We need to do something about these 20- posts new Members that hate on Yao. Hmmm... In all seriousness, Yao's defensive presence is crucial to our team defense concept and if you have been following the team at all, you'll realize that since Rafer & Tracy are out of the picture, Yao is now the clear cut core of this team, by far. His importance to this team on offensive can be compared to that of LeBron James. Defensively, he's the anchor, therefore he cannot get lured outside of the paint in fear of backdoor cuts. Plus it's hard to have that much energy to spare having to get so many touches on every possession. I just hope he doesn't get another stress fracture again.
fixed do you understand what this statement means? "incapable of establishing any kind of defensive presence beyond the shadow of the basket"
Noone ever said Yao was a mad defender but honestly I don't think you can do anything about what you pointed out, his lack of speed makes him dead meat in pick and rolls. Its really pick your poison with him on a P&R. Thats why we run one back at them
In the last 6 games against Dallas, Yao averages almost 28 PPG and shooting around 65%. So who's the moron now?
Rosen does have a point. Yao's probably the best in the league on the low block, but his slow-'footedness' makes him a liability when it comes to any activity that requires him to move more than a few feet very quickly. He is what he is, and I think he's playing to his potential...he's using his height to his advantage which took him awhile to really utilize after coming into the league. That's what's so frustrating about Yao, he's REALLY great at scoring and pretty good at 1on1 D or rebounding around the basket. But REALLY bad at anything perimeter oriented and still struggles to quickly recognize the double team. His passes are still so slow that they allow the defense to recover...that's if they don't force a turnover which happens a lot of times too. I can't think of many players who were the focus of a team while being so great at somethings but bad at so many other things.
