It's not about whether or not Yao can handle it. It's about success to turnover ratio. Yao has limitations and so do the guards. There needs to be the perfect mix of position, precise passing, and timing. It's a team failure, but it doesn't help that none of the parts are any good at executing that type of play. Rick Adelman said in the post game press conference that the play is there to be made. The openings are there, but the team is impatient. So I hold on to hope that this team can improve...there were signs...there really were. The Rockets were close to getting a couple of point blank easy buckets. It's just that the turnover rate is too high. It's a feast or famine play, and when done properly it should mostly be feast, but the Rockets are currently mostly famine. It's either that hope of improvement or counting on tough one-on-one shots to go in or broken plays. The last-resort offense that the Rockets run is not pretty, but I it's still better than Rafer floaters imo.
I haven't seen a defence like this on our big man since the sonics in the 90's. Props to Portland, but the best way to beat is for luisito to continue making those shots. Next game, Nate should bring a 3rd defender to help out on yao.
I agree that the guards don't have the ability to systematically set Yao up. Without McGrady, Yao is not going to getthe ball as much. BUT... I also don't see Yao benefiting from ANY plays in the last 2 games. Our guards are getting to the paint, but they never dump it off to Yao. They always take the shot.
JVG also said the passer is too high, and got it completely wrong. way to go selective to make the other team look bad and Rockets good.
The Rockets entry passer is too high? If so, how is that completely wrong, and how is that making the Rockets look good?
It's not me, it's JVG who said it. The angle was not right. The look good thing...notice OP quoted something JVG said on air to reflect badly on Blazer's coach? Yet, left other things out? If you are gonna use JVG's broadcast to justify, please do both... I though that was obvious. I'm not really sure what are you asking.
You have a man behind Yao so that when the ball is flipped to the other side, you can't just pass it in to Yao then. And Yao can handle a lob if he has his man sealed off and there is no one between him and the basket. He's not athletic enough to catch a pass like he's a wide receiver, but if there is no one behind him, you can throw him the pass and you have a little more leeway because there isn't a risk of anyone else stealing it. The other reason for that guy is to stop penetration. If Aaron Brooks beats his man, one of two things happen. The first is that the guy stays with Yao. You can't front Yao and rotate to stop a layup (because Yao is behind you essentially setting a pick). The result is that Brooks gets a layup. Or if someone there in time, their guy is open (which is essentially the same as Scola being open at the FT line, which is what they are trying to prevent). The second thing they could do is have Pryzbilla rotate over to stop the penetration. But that leaves Yao a clear path to the basket and Brooks can just pass him the ball for a dunk, he doesn't even have to lob it. If that guy is there behind him, you can't do this. JVG is acting like they can stop Scola/Landry from having a field day from 18 feet by just not having that guy behind him. That will stop Scola, but it opens up something else.
People are quick to claim Yao Ming can't receive a lob pass. Let me repeat for the 100th time, that Yao is no Dream nor Howard, in terms of mobility. However, it doesn't mean he can not receive a lob pass, unless of course if you don't throw him one. Shane threw a pass away side way in the second half, and Lowry threw a pass sideway out of bounds in the first, RA took him out right after that. For those who made such absolute statement that he can't catch one, show me ONE clip that in game 2 or game 3, Rockets players lobbed to Yao while he was single-fronted.
I see. I misunderstood what you're referring to. I thought you meant JVG was completely wrong in pointing out the mistake in our offense. If the Rockets don't do better next game than what they did in the second half on offense, they will not win.
It has been done many times in the REGULAR SEASON, and has proven to be ineffecive. Lobbing from the outside to Yao while he is fronted OFTEN results in a turnover, even on accurate passes. Yao's defender can leap to tip the ball, or help defense will arrive at his back to disrupt his movement and cause him to bobble it and turn it over.
