how many championships do those guys you mentioned have? lol But i don't think those guys are the no. 1 option to this team like yao is so i don't reall think their cases apply here If...thats a big IF...I understand that you want him shooting from there since he has a decent touch but thats like saying Andre Miller should take 3s because its given to him and because he can make it even though thats not his strongest suit same here with yao, yao in the post > yao out waltzing in the perimeter You guys still have time to rectify these little issues with Yao so perhaps taking better care of the ball is something yao can work on and improve through the course of the season the imporatance of a back to the basket player is huge...he can draw double/triple teams like you said, draw fouls from opponents, put their best players in foul trouble, get to the free throw line (where's he good at), getting into the foul penalty early in the quarter so that teammates or himself can go the basket aggressively knowing if a foul occured they'd be at the line
I'm willing to bet anything that if Adelman all of sudden has Yao shoot half his shots from 15 feet out and he makes half, that no one will be complaining. Yao could grow 5 inches within the next 2 months and as long as he makes the jumpers no one will again say "he's too tall to shoot jumpers, you need to bring him in and use him wisely".... Y'all need to realize that Yao needs to be more versatile so he's not "solved" by other teams. If he's a treat to shoot the 15 foot J, then centers can't stand their ground in the block, they have to come out, once they come out this also allows Yao to roll to the basket on a give and go, or simply serves to move the defender off the block so Yao can go and reposition himself instead of spending 10 seconds battling them in the paint just to get in position.
So essentially mould his game like Chris Webber in sacto under Adelman? The only problem is Webber was a better ball handler than Yao. If these centers come out, then Yao would have to put the ball on the floor which would draw the little guards to come out and contest his dribble....the same problem he's been encountering when he's in the post. Anotherr thing is, considering how tall he is, he might take a while to dribble so that means more time wasted while doing something he's not good at, help is gonna attack him and shot clock winding down and the whole team is in scramble mode now
The problem with this strategy is its taking yao out of his comfort zone in the post. A dominant low post player should be out free throw line extended shooting jumpshots. The best centers who ever lived Wilt, Russel, kareem, Hakeem, and Shaq stayed down low where they imposed thier will on the game. Yao cant do that at the top of the key. Its really hard to think about a dominant consistent jump shooting big man. Dirk and Ewing come to mind and look at how many championships they won.
Championships aren't won indivdually, so THAT doesn't apply here. They are all oversized centers, lacking hops, lacking mobility, with great shooting touches, if that's not relevant in a Yao post, then I dont know what is. The point is to use him effectively and those guys were more effective by increasing their range. Ilguaskas was the #1 option at one point. Now he's old (er) and he's got Lebron, which everyone would take a back seat to. Sabonis had too much firepower in Portland to be #1 and was past his prime, but i'm sure in his younger days in Europe he was the man. Nesterovic may be the only one was never a go-to guy, but is still a good example. Yao being the #1 option isn't set in stone either. He's the most efficient option, but he's not your typical #1 that shoots the most shots and is the go-to guy every game and is always the one who takes the last second shot. He's not athletic enough to always shoot a buzzer beater and he's not dominant enough to get his shot, and make it, whenever he pleases. There's also a difference between what a player is best at and what his biggest advantage is. Andre Miller's biggest advantage is not shooting and its also not what he's best at. Yao's biggest advantage is height, its not what he's best at. He doesn't use his height as well as he can. Shooting is what he's best at. Should it be that way? No, but that's how it is. The point isn't to let him live out in the perimeter, but to give him different high quality looks and expand his game. This will make sure he's never out of any game or out of the offens. Shooting a couple Js a game doesn't mean he cant operate down low either.
Did you notice I didn't mention Webber? That's because I wasn't trying to say he should play like Webber. Webber was a high post shooter, passer, driver, which is what Adelman experimented with earlier with Yao and it didn't work. Don't read too much into this. Its plain and simple and I've written exactly what I meant to say. Let Yao shoot more jumpers. Period. No one mentioned allowing him to dribble or anything crazy like that. Just because he's got the ball 15 feet out doesn't mean he has to dribble, he can always pass it. In other words, he'd catch and shoot, or catch and pass back.
