It's not rocket science people! Adelman - beat the front!

It may not be Rocket Science but Yao could never make that play you are showing. He doesn't have the hands or the athleticism. That's why fronting works. Anybody who doesn't front Yao at the end of games is just stupid ala Cleveland. The minute they start fronting Yao the team needs to switch their mindset.

If they are fronting Yao they are allowing him to have inside position for a rebound and an easy put back. Either they should have the perimeter guys shoot as Yao makes a beeline to the hoop. Or they should allow Yao to set screens down low and Artest Brooks and Lowry can drive towards him. He can block 2 players at 1 time and then immediately turn around and box out for the rebound. It is easier said then done but it is worth a try. In the end what you say is easy is probably closer to Rocket science and takes alot of practice to make work. Remember the other team has a coach trying to stop everything we are trying to do!

 

Another solution: let Scola p'N'r for Yao, then let Yao move out of the guy fronting him. At the same time PG drives to the rim using quickness either for a basket or for giving the ball to SG/SF for a 3 pt attempt

 

Way too complicated for Brooks.

 

Sort of agree, you are right about them waiting to unleash it in the 4th...but if the team scores more than 3 points in the last 6 minutes it would not have worked.

To me it is simply a matter of guys getting challenged, and not being comfortable with their game plan, and losing focus.

40% new finishers/starters on the floor, and an away game.....they have to learn to trust each other and stay within themselves.

I think the team will be fine.

DD

 

It doesn't even hafta be a bounce pass, it could have been a lob over the head of the defender which would result in a catch and finish or an alleyoop.

 

lol so true. I can see lowry do that though.

 

ok heres how to beat the fronting. YAO NEEDS TO FLOP.
The refs are letting Yao's defender get away with WWE techinques downlow when fronting Yao. As soon as the defender starts pulling that crap Yao needs to crumple down like a sack of potatoes with a painful grimace. Get those bastards in foul trouble and woahla the fronting is going to be less effective.

 

It would be really nice of a video capping guru here could put together a clip of all the possessions in that fourth quarter where Yao got fronted.

I want to see exactly what we were doing on the weak side, what the clock situation was, and what they were doing to deny that top of the key midrange jumper or high-low feed from Scola.

 

u gotta be kidding me. yao would never be able to catch a pass like that. plus hes a pretty awful offensive rebounder.

 

There is 1 constant to the lack of execution for fronting defense in both adelman and jvg. If yall can't figure it out, then u must not watch hoops.

 

I'm sorry but Yao could never in a million years catch that pass let alone make a move quick enough to bounce off his man for the dunk.

 

The answer is simple and most effective as the answer could draw fouls from this fronting defender.
Our Power Forward plays in a position next to the defender and next to Yao Ming, with a firm footing on the court.
Yao moves to the direction of our Power Forward, being carefull not to disturb his set position and receives the ball.
The defender many times will atttempt to push our Power Forward out of the way and thus fouling him. The pick was successful!
Meenwhile Yao either shoots or sets up a play.

 

Another great solution!!

 

Soon as they start fronting, I'm bringing in wafer and cook or I'm not going to even look at Yao. People can draw up these fancy plays and stuff, but there is a couple of things that needs to happen. Slashing and space.

If the rockets bring in cook and wafer to replace battier and scola, it sounds like a bad idea, but let me explain why it makes sense. Cook spreads the floor from the 4 spot. This isn't a knock on luis, in fact luis has played well, but his range is 16 ft. So when they front yao, the help is scola's man who is splitting the difference. If scola is 16 away and yao is on the blocks, his man is close enough to challenge a lob. If cook is in, he's at the 3pt line which is another 8ft. Now his man has to be at the ft line minimum to contest a lob. That's a lot of ground for anyone to cover. So Brooks on the wing,yao in the post, cook at the 3 point line, artest at the other wing and wafer in the corner. They now have the strong side triangle and they can lob it over the defender head. If nothing else, brooks can dribble drive, not worry about yao, and yao seals, brooks can drive or kick to cook for a open 3 or kick to wafer who can also drive to the hoop off the dribble. It really isn't rocket science.

 

I rewatched the fourth quarter. The basic problem with the Rockets in beating the front is that they lack good passers (McGrady was easily our best passer, and that's been very much underappreciated), they don't have many great athletes who can catch and finish off backdoor passes, and Yao is not very good at keeping his man behind him or quickly spinning and sealing.

BTW, has anyone noticed that with McGrady and Alston gone, the Rockets no longer have a single player averaging more than 3.4 assists a game?

 

yao isn't nearly as athletic as that clemson "big" (in quotes because there aren't really any bigs in college). a solid seal and quick spin with yao?

 

Thats the whole point, no one can front Yao a whole game. Yao is heavy and will wear them out. But for the last minutes of the game that is what a lot of teams are doing. Lowry is the best at getting the ball to Yao when he is being fronted.

 

This is my account of what happened on possessions in which Yao was fronted:

1. Artest, playing the 4-position, gets the ball at the top of the key but doesn't make the high-low feed to Yao. Instead he ISOs and takes/misses a jumper at the top of the key. Not a terrible shot, considering he was having a good shooting game, and maybe he didn't think he had a great angle for the pass.

2. Yao fronted, ball reverses to weak side (the Rockets slow and hesitant at doing this). They run a side PnR with Brooks and Scola. Brooks misses Scola on the roll and passes back to Artest at the top of the key he's forced to take a contested 3-pointer with the clock running down. Poor execution from our PG.

3. The Rockets decide to start the play on opposite Yao, and run a 3-man game with Scola, Brooks, and Battier. The ball eventually reverses back to Yao's side, with Artest receiving it on the wing. Miller fronts, and the ball goes to Battier who baseline cuts to the corner (if Battier was a better athlete and Artest was a better passer there was an opportunity for a score right at the basket for Battier, I think), and then to Scola who drifts to the top of the key with his man (Noah) protecting behind Yao against the lob. Scola passes up an open jumper with Noah closing on him, and instead drives it in. He gets past Noah, but charges into Yao's defender (Miller).

4. This time the ball starts on Yao's side, and Miller fronts. Artest reverses to Brooks on the other side, who runs a PnR with Scola. Brooks drives into the paint and turns it over, I think looking for Yao. Again, bad execution from the PG, considering Scola was again open on the roll for a baseline jumper.

5. Yao is momentarily open in the post, but Brooks hesitates passing to him with Battiers man looking to double Yao from behind (that's my guess). Miller eventually fronts, and Brooks drives past Rose and is able to find Scola open along the opposite baseline. Good shot, which Scola just misses.

6. Artest is unable to pass into Yao. Yao comes up to set a screen. Artest uses it to shoot a 3-pointer off the dribble, going to his left. Meanwhile, Yao rolls to the basket where he's able to pin his defender. The shot misses, and Battier gets the offensive rebound. Despite being open 5 feet from the basket, he doesn't look at the rim or Yao underneath, and he passes it back out to Artest. Artest also elects not to get Yao the ball, who still has his man pinned behind him under the basket, and he takes a rushed three-pointer in the corner. Another miss.

 

yup, that's pretty much it.