I don't think so. It depends on referees. And for sure he will be doubled. No easy P&R anymore. But he is for sure to shine again.
The Mavericks would be insane not to front him. OTOH, if Yao continues to catch the ball that well as he rolls to the basket, there's not much the Mavericks can do. Remember, though: Yao isn't a 33ppg guy (nobody in the NBA is). He's an 18 and 9 guy. I bet he'll manage somewhere in his normal range, since the Mavericks will probably scheme to some degree to stop him...but that pnr has been amazing.
Yes. I think Yao can do it every night if he can get involved in the offense early. Yao often plays better when he can score some easy baskets early. It helps him get into rhythm and builds up his confidence. Plus, JVG and T-Mac will get Yao mentally ready for the games. It never hurts when Yao is fully prepared.
I'm thinking they might throw even more zone at us early on--has always frustrated Yao, and they'll make sure to get someone on TMac regardless. Gotta nail some shots (it'll be Wesley and Sura open at the 3 point line) to switch em off it, or we could go down early.
they will try to get yao in foul trouble early, im sure they will send guys running at him..or josh howard will be on yao and score at will like the last game, but tmac will take over
with three day rest, Yao will do it again. Yao or TMAC, whomever Mavs pick to double, the other will dominate. There is no solution for both Yao and TMac unless our role players not hit open shots.
The answer is YES if T-Mac can keep getting him the ball in good position like he did so well in game 2. Yao has gotten MUCH better at getting good position in the paint but timing is crucial in getting him the ball with the zone defense being allowed now. T-Mac realizes this and made a concerted effort to find Yao when he had good position in game 2 and got him the ball where he likes it up high and in rhythm with his roll to the basket. T-Mac is just freakin' ammazing....
I really think he can put up big numbers again, Yao was scoring at will on Dallas. They really don't have an answer for him and if they double our shooters will make them pay.
As good as Yao is, TMac is the best passer that can get the ball to yao in great position. As long as they play their 2 men game, there's no stopping the Rockets.
sorry but yao is not just a hardwired 18 ppg and 9 rpg guy. remember, yao is often limited by the number of minutes he plays. if he is able to get in 35+ mpg, like most NBA stars, then he is a 22 and 11 guy. yao can put up another 30 point game on thursday but its pretty unlikely he will do it with the insane percentage he had last night. the thing i didnt like about JVG had yao playing was all his perimeter defense which left him out of position to defend the paint and get defensive rebounds. maybe that will change and yao will be able to box out better. it kind of sucks we dont have another good perimeter defender so yao doesn't have to go out and do that silly perimeter defense.
Actually, I'd take that option with Yao going out to double the PnR. If you think about it, the Mavs has so many players who can break our defense down individually. If Yao stays back, he would have to face the penatration, which is much harder to defend than jumping out on PnR. No one in NBA can stop others 1on1, it takes a team effort to play a sound defense. We just need to rotate better, front Yao's man in that case. I agree with you on the rebound part. We have to do a better job of blocking out them from going to the offensive glass.
