watching dream play is so freakin beautiful. If Yao could devolop those moves and do them instinctively, we would be an amazing team and it would be perfect since it seems tracy no longer wants to be the scoring tmac
For me, this video/thread and the quote on the front page of Clutchfans ( "If he dominates, anybody can coach," said Hakeem on Yao) is the best and most hopeful indident since losing game 7.
As nice as it is to see him out there teaching Yao, I am not sure Dream is the best guy for Yao to work with. His game was largely based on speed and explosive power. Yao is slow and plodding and if he ever tries to use power he gets called for offensive fouls. I can't think of a dominant post player that was as slow as Yao is that he could work with, maybe the very, very late in his career Charles Bakley (like just before the knee injury). Yao needs to focus less on what to do once he gets the ball, and more on getting deep position in the post and sealing his man. If he gets the ball within 6-8' of the basket, the post skills he has now are more than adequate.
Things I like: 1) One dribble - all the greats one had this move. Even Shaq would dribble once lower the shoulder and pound you into submission. Yao needs to stop dribbling too much and make up his mind early in the play as to which way he is going. Also Dream told him to use his height and always keep the ball up high in both hands. This way he doesn't get hacked or stripped like he got against Okur. 2) Backup move - Yao needs a backup manuever for his move meaning if he goes to the baseline and the next time he gets cut off by the defender, he needs to quickly spin to the middle and use the hook shot. 3) Body Language - Yao needs to feel his defender without putting the ball on the floor. That is where you lean back slightly to feel the defender's positioning and then react. Remember when you post up you can't see your defender so you must know at all times where his body and especially his hands are. By leaning you force the defender to move up and when you spin around he will lose balance and footing because you applied some force with the move. Overall solid philosophies be one of the best ever. No offense but I wished Dream had trained him from the start instead of Patrick Ewing.
THE DREAM IS SO SMOOTH!!! He makes Yao look like traveling in every move... Damn man, lets hire HAKEEM DA DREAM PLEASE!!! F*&^& playing for national team and learn from the dream!!! ROckets organization will be so stupid if they dont give the Dream a job. Pay him good! I would just to go to a game to watch the dream sitting by the rockets sidelines!
I was not a Houston Rockets fan till Yao got on the list. I know Dream was great but I seldom watched his game cause MJ caught my eyeballs. After watching this video, I can't imagine how dominant he was. If he and Oneal at prime play one-to-one, I guess both can score more than 30. But Oneal will be on the bench at the last couple of mins just because he cannot do ft. Dream is definitely better than Oneal. Yao is a smart guy. Even if he cannot exactly copy Dream's moves due to the size and speed difference, he should be able to trim those moves and fit them into his game. Just hope Yao can reach Dream's level someday.
I thought the Dream/Yao session would be nothing but PR and show but Yao seems to be learning something. Okur was right about Yao being predicatable, he needs some of those moves the Dream is teaching him. Love that bounce in his step executing some of those new moves, makes him look more mobile and faster.
This workout leads me to question though, how the hell has Yao gone through five years without someone, anyone reinforcing the fact that you need to keep the ball as high as possible? That's basic fundamentals man...
I honestly believe that JVG had no idea how to use Yao so he just let him be. Plus having Patrick Ewing as your mentor doesn't help either. Ewing was good never great like Dream.
I think Yao needs to keep his feet closer to his center, simply to keep his balance easier. He's just not built like Dream. If Yao can learn some techniques, and practice them until they are like second-nature, rather than "robotic", it'll be a successful venture for Dream and Yao. Dream would love to be heralded in Houston again, as a big part of building our next championship. DO IT!
I like that side hop jumpshot on the baseline. Yao should be able to get a decent shot off from that. It's really something that I haven't seen Yao try at all. Dream said, "That should be your move", or something along those lines.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/4828213.html They moved the link. Check out the videos on the right side. Enjoy
got it! Okay, after seeing that video one thing is clear to me... Hakeem would have eaten Yao's lunch in the played eachother in his prime. I love both of them. Yao has a great attitude and seemed to be picking up many of the moves quickly. Also watched the interview following... Yao says he will practice the moves 100x per day... The guy is awesome. We are lucky to have him on the team, we just need to figure out what to put around him and how to be successful.
Heads up... NBA Fastbreak is about to talk about this workout, tune in to ESPN right now if you want to catch it.