The sign of a good scorer is being multiple. We know yao is a good post up and great ft shooter and should be a good mid ranged shooter. He should get 6 pts from postups, 7 pts from ft's, and 6 pts drom either ft line jimmys or pck and pop. That's 19 pts.
He shoots 90% from the free throw line, don't tell me he's not comfortable 15 feet away from the rim. Even Yao himself has said in the past he's comfortable shooting jumpers. He's also not dominant. Dominant is Dream, who could get position and get his shots every game, regardless of the defense or defender. Yao isn't there yet and who knows if he'll ever be. And dream didn't always stay down low, he's step out and face his mane and shoot jumpers also. Why? Because he could make them and that made him that much more dangerous and unstoppable. Wilt was a man among boys, he had no trouble, no problems, no reason to step out. Russell was more of a defender. Shaq has no shot, period. Kareem shot his Skyhook from like 10 feet out, why? Because he could make it. If height really determined everything, then guards would stay out of the paint and horry wouldn't have won so many games for for teams by shooting 3 pointers. It all comes down to whether the player can make the shot efficiently or not.
Well said. That is true in regards to this being a team game but a 7 foot center with a post game operating insides gives you a better chance IMO. And also the only reason I'm against giving more looks to Yao from that far off the basket is you don't want him settling for shots from there late in the game when you really need him to get down and dirty. He gets tired quickly so if he gets the ball and gets a decent look with like lets say 15 secs on the shot clock, the opposing team would be more than happy to give that shot to him, knowing he's not automatic from there and his legs won't be under him in the jumpshot when he's huffing and puffing
I think in that situation the team knows to let him know he has to go inside. If h's wide open, he's got to take the shot, but i think Yao realizes he'd have to consider the post first. Also, if he's shooting more jumpers, then that actually saves his legs and energy because that's 5 or 6 posessions he's not pushing and fighting on the block to get position and then pushing some more to get off a shot.
Look if JVG did not want Yao taking that shot then there must be a reason why. JVG knows his players. He may not have been able to take us out of the first round but he really didn't have much help around this team like we do this year. If Yao isn't making that shot then let him practice it in his own time but he does not need to be doing it in games until he is ready. We do not need Yao standing out there when we already know where his shots are reliable. If it is at the paint where we can feel safe having him shoot then let it be inside the paint. We've already got Artest alston and a couple other guys that aren't as consistent with their shots at the current moment.
The problem with your comparison is yao isn't nearly as strong,aggressive, or dominate like those guys. Top it off, other than Shaq and wilt, those other centers did shoot 15ft jumpers. They would run dream of screens to get him a open jumper. As he got older, it was more pick and pop than pick and roll. Lets face it, yao was forced to stay on the blocks, but like most if not all big men from overseas, non are comfortable down there a lot. To be a good scorer and to prolong his career, yao has to be a versitile scorer.
As Yao gets older and even slower (ouch), he needs to develop that mid-range shot to complement his low post game. He should study what Sabonis did later in his career (Blazers years). Sabonis became a great outside shooter all the way to the three point. With Yao's height, nobody can block his shot from 15 feet out.
It is another way to utilise Yao. I just do not want to see him setting too many picks. I like to see him post up on both sides before he even thinsk about setting a pick.
Good coaches use a players strong points. Once yao displays his comfort in taking and making that shot, its just another way to get him points. Duncan is probably the most skilled big since dream and he steps off the blks and shoots jumpers. I see the play and the player that can make that play easy. Of course tracy, that's a no brainer, but brooks because of his threat to get to the rim and his pullup jumper.Yao is on the blks extended and brooks is in pick and roll. He threatens the basket, and throw the hook pass back to yao for the wide open Yao from 15 ft. That's a good play early in the shot clock and late in it also.
he can do mid-range jump shoot better no doubt, he has great hands. but yao ming can never improve his dunking and rebounding skillz...the worst rebounding skillz for a center ive ever seen since he cant hold the damn ball and cant jump.
