Did the front or fouls stop Yao from being a factor in Game 2?

both. But obviously, with fouls he had to sit out.

 

both. Also AB

 

It is not AB...it is the Lakers defense...there is a man in front and a man behind Yao.

Yao has to MOVE His body to get open, force the defense to find and honor him.

If he stands PLANTED down on the block he is a non factor.

It is ON YAO...

DD

 

there was also a few times where yao was fronted but no one behind him since the defense was all spread out, a lob pass over gasol wouldve been perfect but of course, AB doesnt even bother. i wonder if he even tries in practice?

 

I expect Yao to adjust and play better in game 3. But it's funny how you say it's on Yao to make adjustments but with AB it's the Laker's defense. Stop giving him a pass, he has seen the same defense before on Yao and should recognize it by now.

He needs to read defenses better and not just resort to jacking up 3s so early in the shot clock. He is impatient and gets rattled. That is on AB.

 

I think two of those fouls occurred on the offensive end. If so that explains the lack of aggression in fighting for position or fighting the front. Instead he tried to maneuver around the paint to get free space, where Pau's quickness allows him to recover and reset his D or where there isn't time to wait for that to happen.

Plus AB can't really lob, be it if he's too short or not that good of a passer.

 

Yao can do better. He made some adjustments in the fourth and got some touches. Similar tactics need to carry over to game 3 with a few more wrinkles from Adelman.

 

I agree with that. They tried to samdwich him as Portland did. But what Yao should do is to move to the open space and find different shots - remember, he can make those jumpshots.

Instead, he is just standing.

 

I agree with DD and others, it is on Yao. After his heroics in game one, he fell into the same hole he fell into in game 2 in Portland. When fronted he gets more passive. I don't understand why. He did better in the second half, but the Rockets needed a passionate, intense Yao to win last night and they didn't get it. I love Yao, but I don't understand him. Something in Yao's mentality is his greatest barrier to greatness. Yes, the fronting and the fouls were factors, but he has to get better position and play through. This isn't the regular season, if you let up in the least, you go home.

 

When they do that zone double team on Yao, why don't they do a screen on the guy backing Yao? He could then sweep across the lane wide open.

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joey crawford was officiating the game.

 

It is not a pass, it is WHAT AB IS SUPPOSED TO DO....break down his man, penetrate and look to score or pass to a cutter.

You know what the problem is? THE TEAM HAS NO CUTTERS !!!!

In game 6 against Portland players were moving their bodies....if they do that, AB has a ton of options....if they stand around and watch him....they do not and AB has nowhere to go.

He is doing what he is supposed to do, the rest of the team is not.

DD

 

-29 with Yao on the floor, +16 with him off the floor.

Whether that's on Yao or on his teammates, or some combination, he has to be much more effective than he was.

 

I think more than his offense, we need Yao to be more of a defensive factor. In particular, he's going to have to figure out how to guard Gasol, who outplayed him. I don't think Yao's difficulty had to do with his fouls, either.

We're not a team that's going to outscore the Lakers. So we have to find ways to keep them from scoring themselves, and that starts with Yao manning the middle.

 

no the bs 3rd foul did, yao can't be as aggressive or he will get called for a foul, it is a complete bias, it's ridiculous. yao has to be aggressive to get position, but how can he? i really don't know what adelman is going to do, we need yao to win, last series he was taken out of game 2 and we lost, this game, he was taken out and we lost. somehow we have to put more pressure on their defense and get him more involved, it is just going to be tough with the refs calling it one sided

ugh i hate myself for falling into the "its the refs fault" blabber, but i honestly believe that is the underlying problem, if they call it better we have a CHANCE to win, if they call it like last night, there is no way in hell this series will last more than 5 games

 

Exactlly! Agree!
Sometimes Yao may has problems with the front, but our Rockets should again try to pass the ball through YAO! If not, it will not be the way we play and we will not win the game! Comparing with other team, our best weapon is YAO, we should all time think about how to use YAO better but not play the game in Brooks's style. If we do not play with YAO, why we steay YAO in the courts. I am always confusing why our coach adleman and Brooks not understand it? Maybe adleman think the function of YAO and Brooks are equeal and both of them should play equeally, but it is clearly the function of YAO and Brooks are not equeal. So play with YAO, if Brooks cant, change another teamate.

 

In the Portland series, when Yao got doubled or fronted, Scola and Battier really took advantage of it. Yesterday, Scola missed quite a few open jumpers he was making in the first round series, while Battier had another quiet offensive night.

I give some credit to the Lakers, whose defensive rotation was very good and made us rush our shots. Nevertheless, these guys are going to have to really step up.