Let me clarify for you MorningDew. The "Genius" has some points but he left them too broad. Yao plays great D in the paint, in fact I am loving how he has become so adept at keeping his hands straight up standing there while the offensive player just crashes into him. It totally shuts down the lane and while he may not get a block shot, the ball is usually going the other way with the Rockets. The defensive issue is when the opposing 5 comes out of the paint to do a pick n roll. Yao is too slow to show over the top like Landry or Scola, and if he just stays back the PG has an easy shot while his man is being picked. Yao is the Rockets leading rebounder, though Scola is certainly making some headway to catch him. But Yao is not that great at timing his jump, or anticipating where the ball is going to go. So again, its situational. And the OP gets frustrated when a ball seems to be right there for Yao to get only to have it grabbed up by an opponent. Don't pretend you have never seen this. Not to mention having it stripped away before (or even sometimes after) he secures the rebounds he gets to. The inabilty to get him the ball has as much to do with Yao not getting position or sealing his man as it does with the Rockets entry passers being unable to get the pass to a good spot for him. So its not all on Yao, but he is not blameless either.
I love how someone brought up some random stats to say Yao is awesome. At least make it 4th quarter stats, geez!
If we had better shooters around Yao they wouldn't be able to deny Yao the ball. you double a man without the ball someone is open
I think any player, including Yao or whoever, who is found not contributing to the offense, who is playing boneheaded iso-plays to force shots or who is not following the game plan, should be benched, which is exactly Coach Adelman's job, and he should do it asap, not until the game is almost over. In this regard, I hope Coach Adelman's reaction to player rotation, in particular, when counteracting his opponent's similar moves, can be quick and effective. Whether or not Yao could contribute postively in the 4th quarter of last game (vs Hornets) we do not know. However, as the team is gelling and they were in fact playing team games in that quarter, I believe with Yao's presence in the low post drawing double- or treble-teams, Rox would have at least one player in open-shot positions. As long as they don't force shots and are playing as a team, Yao's presence would only make their play easier.
Yao got to learn quick from Uncle Mutumbo on how to secure the ball after a rebound. He should swing his elbows, like what Deke has been doing, to make sure nobody dares to come near him trying to strip away the ball before he pass it to his teammates. I am happy to see him getting the rebound especially in the last few minutes of a game, but just become more frustrated to see it being strip away just because he doesn't have any sense of danger in a fast-paced NBA game. He just holds it high, sometimes not high enough, and look for a pass without doing anything to protect it from being stripped away. If Yao cares to make use of his elbows to protect a rebound he should average at least 12 rebounds per game.
Yao can contribute in the 4th quarter, as long as he can get the ball!!!! It's the coach's job to sort out the FRONT problem. The other rockets should be patient in the 4th quarter to set up some play for YAO to get the ball, so they can play inside-out.
I'm sorry buddy, but this just isn't true... Actually I think he made lead the team in 4th quarter scoring. Not sure though...
No we are not better without Yao, but we are better when we play as a team and Yao is part of the equation and not force feeding the ball into him. DD
They're 9-1 when Battier scores in double figures. Does that mean we also need to get him the ball more?
Of course. He definitely needs to be more involved on offense than just standing at the 3 point line. When it was decided that Yao was going to be out, I knew one of the keys for a win was Battier. If he hadn't mixed it up on offense, it would have been much harder to get last night's win.
Yes, I guess that when Chuck Hayes scored four or more points, the rockets have never lost a game. Does that mean that we need give the ball more to Hayes. That argument is so weak.
