They are there. Click on the 2005-06 stats. Look at the top. You can then go to the 04-05. Then the 03-04, etc. I've looked around in the past but couldn't find their definition of a jump shot vs. a close shot.
I'm very sure that they pull it straight from the NBA's official scorer. Here's an example of the NBA's play-by-play for tonight's game: http://www.nba.com/games/20060320/LACHOU/playbyplay.html As you can see, 82games lumps together Turnaround Jumpers with regular jumpers from anywhere inside the 3 pt line. So it's impossible to derive from the numbers on 82 games what kind of accuracy Yao has on different kinds of jump shots from different distances. That being said, I can't imagine that Yao is lights out from outside of 15 ft because anecdotally he doesn't seem to make a whole lot those. But on the other hand, he hardly ever shoots from out there. Yao launching from outside 15 has been nearly non-existent the past two years. Seriously, go and watch a weeks of Rocket games, and you might see Yao put up a 16-18 footer maybe once or twice. The question we need to ask is whether Yao would be an effective midrange shooter if he got a few more looks a game. And we don't need to stick him in the high post or even change his low-post game. A couple pick and pops here and there wouldn't hurt his low-post play at all. It would give him a few more shot attempts without having to bang down low for position. And if he can make a few of those, maybe that opens things up for Rafer's tear drop or Luther's mid-range jumper. Like I said, I don't want to overhaul Yao's game at all. But a few pick and pops to the Big Fella added to the offensive arsenal could end up being very effective.
The point is, the opposing teams are taking Yao out of the offense by swarming him, AND our role players failed as usual to step up. What's the immediate solution to this situation? Find a slasher? sorry, too late for that. Wait until T-Mac come back? Sorry, nobody plays ball in the offseason. Sit there and repeatedly chant "Yao's a low post monster."? Come on, doing nothing but to repeatedly run into a trap is the same ole sh*t that makes this team scores barely 90 points a game, one of the lowest in the league. The point is not to play fantasy basketball, but to think up ways that can score, because we can't score now, for our best way to score is blocked. At this point, who cares about Yao's best way to score when that way is blocked by the ineptitude of his teammates? The fact is Yao can't score and the teammates can't score with the low post play when the opposing team swarms Yao. Real and possible solution needed.
You should be directing this to the Chinese government, not to anyone on the Rockets organization. This way, he'll be well rested for every season, and he'll be a beast every season.
Yao can occasionaly takes some mid-range "jump" shots, but he NEEDS to spend majority of time in the low post to be highly effective (command double/triple teams, offensive boards and putbacks). Otherwise he's just another Brad Miller and the other 29 coaches would have much less headaches.
No one has said he wants a jumpshooting Yao. I think the guys are just talking about a Plan B. True, Yao has been a monster in the low post lately. But the problem is that this monster is not that scary if his teammates cannot get him the ball in the paint because he is swarmed by 3 defenders. And then if his teammates cannot hit the openshots either, why don't we implement a Plan B so he can drift out temporarily to try a few mid-range jumpers? He may miss all of them or he may be able to throw the defense off balance and open up our offense by making a few. You never know. Remember he will do so ONLY when our offense stalls and nothing else works.
Actually that's not a bad comparison. Both are atheletic, can jump high and finish with dunk. Both have somewhat suspect midrange jumper. Both have no bodyweight to bang in the post. Yi is, I recall, longer, and younger.
Sam said he wants to retire in Houston, so we'll get him as a free agent... so its Yao for Kamen straight up! -G'day-
The fastest way to get Yao's FG% below 50% is to have him take more outside jumpers. For the rest of the season, both Yao and his teammates must hone and improve their ability to force his low post game down the throats of other teams. Consider it planning for next year. And with the incredible success he's been having recently, why change it? Makes no sense at all. If he had 4-5 good games in a row and then his production fell back to 15/8 or something like that as defense adjusted, it could be worth looking at other options. But he's still posting monster numbers parking down low with no sign of slowing down. We should milk this the rest of the year as Yao continues to learn how to be more elusive and aggressive in the low post. If Yao ain't broke, don't fix him. Over the summer, he can work on his 15 footer in the gym and bring it to training camp in October. Right now, leave well enough alone and let him battle underneath against live NBA competition. Yao and the Rockets will be better off for it. Every team we face would love for him to try more jumpers. It would make their job a lot easier because Yao is putting tremendous pressure on defenses throwing his weight around. A couple of jumpers per game for Yao is fine, as a plan D. Plans B & C should be remove whoever is on the floor that cannot get Yao the ball and put someone else in.
