http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/040416 dont know if this has been posted or not.... The Sports Guys' preview of the playoffs. funny as usual, IMO. looks like all sorts of folks think this team would be better off w/o francis and maybe mobley. he's probably been reading this board.
it is JVG that has taken Yao's passing ability away. Yao's skills as a passer are best utilized at the top of the key, not in the low post. i think that saying get rid of the Franchise is now just a popular thing to say.
We don't want Yao to become a passer at the top of the key, we want him to learn pass out of doule team in the low post. Other players just need to move harder without the ball the have open look. And Yao need to read defense better and make quicker decion when he is in the low block area too.
Shoots first guards?...I can understand saying that about Cat but Steve? Steve doesn't even want to shoot anymore. Pick another excuse ESPN, how about the turnover prone guards and even when their not playing, we'll still average about 17 turnovers a game.
Blaming the guards for Yao's problems is getting old. Sure, they are part of the problem and they are easy to blame. But JVG and Yao need to take some too. 1. If Yao can't get position in the post, thats the end of play for him. He may try hard to get into position, but if he doesn't, he usually just ends up watching the play. 2. JVG doesn't allow Yao to do anything except play in the post. It doesn't seem like a bad thing, until you realize that Yao isn't strong enough to get deep in the post. I'm just saying that we've been using the guards as our scapegoat all season long and Yao gets no blame at all.
when yao gets the ball in the low post he needs to shoot it. we are not talking about Hakeem here who actually had a defender who could play guardinghim. if yao gets the ball down low he needs to put it in. taking yao out of the post would open up lanes for cutters thereby leading to yao passing and getting assists. also playing yao away from the basket AT TIMES would give him a rest and allow him open looks for the shot from the elbow or 15 ft.
He avg .1 more assists than the mo the black hole. Sure he makes great passes at times but they are few and far between. I am tired of hearing how great a passer yao is if he can't do it on a consistant basis.
Errrp. Comparing players assist #'s across positions isn't very smart. Most of Yao's passes out of the post are kick-outs. Ideally, you're not going to get an initial open look - but you will after you swing the ball around. So if every possession went as desired, Yao would probably never get an assist.
A thought... what if YAO is not really a good passer? everyone says that he is... but I have never really seen it.
He doesnt need to be in the high post to make good passes. How many times under rudys offense last year did we see him make highlight passes to cutters and backdoors. This year it seems JVG just wants him to kick it out to the three, which isnt so bad , but a couple easy points would be great also. Overall I havent seen that many great passes from yao this season.
I couldn't have said it better myself. I always laugh when people act like the "trade Francis or Mobley" idea is unique to this board -- or anything negative about the team in general. Simply put, the board is a large snapshot of fans in general. There are radical opinions on both sides of the fence here, but they don't speak for the board. What you are seeing here overall is no different than what you'll hear from a handful of crazed Houstonians, a couple of random out-of-town faithfuls and a Chinese Yao fan who thinks the Rockets play in Bayi hanging out together watching a game in a bar.
I especially agree with the point of moving without the ball. Just watch Bibby, Peja, or Reggie run off screen after screen to get an open shot. Our team doesnt do that at all really. Sure, they run around screens, but they dont really create good separation. About Yao's passing. Last year he had tons of nice dishes from the post to moochie or steve, but defenses have adjusted. The few times yao has dropped a nice pass to Boki or Padgett, for some reason they seem to always blow the layup. Pike has done this also. Overall, there is just not enough creativity in the offense.
