled with some shotblockers, but counting them to do anything is kinda premature. Half of them will be this year's Saer Senes and Hilton Armstrongs most likely.

 

But trading a bunch of assets for a $130 million player with questionable knees and a lack of killer instinct does not sound like a Morey-type move:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baske...chuk-nuggets-shine-in-clutch-while-bosh-wilts

``They're crowding the lane a lot more,'' Bosh said, explaining himself. But anyone who watches can tell you the defences haven't changed, Bosh's approach has.

Perhaps he is opting for jump shots to limit his risk of injury with a $130 million (all figures U.S.) payday looming in July. But don't the Raptors, desperate to make the playoffs, deserve honest effort for the $15.8 million they are paying him this season? Perhaps he doesn't want to continue to expose the startling lack of explosiveness he's been showing in his rare sorties to the goal, what with the health of his brace-sheathed knees.

 

NBA Draft Choices 2010 - what do you guys think? (Make any improvements, if you believe it differs) Also, I am going to add potential backup centers as well, because we are indeed in the business of looking for a potential backup for Yao, as well. Sources: NCAA Stats, from what I've seen on TV, Draft Express, and NBADraft.net


Height/Size

- Cole Aldrich (height/size, backup center), Hassan Whiteside (height, backup center), Derrick Favors (height/size, starting pf), Epke Udoh (height/size, starting-backup pf), Solomon Alabi (height/size, backup C), Greg Monroe (height/size pf) and DeMarcus Cousins (height/size, Starting pf-occasional center).

Speed/Athleticism

- Hassan Whiteside (c), Larry Sanders (pf), Ganai Lawal (pf), Ed Davis (pf), Derrick Favors (c/pf), and Donatas Montjunas (c/pf)

Position Versatility: Ability to play both PF and Center

- DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, and Epke Udoh (if he can improve in few areas).


Terrific shooting range (Ability to pull defenders away from post)
- Donatas Motiejunas, Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, Epke Udoh, and

Terrific post scorer (Back-to-the-basket game)

- DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, and Greg Monroe (above-average)

Terrific rebounder

- DeMarcus Cousins, Epke Udoh, Greg Monroe, Cole Aldrich, Hassan Whiteside, Larry Sanders, Derrick Favors, and Charles Garcia.

Terrific shotblocker

- Hassan Whiteside, Epke Udoh, Cole Aldrich, Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins,and Larry Sanders.

Terrific passer

- Greg Monroe

Terrific post defender (one-on-one defense on PFs or Cs-off the bench)

- Cole Aldrich (C), Solomon Alabi (C), DeMarcus Cousins (PF/C), and Hassan Whiteside (C/PF, he has the athleticism to guard most PFs), and Gani Lawal (PF/C)

Overall Scoring Ability (not in original poll)
- DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, Patrick Patterson, Epke Udoh, and Donatas Motiejunas

Style Transition to NBA (not in original poll)

- DeMarcus Cousins (legitimate well rounded pf who could potentially be all-star in the future), Derrick Favors (see Cousins), Cole Aldrich (admirable C) , Greg Monroe (fairly decent pf/c), Patrick Patterson (Carl Landry, Leon Powe type player), Epke Udoh (variety of offensive moves and athletic, weak against big centers and not quite quick enough for light footed forwards), and Donatas Motiejunas (Andris Beidrins with more offensive weapons, though much lighter and weaker defense, sort of like Andrea Barganani).

Hassan Whiteside (?????)
Larry Sanders (could be overmatched against centers)

 

DeMarcus Cousins has everything the Rockets need.

Great footwork, which means post moves he'll have to learn will be natural.
Great athleticism to play weak side ball around Yao.
Great attitude again to play weak side, get opportunities when they come.
And he is a BEAST defensively and off the boards, something the Rockets
straight need to contend.

I have seen him make some decent passes as well, and he has no problem
playing center. Not sure if the Rockets will be able to move up to get him,
but if Bosh is not available I think he is the best alternative. If you can't
go great, go young.

 

I think KG in his prime would literally be THE PERFECT PF to put with Yao. And that the best possible available player currently is Bosh. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE Bosh's game alongside Yao.

