http://www.blazersedge.com/story/2008/2/11/34925/4191 I posted from this site before the last Rockets/Blazers game... and I thought I would post this game preview as well. I just really like this guys analysis. (mods feel free to move this to the game thread if necessary ) Plus it made me laugh. Poor guy does not want to watch this game.
Hahaha....This guys is funny.....I was cracking up while reading it....now we have Scola and their man cannot play off Scola to guard Yao or else he's getting 20+ points
I don't understand why teams don't use the Jordan strategy or Shaq strategy against Yao. Just guard him one on one, and focus on shutting the other players down. Let Yao get 25 - 32 points and 11 rebs. But check every one else.
Interesting take from afar. I'm not so sure I completely accept his analysis, but it's nice to hear Rox spoken of so glowingly (off this Board, at least).
Nice article but i feel sad for the guy , he's desperate hehe!! One bad thing though: the fact the team ignores Yao which they often do according to him. I beg to differ though because there's only a handful of games where they've ignored Yao for parts of the game. Sometimes it's Yao's own fault like against the Cavs when he had an off night. See, Yao's good but not on the level of Olajuwon yet who maybe had one or two off nights in the whole season. I do feel that most plays should go through Yao where he draws a double-team and kicks it out to the outside who can either drive to the basket, shoot a three or pass it around a few times and then back to Yao or shoot.
Guard Yao one on one? He is going to score 30+ pts with ease. Tmac is going to a field day too, say 25 pts. We win easy. Portland has to up the tempo, shoot quick J against us. If they try to play solid D, guard the middle like what they did previously, we are the best in doing this kind of stuff.
Man, this guy is hilarious! I like the bazooka/locomotive thing, that was funny. Yao should totally control the boards tonight!
The sports media has the most extreme opinions on Yao Ming. There are writers like this guy who talk like Yao the most unstoppable player in the NBA. But there are other writers who still think Yao is just 'emerging' after three consecutive 20/10 seasons and 5 all-star game appearance.
You can't just let a dominant big man get his points and try to shut down everyone else. If you don't pay attention to Yao, he'll not only score, but he'll do it efficiently while put everyone that guards him in foul trouble. I think most teams only use this strategy for parts of games, and they quickly realize it doesn't work. Yao seems most ineffective when he's fronted by a quicker guy. I don't think pryzbilla is quick enough, but Aldridge and Frye could maybe do it if they had enough resilience (which they don't). Otherwise, putting two guys on him at all times and double teaming him on the move works pretty well, and if we're not hitting open shots it can be a recipe for a win for the bad guys.
you will not find many people who are bigger Hakeem fans than I am. (i still have the 6 page houston post Hakeem poster stuffed in my box of rox championship stuff 13 years later) but i feel like a lot of folks speak of him with a little too much hyperbole. hakeem had plenty of off nights. the thing about him, that made him such a great great player is that he could impact the game even when having an off night. if the jump shot wasnt going or if he was missing layups, he would still rebound, block shots, get steals, run the break, etc. that was the beauty of his game. he could impact all phases of the game. the reason Yao's off nights are magnified is because if his shot isn't going, he can rebound and anchor the defense (if he has a big to guard on the blocks) but thats about it. he does not have nearly the versatility or overall impact defensively and in transistion that Hakeem did. anyway, i guess i'm picking on you a bit, and i'm sorry, but the point i'm trying to make is that Yao will never be able to impact all phases of the game like Hakeem did, so his off-nights will always stick out more than Hakeem's did, but hakeem definitely still had them, especially during the non-prime years. my opinion anyway.
Because it tires out the guy covering Yao also, and then they foul out. It's easier to use the "shut down everybody but the top guy" strategy vs. guards, because it takes more energy for a guard to make his move. A strong wing player who is allowed to go 1v1 all game has a slightly tougher time, because unless they are on fire, they get winded and they start shooting a lower percentage, and jump shots are just inherently harder than Yao dunking the ball.
A YOF from another board , ha ha ha! Seriously, this guy does have a point, I feel that sometimes we do ignore Yao. Other people see it so why can't we. Nothing makes me more mad than watching Yao running up and down the court and never even got a glimpse of the ball. We must always recognized that Yao is our bread and butter, the one that will make us a contender and not a pretender.