I think most folks are saying the same thing here in terms of distribution of a possible inside and outside game mix. Let him dominate in the paint but every now and then let him put one up from the outside. Really whether it's an open J or not, I'm advocating finding a way to get him freed up enough to put up a shot. I love how his inside game has developed and I think we'll see more development from him. But for crying out loud if he can't get a shot off swarmed by 3 guys in the low-block and our shooters can't hit a barn door then let's try something else. Anything. If not a midrange J then what about a pick & pop from about 12-15ft? Honestly I brought this topic up as more of a tongue & cheek perspective though I think there are some merits to finding ways to open up Yao's game even more. I couldn't be happier with how Yao has been doing and with a healthy TMac or a few better shooters I would probably never bring this topic up. But with how the team can't seem to produce now why not find some ways to free up the only guy that seems to be consistently producing?
The swarming worked? He had 25 and 17 last night! He was a monster! I'm personally not worried about it. Next season we'll have a healthy T-Mac back. Let them try to triple team Yao with T-Mac on the floor.
It's all about the law of comparative advantage. Consider this analogy. A lawyer runs his own business. He only has one other employee: his secretary. The secretary can type 50 words per minute. The laywer can type 70 per minute. But does the lawyer spend his time typing? No. Because he is a MUCH better lawyer than she is. And lawyering is more valuable to the firm than typing. Jump shooting = Typing Playing in the Post = Lawyering. Even IF it's true that Yao is a better jump-shooter than his teammates (which, as other posters have observed, might not be the case), his advantage over them is not nearly as great as his advantage in the low-post. Plus, playing in the post gets the opponent in foul trouble (both personal and team fouls -- which are huge at the end of quarters), gets him in better position for offensive boards, and gives him higher percentage shots. Tango, I love your graphs and your analytical insight. They're a joy to read. But on this position, sir, I respectfully disagree. If Yao spends his time chucking up jumpers, that strikes me not as freeing him, but "Waste Yao!"
The only reason I would want Yao to add shooting 5-6 jumpers per game is because it would inflate his total numbers. The more PPG you have in the NBA, the more respect you get from the refs. If Yao can make a high % on turnarounds and has a high FT%, I suspect that he would have a very reliable mid-range jump shot. He just has good fundamentals and rhythm. If we can get Yao closer to averaging 30 ppg, he will get props for MVP and he WILL get more calls, which will improve his numbers even more.
Nah, that strategy is too deep Look, if he averages close to 30 ppg, maybe that will piss the league off, maybe the refs will want to re-balance the play field, and be even tougher on him. Who knows. If opponents can deal with Yao's low post plays effectively, it would be time for change, some mid range jumpers and high post plays etc. But they can't, they can only send in double or tripple team, even before he gets the ball, that's a huge success and advantage. There is no reason, we are giving up that advantage freely. Once we get some shooters, we are very close, if Yao keeps up. So I say, no, he's not playing like other 7 footers in the league, he's just going to play like a true 7 footer, dominating the paint. He will continue to make anyone who dares to claim to be the second best center his biatch, and laugh stock of the whole league, which on the end, will make him the undisputable, the only dominate center in today's NBA. He has to go through that mugged paint to get there. I am pretty sure he will.
"Waste Yao" . I like that. Nice pithy way of summing up yours and other folks opinion I think. As for this thread, usually I like to be much more analytical about a discussion. This one is obviously is not in that category - no data, no analysis - just a "take" born out of frustration . Yeah, I and others could be totally crazy suggesting this. I leave the opposing view with these thoughts: (1)Tom Thibodeaux seems to think there some merit to the idea (2)the definition of insanity = trying the same things but expecting different results!
Yeah, I see what you're saying. Short-term, letting Yao shoot more jumpers might be good for the offense. Long-term, though, I think it makes more sense to force Yao to suck up the lane and draw the double and triple teams. Good to build good habits. But hey, I'm all for experimenting! Like they say in the cheesy action movies, "It's crazy, but it just...might...work...."
Plan B or PLan C or Plan D...whatever you like to call it. But I think I have make my opinion very clear here: So it would be the very last plan. Let's call it Plan Z then.
