Adelman will MAKE him fit. it's a one-two punch when the smaller mobile players can put it in high-gear the moment Yao steps off the court. quick transition offense when Yao is getting his rest Yao-centered, post-up offense when Yao is on the court nobody will be able to match up with that except the top-tiered teams. and it's a fair fight.
In theory, Yao should make the game even easier for Martin and Brooks, who are already having a comfortable time scoring. His speed may become problematic, but I believe in RA.
Yep, esp. if his minutes are significantly cut, and his role is reduced on the offensive end (thus expending less energy), it'll be easier for him to keep up.
not to mention Yao draws fouls and so does Kmart. Now teams will really struggle with keeping people out of the paint without rewarding us with 2 easy points...
Yao will fit quite easily with our current team style. I would argue that the coaching staff is actually using this year to usher the way they want to play next year. If you think about the times that the Rockets fast break was most effective, it's when we get a defensive stop or secure a rebound after a bad shot. Currently, we have a hard time doing that because we don't have a interior presence. Having Yao makes Brooks, Martin, and Ariza's life easier because they have him as a help defender and also they can leak out earlier because they don't have to worry about helping with the rebound. The misconception is that all 5 players have to be fast to be a speedy team/fast break team. Usually, it's a 2v1 or 3v2 situation. I envision that next year's strategy will be to maintain the fast pace in order to get some easy shots, but if it's not there, just wait for Yao to chug along and dump it down to him for a high percentage shot.
It really seems like people expect Yao to just fit in seamlessly. But I really can't see how it's as simple as that. You make it sound like there are only two parts to an offense: transition and slow half court game. But that's not what I meant by pace. The Rockets don't just run the ball, they also shoot relatively quickly in their half court set. And that just isn't Yao. Remember how the Rockets played with Yao even WITHOUT FRONTING? 1. Dump it to him. 2. If he doesn't have position or double teamed, pass back out. 3. Yao repositions. Perimeter passing to prepare for another entry pass 4. Another pass into Yao. That's very slow and methodical half court game. It's not something you can just use as a backup plan. It eats up a lot of shot clock, and it can bog down the tempo of the team. Now I'm not saying going back to that style when Yao's in the game isn't a good thing - our outside shooting with Martin and an improving Brooks should be ridiculously good - but I wonder how it will affect our players to change our style yet again. I'm REALLY HOPING that Yao can somehow develop a high post game this offseason. I know it's unlikely, but this will definitely make this team a lot more potent on offense.
I'm worried about Yao's butter fingers... Some of the dishes the guards do to the big men we have now, Yao would not catch. I hope he's working on his hands, or he'll fumble away a lot of potential assists/points. If that happens, the guards may stop passing to him. Lowry and Brooks have made some extremely quick passes to the like of Chuck, Luis and even Hill that poor old Yao has fumbled time and again. That's my only concern. That and not scoring 100 ppg next season. This team would be so much more fun with an athletic 5 .
He can be effective in the high post if he stops thinking too much and starts reacting more. Yao is a slow thinker on the court. Basketball is fluid and happens quick. The best thing yao can do right now is watch alot of game tapes so he can anticipate the passing angles. In football, it called throwing the guy open and thats what yao needs to learn to do. Yao has a great shot when he's committed to shooting. Again, when i talk about yao being a slow thinker, this comes into to play now. When the rockets want to get yao a shot, it has to be pick and pop and yao has to understand to just shoot the ball. No hesitation, no looking around. When he does this, his mid range shot is money, but when he surveys and hesitates, he misses. I don't think the rockets will ever be the same team we've seen in the past. I think yao will get some post up, but i think he's going to be used more and more in the high post to keep the baseline open and the offense flowing.I'm sure coach will run some post ups and coaches adjust to great players with great ability, but Yao isn't a great player. Jackson cahnged his triple post to infuse shaq because he was a great player. Coaches adjust to greatness.
Yeah I been thinkin that since Adelman & backcut system got here.... Yao's an underrated passer, being much taller than everyone else he should see the floor much better than little Aaron Brooks. So yeah that's definitely a good way to work fronting defense on Yao.
Good points lb.... I am waiting to see how Yao will adjust not only to the team but to the new role.... 1) Can he except playing limited minutes 2) Can he except not being the man anymore 3) Can he accept having limited touches. 4) Can he accept being asked to only pass out of the hi-post, rebound and play defense. 5) Can he except coming off the bench 6) If he doesn't do well in the 1st couple of months will he still be committed to playing? 7) There are lots of questions from a mental and physical stand point. I know a lot of you will say that Yao's honor and heritage will allow him to do that... But I don't know, Yao has been in America long enough to pick up America's arrogant ways. Yao wants to win and he's use to being the main guy on the floor so with that comes an ego and attitude all competitors have it. So not even talking on a skill stand point, i'm worried about the mental stand point. T_Man
DD has it right. Yao will rebound and outlet wit 4 guys on the break. If nothing, then wait for Yao and run a half-court set. Yao is excellent at setting picks and he can hit outside J's on a pick/roll so I think he'll fit just fine on Rick's offense. Easy and works great! Plus, Yao will only play <25mpg for at least half the season. The rest of the time, we play exactly how we play now ...which seems to be working now.
Yao will be fine. Our team will benefit greatly from his inside presence especially Scola. Scola at times has a hard time with the good interior defenders but with Yao getting that attention Scola will be left to work on a defender he has no problem with. As for running more...he will just have to keep up. His role in the running game will be to rebound and quickly get the ball to the guards. The other guys will do more of the running anyway. The running part of the game is only part of the game also. Our half court offense will be much better with Yao on one block and Scola on the other. Yao can even move out of the block to give Scola more room depending on the match up because Yao can hit the outside jumper. Scola can do the same. His presence on defense will also help us tremendously so my opinion is we will be much better overall.
Centers age better than smaller guards, you should have noticed it. Hakeem didn't win a championship until he was 31. Kareem played at a consistently high level until he was what, 37? Although derailed by injuries, especially that freak accident in December 06 when Yao was having a league MVP type of season, he is only 29 years old so saying Yao's prime is finished is kinda premature at this point. You'll be eating your words a couple years later man. And on the side note, it seems Yao's content or even willing to be that high end role player.... So I think his mentality will be a bigger problem than his injuries.
Please don't do that.... Don't compare Yao with Hakeem or Kareem... Like comparing apples and Pine apples.... Neither of those players were injury prone like Yao.. Both had exceptional skills and were the top 3 players of their era... I could go on and on... So that is not a fair statement or comparison. As I stated this will be a difficult transistion for Yao both mentally and physically.. We have to remember that Yao wasn't exactly blocking shots or rebounding like Wallace or Rodman before he was injured.
How will Yao fit in next year? This reminds me of a press conference held shortly after the Oilers drafted Earl Campbell. When asked how long it would take the Tyler Rose to fit into Houston's offense, Bum responded, "The first time he touches the ball."
Yao's presence in the paint is what we've been sadly lacking. We've been sucking on interior defense and altering shots. Sure, JHill will bolster that but he's still a work in progress. We're proving we don't need Yao's scoring as much as we used to, but we definitely need his defensive presence. I think last year would have been different, ala beating the Lakers in the playoffs, if he had not gone down due to injury, so his worth is immeasurable. Bring him back and see the championship-caliber team emerge. see the sig
And not just in the high post. If Yao can master the art of the quick outlet pass, that will make a big difference too.
