Does Yao in place of Chuck make us better defensively?

Now that you mention it, I remember. Awesome. Winning internet arguments are always a good thing. I should give myself an e-cookie. :grin:

That said, I do really like Chuck's defensive ability. I just simply find interior defenders much more valuable in terms of impact they provide.

 

That is exactly the right way to describe it.

 

As others have said. Hayes is probably the better individual defensive player, but Yao does more in terms of team defense just because of his size. Next year we could go with a lineup of

Yao
Hayes
Battier
Ariza
Lowry.

That should be a very good defensive unit.

 

Why do you think this? In baseball, SS/CF/C will always be more important than other positions in terms of defensive impact. In football, CB > safety, D lineman > linebackers. in terms of impact. In team sports, positional imbalances are the norm. To argue otherwise seems more illogical.

 

dont get why some posters find this a bad poll. i think it is worth examining....a year ago, the poll results would be alot closer given the amount of criticism yao gets for his defence and the high amount of praise chuck usually gets (warranted though).

yao is a liability in pnr but people most definitely underrate his overall effect on our defense. i mean shane, a master at efficient D, made it a point to remark on his contribution.

 

would be quite bad offensively though

 

I think we have have a season's worth of proof saying that Yao Ming is vital to the Rocket's defense, and a plus on the offense as well.

 

Big Fella > Short Fella

 

That is the understatement of the season!

 

This can't be right. I'm no PHD, but I fail to realize how choosing players at random can tell us anything about the effectiveness of a player. If chosen at random, sometimes the team would be great, and others not at all.

Sure, how a player impacts a team is much more important than how good that player is individually - that's what our whole team is about right now - but I'm not buying this definition.

 

Dalembert will give you more goaltending than blocks. He is a player with low basketball iq. There is a reason why 76ers always suck.

 

Projections for that unit on a per 48 minute basis would probably yield a college basketball score(73-67). That being said, a lineup of that 5 during crucial stretches where trying to protect a lead wouldn't be that bad.

 

Hopefully the attention Yao would get might help Battier and Ariza. His presence might hurt Lowry though.

 

Size matters

 

stupid poll

 

Last season we were ranked 4th in defensive efficiency; this season we're 15th.

One reason for this is that we are playing more of a run-and-gun style. While this helps offensively, particularly for teams that don't have many individuals who can create shots, it is not a system that is conducive to playing great defense. While we have dropped considerably defensively, offensively we have only become slightly worse. Would you also conclude that Chuck is nearly the offensive player Yao is? No -- it is largely due to the style of play.

Our inability to create in the half court has also led us to crash the offensive boards more. Despite losing easily our most valuable rebounder, we have significantly improved in offensive rebounding. However, the flip side of aggressively pursuing offensive rebounds is that it hurts your transition defense. So this too has contributed to our defensive troubles.

Yao is an underrated defender. He is an exceptional post defender, a very good rim-protector, and is more than capable of guarding quick/jumpshooting opponents. However, like many legitimate NBA centers, many of whom are also very good defenders, he cannot guard the pick-and-roll.

The pick-and-roll is a huge part of the NBA game. Hayes' excellence at defending that play, including his general quickness, awareness and ability to draw charges, go a long way to erasing the gap in team defense that would be expected to exist between a 6'6" PF and Yao Ming.

And remember, Yao played over 50% more mpg than Chuck does this season.

Overall, at center, Yao is more valuable defensively than Chuck Hayes. But the difference isn't huge.

 

You make a GREAT point about pick and rolls. I remember that Yao got a lot of flak during Jazz games when Boozer was completely dominating. The problem is that Yao was guarding out of his position; centers not named Dwight just cannot keep up with quicker and more athletic power forwards.

That being said, I think chuck hayes is just as good if not better post defender than Yao, with much more versatility; we can't ask Yao to guard Dirk or Aldridge and expect much.

As people have already said numerous times, Yao's benefit comes from being tall and semi-competent. While chuck hayes may be able to make the opposing center play like a pile of dung, he does little to discourage the wings from slashing into the lane for an easy 2.

Yao in place of chuck at the 5 does make us better because of his height, but mostly because we can then put chuck in at the 4.