I've thought the same thing myself. Yao would have never become as good in the low post had he not been forced to learn it. Wasn't it Yao's rookie year where he had several games of an almost perfect shooting percentage? Wasn't he almost at a record? I remember his rookie year wasn't nearly as much low post play, and he received the ball moving towards the basket and further out as well. Now that he will be able to play a multi-dimensional game, I'm really expecting some interesting things to happen.
It's very possible that Yao's stats go down, but the "team's" efficiency scoring-wise goes up and the wins improve. I think where Yao sets up will be predicated on who else is on the floor. If Bonzi is on the floor with Yao perhaps Yao in the high post is good. Same witih Francis since he can be a cutter. But with guys like James and Battier on the floor that are shooters, perhaps Yao in the low post for spacing reasons works well. It is all about player combinations and which combinations maximizes the team's efficiency.
This is what I believe as well. I am not so sure that Yao will continue to score more points as been his trend, this could be a year where points are more distributed, but the team is much better because of it. Does anyone know what Sacremento's best player PPG was during RA glory days there? Probably their best year 6 players in double figures adding up to more than 100ppg. I would think they had maybe 1 or 2 low 20ppg players and a bunch in the teens.... Which is what I expect of the Rockets.....having a lot of weapons is going to take some getting used to, but since Yao and Tmac are both pretty unselfish it should help make the transition to true team ball, pretty easily. Not to mention winning makes a lot of things palatable. DD
Nope, Yao's and particularly Tmac's points will go up. Actually, the WHOLE team's point swill go up, but those two in particular because it wont be so easy to double team them, and Adelman will get them easier shots.
Does that mean the ultimate question is "How many possessions well Yao play in the High Post as opposed to the Low Post?". Interesting.
For one thing, TMac will not have to play the PG role as much as he did last year. Instead, James/Brooks/Francis will be setting him up for some shots, rather than the other way around. Second, increased penetration from our new guards will yield easier shots. Third, spacing will be much improved, giving them more open looks.
I think JVG's phylosophy was to put Yao in the low post with long range shooters and TMac doing his magic on the perimeter. Nice but every team new what to expect and if you are that predictable, proffesional NBA teams will figure out how to defend you. Adelman will be much harder to predict making it harder for teams to figure out what Yao or TMac are going to do. That alone should help make their life easier. Add the fact that the roster is now loaded and that also should make their life easier.
though everyone seems to think this thread is pointless, i believe it will be one of the biggest changes next year. i think the proliferation of offensive initiators will decrease yao's possession intake. if there are 100, and lets say lastthe best players are threats without out the ball and yao is most certainly going to be much more of a threat in this regard. it will be much less isolation yao, and more cutting yao. also, i am excited about brooks but i think everyone is expecting too much from him. i have a gut feeling hes going to be great, but maybe not until next year or after. ive only seen his vegas play which is obviously impressive and the guy has the stuff you cant teach: athleticism. but i would not put him in the tier with our top offensive threats: sf3, tmac, yao, battier, james. he has alot to learn before he can facilitate such a dynamic team AND get his scoring together in an NBA setting. fingers crossed though
TMac and Yao's stats should both go down as the team gets more talent around them. Adelman said he'd try to make life easier on Les Alexander's two stars, and Daryl Morey, we hope, has given him the tools to do just that.
Maybe there will be far less Iso situations...With a floor full of threats the Defense will have to pick it's posion and that will translate into easier offense for Yao and T-mac?
I noticed last year that Yao was setting a lot more picks in the paint to free up drives to the basket, but these picks dried up in the playoffs. I thought Van Gundy was a good coach and would have retained him if I were the owner, but he sure seemed to have problems making adjustments in the playoffs. The high post possibilities of Yao are intriguing. If they had a Maurice Lucas type at the 4 the Rockets could be the '77 Trailblazers on steroids!
