Offensively, we've obviously got two Yao Mings on our team: the Yao who occasionally dominates games and the Yao who is relatively ineffective. I've spotted what I consider to be the big difference between the two. When Yao gets the ball in a situation in which he doesn't have time to think and shoots quickly, he's a bonafide weapon -- practically unstoppable. However, when he receives a poor pass, or has poor position, or is quickly double-teamed (or any combination of these), he puts the ball on the floor and tries to maneuver for a better shot or kicks it back out. This not only leaves him susceptible to steals by quicker players, but also makes him think too much. Despite his BB IQ, he nevertheless seems to be a much, MUCH better player when he plays by instinct, by reflex. The problem is that JVG's focus on defense translates to a plodding offensive style -- or at least it does with this team. That leaves Yao constantly fighting for position, waiting for the pass that the other players are always slow to deliver, rather than being able to post up quickly because of a confused defense that is often the result of a faster transition game. Combine that with the fact that JVG nevertheless wants to run the defense through Yao, which consequently takes Steve out of his game to a large extent. It looks like the offense will continue to suffer until Yao learns to physically control his defender and maintain good position, then quickly make a move when he receives a pass. Unless, of course, JVG gets tired of waiting for Yao to develop and considers an alternate plan of attack -- perhaps one that takes advantage of Yao's current skills, rather than ones we all hope he'll have someday.