Any other PF in my mind either lacks defensive attributes(Amare, Boozer, Lee, Scola, etc.) or they play inside too much and hinder Yao(DH, Lopez, Camby). Not that I wouldn't mind having any of these players on the team if the price is right. Simply that they won't be nearly a natural fit as Bosh.

 

Wow, the results really surprised me. Have you guys seen why we lost so many games recently? Firstly, the team already has enough speed. Secondly, most shootings Rox took this season are mid-range. You guys still want more of them. We lost games because our defence, we have no protection of the basket at all. When Yao comes back, he absolutely can't do it by himself for 48 minutes. We need a PF who can block, reboud. Right now who has most blocks in the team? Battier! A small forward. I don't think it is a good thing for a team.

If the newcomer can have some low post movement, it will be a plus. See who else has the low post scoring ability in the team. Scola is the only one. With Carl's leave, and Jordan is still developing, the team is desperately need it. I bet the scores in the paint must drop dramatically this season comparing with last season. No good team can rely on jump shot for 82 games. That's the exact reason why the team is not constant this season. Some day, the players are hot, they win; some day they are cold, they lose. We already have enough speed, mid-range shooting. Now it is time to bring basket protection and paint scores.

 

Sounds like its easier getting finding a center next to bosh or amare vs finding a pf next to yao. Just to play the game, i say what i've said for years. Either that guy is in the odom-villanueva-thomas mold or in the camby-cato-anderson mold. The chances of getting that guy as one player is basically impossible. Bosh is probably the closest in terms of a 4 with some range and athletic along with being a pretty good defender. If not for the medical, jefferson would be a good choice because he can actually play center full time,rebound,blk shots,post,and score mid range.

 

IMO the ultimate additions would be Camby and Bosh. If we could get the two of them then we would be set... Assuming something like Scola, Battier and Hill for Bosh we would have... I love Scola, but we need someone with size and defense to protect the paint, forcing the other team to shoot contested jumpers.

AB/Lowry
Martin/JT
Ariza/Budinger
Bosh/Jefferies
Yao/Camby

Now that is one hell of a lineup...

I think our number one goal should be to get someone with a defensive mindset who is not a black hole on offense. The main thing about this like about this is protecting the paint. Once we can protect the paint we can get a few easy buckets when we transition to offense (via brooks or martin running the floor). A cohesive defensive team will frustrate other teams into making mistakes on offense and also on defense (commiting foolish fouls, etc.). Currently we give up way too much size on defense which allows teams to get lots of second chance points, I think this is the main concern we need to address in getting a PF or backup C.

With that said, I sense Morey will continue to surprise us and get make some an amazing trade and draft decisions next season. However it goes I supprt this team emphatically!!!

 

I picked...

Height/Size
Speed/Athleticism
Terrific shooting range (Ability to pull defenders away from post)
Terrific rebounder

Garnett in his prime basically.

 

I'll be realistic here...

The most important attributes (based on Yao's weaknesses)

- Weakside shotblocking. This can help protect Yao and the matador defenders.

- 15+ range on jumpshot. This helps draw the double team away from Yao as well as open the inside for our guards to drive. Having Yao and another post presence really clogs things up. Think Scola in this instance.

- Tought attitude. I don't mean just in the game. I mean Charles Oakley attitude.

- Scrappy rebounding. The type of rebounding here is key. It has to be a guy who goes after loose balls and grabs those rebouns which fall far from the basket because Yao doesn't have the mobility to run out for rebounds if they don't bounce right.

To me, these are not so important:

- Overall rebounding. I'd be happy with an average to barely below average rebounder. Yao is good at grabbing everything under the board.

- Post game, I'd rather not have it starting. I just don't see a reason. Today's rules don't necessitate two strong post players starting and it certainly does not help the guards who have the advantage in today's rules.

With regards to everything else (assists, man-to-man defense, steals, etc) I don't mind them being average.

I think that's realistic. I also think we are lucky that Jordan Hill can develop into this role nicely if he works hard in summer and training camp. He may have difficulty with being an efficient weakside shotblocker though.

 

Scola