Yao is not good on catching the lob, he has horrible hands, the ball has to be right to him or he is just not going to get it. Shane had a couple of passes last night where Yao had his man sealed, that were like a foot to the inside, and Yao could not get to them. He is what he is....a very tall, and skilled player. But anything requiring him to use something other than those 2 skills on offense is usually disasterous. DD
just to jump in the conversation i'm going to touch on a few points that are being discussed. nate sandwiching yao with defenders, and his use of both centers at the same time - 2 terrible moves by him. he's leaving scola and landry open to hit jumpers which cost them the game. using 2 bigs in the game when only one is needed to deny yao the ball doesn't make any sense. it's rebounding he's after obviously. but if i were him i'd worry more about scoring. the rockets don't have a strong offense, you must beat there defense to win. that being said, if i were coaching the blazers this series i would go small with aldridge & outlaw downlow. i would put outlaw in front of yao. he's quick enough to rotate in front of him when the ball swings around, and get behind him if a lob is attempted. offensively that would work because yao would be guarding aldrige at the FT line, taking him away from the basket, opening it up for roy to score. but, good thing none of us will ever coach against yao ming! getting the ball to yao - adelman said it best. it doesn't matter who gets the shots. there will be a weakness in the defense, and the rockets had the patience to find it and exploit it in game 3. kudos to adelman for that adjustment. he said after game 2 that ron must take better shots, and the team must move the ball and be more patient. he got exactly that. great coaching job. a few times the rockets tried to hit yao as soon as he flashed but yao doesn't have the hands for it. it was a turnover. you simply can't force the ball in to yao. he's not mobile and he has terrible hands. if the defense takes him out of the game, others will be open and the rockets as a team will find open spots from which to score. as fans we need to accept that yao is not the type of player who can be given the ball enough to shoot 20 times a game.
But without the pressure of that guy behind him, you can throw him a lob and perhaps put it a little further in front of him. He doesn't have to worry about fighting for the catch. Or the PG could throw the lob a little higher than usual to give Yao more time to move to the right spot. Again, without the pressure of the guy behind him, he has more time to get to the ball. Not to mention the whole "If Wafer beats his man he has a free reverse slam" reason to have that guy behind Yao.
Doc, Could this also be the case that the players know the same thing the fans know; that Yao can't handle a pass that's not thrown directly at his chest. In football a QB will lose faith in a WR if he keeps dropping passes, coule we also be seeing the same thing with the guards when they drive?
Adelman also said very loud and clear, that Yao doesn't have to fight that hard, he should let them to COME TO him, and find him through movement. LOL. Then again, he said it for the nth time - Sometimes he had great position, but we didn't pass to him. He doesn't understand that, because if Yao has defender behind him, it's hard to miss.
I'm glad someone actually has posted this because I'm tired of the fronting issue just being labeled as a blemish on Yao. What has frustrated me at games is the lack of improvement on the problem. We had the same center since 2002 and his limitations have always been the same. Yao has caught lobs so he's capable of it (they fronted Yao in the Dallas series on some possessions but had to stop because he caught lobs from McGrady and dunked) and the team consistently beat the fronting last year with ball movement. Yao is playing no different from those times. Same lack of mobility. So what's changed? The only thing I can think of as the reason for the lack of chemistry between Yao and the guards in attacking the front consistently is the change of players. So can both of them improve on it eventually? I doubt it. Yao is not going to become more mobile to overcome the guards limitations. And I don't think the guards will get better court vision to overcome Yao's limitations. To me court vision is something you either have or you don't, kinda like having mobility. They can run more pick and roll with Yao but even that's not that effective like it once was because you have one guard (AB) that is not a threat to finish at the rim, another (Lowry) who's long range jump shot is suspect, and then you have Artest being Artest. So will this problem as a whole improve? I have hopes for Wafer and Lowry and that's about it.
I remember Dream having trouble with fronting defenders, too. It's not like this is a problem unique to Yao. What was different with Hakeem was (1) better entry passes from Horry, (2) better mobility and hands by the center, and (3) defensive rules that limited the ability of the defense to double (sandwich) before the ball was even caught. I do really miss Robert Horry's ability to throw the entry pass. It looked so easy to do at the time, such a simple, short, straight pass between two big men. In hindsight, it's proven to be a very difficult skill to replace.
JVG also wondered aloud why we hadn't attempted a single lob pass. It's kind of funny because when JVG was coach, we could lob it to Yao relatively effectively. Yao can catch the pass, he's done it before. But either we don't have the guards who can lob it effectively or Adelman doesn't know how to coach them to do that (or both) so I wouldn't trust this team to actually be able to execute it. Maybe if TMAC does end up coming back next year, he can be the role player designated to execute the lob pass.
