Is playing Yao in the high post a good or bad thing?

Good causethat's a change for Yao, I mean he's got more options to help the team with his passin'.

You can stop Yao on the low post very easily but when he goes in the high post the situation is tougher.

Of course I think he should live in the paint for most of the time, but hp is a good change, another piece added to his game.

 

I actually think that's a bad thing for Yao personally. He dominated last season playing down low. The Shanghai Shake, his baby hooks, jump hooks, and turnarounds were unstoppable. He doesn't seem to be comfortable shooting jumpers from 17 ft. away for some reason even though we know he's a fantastic shooter and a good passer.

He's overzealous when he gets the ball down low and rushes his bread and butter moves (the spin, the hook in the middle of the lane), but i'm not sure why. Maybe he thinks he has to play fast in the new system. I have no clue.

Maybe it'll pick up when he catches on or starts buying into the system a little more. Good luck Yao.

 

I think another benefit of him being on the high post, which seems to have been overlooked, is that it frees up space in the paint for other people, T-MAC especially, to attact the basket.

 

I think he probably doesn't want to risk being doubled by a perimeter player and have the ball stolen. Also when it is Yao's bread and butter moves, its pretty much systematic as he probably repeats them 1000 times a day so he probably would do it really pick. I think the fast moves is a good thing.

I think the offense will come to a comfortable stage where Yao knows exactly when to go on the high post or low block with experience with the offence in reading the defense and his teammates position and weapons. I believe that is what Yao wants to desperately achieve now, flexibility is always a good thing, its how to use it effectively and to full potential that is the key, and that will all be up to Yao.

_ Blues

 

pick* -> quick*

 

Horrible for Yao, excellent for everyone else.

 

Something needs to be done quickly before Yao looses interest altogether, at times he looks lost and at times he is being excluded from the action, other times he is deliberately removing himself from the action. He is not comfortable with the Rockets game plan, IMHO

 

Whenever Yao gets the ball in the high post, there is NO movement off the ball whatsoever. In order for this to have any chance, cuts and screens need to be made so he can use his height to fire effective passes.

 

It's about balance and making adjustments. It is better 30% of the time Yao in the high post than 30 % of the time Yao fighting in the low post and not getting position and getting fatigue in the process and as a result he can't contribute.



The time Yao used to watse battling for position can be served in the high post where he can make plays for other people conserve his energy and be fresh in crunch time when the teaam needs his energy most.



Further more he has been in the post 80% of the time since the season begin taking him out of the low post to the high post shouldn't effect his mind to where he missies point blank shots. But if you look at last nights game he was getting position, he was getting opputunities to work in his comfort zones he was just missing and the officials were terrible on how they called the game against Yao.

 

i think he's been there a little too much. I like to see him on the block early and often. It just sets the tone and can put the other teams front line in foul trouble. I hated seeing him shoot 3 18-footers in his first couple of touches in the season. He has that shot, but get him going early in the post.

 

If he looses focus that is a personal issue rather than a system issue. Yao exclsuively in the low post took it's toll on his eneergy and body,mixing it up a little bit will make it better for the TEAM not just Yao. The team needs a little Yao in the high post to open the lanes up and when tracy comes off screens Yao's body is so big it's like putting a wall up as a screen.


Yao in the high post may hurt Yao's personal numbers but it will on the flip side help the TEAM.

 

He was getting the ball low post early on, sometimes you have to go with the flow of the game, they were trying to push him out of the low post,so yao has to either fight for better position or the TEAM has to go to the next option. He was in the low post at least 75 % of the time if not 80 %.

 

I've noticed the exact same thing, it seems like he is so excited to be down low again in a position to score that he is completely rushing shots that were authomatic for him a year ago.

 

The pros outweight the cons.

Less fatigue, more open lane for players to actually drive. Yaos huge issues is that hes slow and he gets fatigue fast. At least now they solved the fatigue probelm.

 

It is a very very bad thing.

His shot might be off right now in the low post, but he is doing absolutely nothing in the high post. In fact I think playing in the high post is preventing him from getting into a good rhythm in the low post. I thought Adelman's usage of him yesterday was improved, although he still wasn't in the low post enough.

Not only that, the team seems to have started shying away from feeding him the ball, just like two years ago.

 

After watching the first three games, I think with Yao in high post, TMAC has got more space for doing dribbling and jump shots. Also, BONZI, BATTIER,SCOLA could have the mismatch chance to score in the paint, rather than having YAO fight the the muscle men face to face. The problem is, Yao is not in the perfect condition to get the mid-range shots. This decreases his threats in high post. Moreover, I think the Gs and Fs need to move more and faster, especially from weak side. Currently, I just see some screens and pick-rolls on the strong side around Yao. That's efficient most of the time, but you can not always count on a single play to win a game.

 

It's very dependent on the opponent. If they defend Yao well in the post, or front him well, or are bad at covering cutters, then more high post is good for Yao. If he has a mismatch in the post, or the defense defends cutters well, or can't/won't front him, then it's bad.

He's not playing against an imaginary opponent out there guys. It just depends.

 

Yao had 25 and 12 the first game, he had one bad game and last night he had 21 and 12 still after getting mugged and jumped in only his 3rd game in a new system.



Things will even out, it's on yao a little bit to adjust and the players need to feed yao more often. But really i see no reaso to nit pick and complain when he has been in the low post 80 % of the time. In the utah game he was exclusively down low and missed many gimme point blank shots.



It's a TEAM GAME it aint about Yao or 1 player or another.

 

My point is he isn't just bad at the elbow, he's a complete stiff at the elbow. He isn't as good of a passer as Divac and Miller, his midrange shot is also not as good, and he isn't driving past anyone. It would be like taking McGrady and having go crash the boards as his main role.

Yao was getting better position yesterday, and the team still had trouble getting him the ball.

The high post crap isn't exactly making anyone else better. You could say McGrady, but he's taking basically the same shot selection he always has and his shot has come back to earth after a hot start. I don't see him driving to the rim much at all, it's still the same midrange jumpers.