There is something that I thought that Yao might want to try, seeing that most of the time when fronted, the defender basiclly puts all his weight into Yao. If Yao was to "pull the chair" and the defender falls over then he would have an open shot. I know that this isn't something that can be done often, but it should be done once in a while to reduce the agressiveness of the fronting. Although I could also see how this could also be a risk of injury to Yao, just seeing what you guys think about the idea. GO ROCKETS!
Doesn't hitting some jump shots help this a bit. I really wish YAO had a spin move or some quickness. . . Cause If you man was on the backside of YAO . .. your job [esp if you chuck hayes is to PIN him inside and let yao roll or something I dunno . . . Rocket River
that is your wish, one of biggest weakness of yao is quickness! i think we better run the p&r when is fronting, i rather yao takes more 15, 17 jump shots than ron miss , miss , and miss again the crazy shots.
If Yao can split the D and dunk in traffic, take a hop-step tear drop in the paint b/t defenders, has a decent spin move for a big man, takes the occasional pass on the run for a dunk THEN why the hell can't they work with him on catching a lob pass for a dunk along with working with the other 4 on making the pass?
It is only because the spacing is bad. If the spacing is right, no other defender should be anywhere near Yao. If a second defender is close to Yao, he would have to be in the paint --> 3 seconds. Do you remember "fronting" defense as a problem during JVG days? Exactly! Because it was never a problem. JVG had a great way of getting Yao the ball, and fronting was NOT an issue at all, and it is very simple: Pick-n-Roll. For example, let's say Yao picks for Rafer. Now Yao's defender has to move over to stop Rafer, meaning he moved away from Yao. Now Yao has a PG defender (if you even call that a defender). Rafer simply passes the ball to Yao, and Yao should be close enough to the basket, shoots over the PG defender --> 2 pts. Adelman's offense is overly complicated. Spurs won many championships by playing, you guessed it, PNR. It is the simplest, yet one of the hardest plays to defend in NBA. Adelman's offense needs at least 4 players on the same page. PNR needs ... two.
Actually DD, that thought kinda crossed my mind. Assuming the rules do not prohibit this. Assuming Yao is being fronted at one corner, would it be possible after Yao shifts to the center area to throw a lob pass against the board so that only Yao can catch it? I think in amateur rules its prohibited to pass the ball to yourself ( throwing it against the backboard and catching it). Its similar to what Yao did early in the game against Hollins. He posted him , and after the bump kinda got off balanced so he threw the ball hard against the glass and caught it himself for a follow up shot with the left hand. Similarly, If yao is being fronted, the rim is exposed since the defender is in front , the only thing behind yao ( before weakside help arrives) is the rim. so theoretically if Yao throw a pass against the backboard ( at the right height and velocity) Yao will be able to catch it and attack the rim from pointblank range.
lets just face facts. yao isnt as dominant as a shaq or tim duncan and thats why we can't solve the fronting problem. its not just oh, no one knows how to pass the ball. when has this over been an unsolvable problem for truly elite big men ? yao is just cut from that same mold
I agree with that. it is a matter of spacing. if the offense spreads out the floor ( all players outside the three point area except Yao ) this would ensure maximum exposure and vulnerability as yao is being fronted. At the right HEIGHT and VELOCITY yao can catch the lob pass and if weakside help arrives all he needs to do is hold the ball high over his head. look for the open defender and pass it (overhead pass). This in fact happened in the Dallas game, Von Wafer threw a perfect lob pass to Yao with Hollins fronting. Jason Kidd provided weakside help. Yao simply held the ball high over his head and found Landry wide open at the top of the key for the jumper. Swish.
i'm with you 100%. feet are too slow. he's valuable otherwise...but elite big men don't get shut out by guys with names you've never heard of before...like Brandon Bass. they're not rendered ineffective so easily.
Lobs could work, but Yao isn't really that mobile... so the lob has to be spot on. I've wondered myself why more lobs haven't been thrown. Another thing we can do is, if the Yao is being fronted why not try a high pick and roll with Aaron.
Someone just mentioned one of Tmac's strengths. You couldn't front Yao with the ball in Tmac's hand on the wing. We would drive straight to the bucket and find Yao, Scola, Landry, or Chuck (if he didn't blow it) for easy layups because his man couldn't stay in front of him. The only person we have now is Gato and dude is short on bball IQ and passing skills, AB is also in this category. Lowry looks for his own shot or get a foul by running into the big man's body. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. Everyone else, (Ron, Shane, and Brent) can't get around their man to create this mismatch.
or Hollins... seriously, Hollins? Only really one play that comes to mind when responding to fronting defense and that's the P&R. Other than that, if you can't get the ball to Yao, drive to the basket and let the big fella work the boards.
We could do the following - most of all we need movement from the 4 perimeter players to eliminate fronting opportunities. We also need people to hit the wide open free throw line extended jump shot. 1. Start Yao on right block 2. Battier, Artest, and Scola on left side of court outside the 3 point line for spacing 3. AB dribbles to right wing for entry pass into Yao 4. If they are fronting Yao, Battier, Artest, or Scola could come along the baseline for a screen from Yao, which would require Yao's man to switch or leave them wide open for an easy baseline jumper 5. If they switch, easy dump into Yao.
the solution to fronting i think will be aaron, kyle, and von attacking the basket RELENTLESSLY from the side opposite where yao is being fronted. yao needs to let his man front him, then seal him in front. then we get 5v4 on offense, and one of their bigs way out of rebounding posistion. done. just do it.
