Well, if you go back and read some of the posts before yours... Wanting to utilize Yao in a Sacramento style offense When was the last time you saw one of their centers play down low? Seeing as how Yao is the only quality passing big man on this team, playing him in a Sacramento-style offense would imply his staying in the high post more often than he should. Wanting Yao to play more in a Divac or Sabonis (post-Europe) mold Yeah...that'd imply near-exclusive high-post play as well. Lamenting about Yao's lost shooting touch and blaming JVG for wasting Yao's abilities by making him play down low. If someone honestly thinks the low-post skills Yao has learned is a "waste of his natural abilities," then this person doesn't see how effective Yao is along the baseline. I think this would be a pretty clear indication of the fact that said person doesn't want Yao to bang down low anymore.
Yes, because when teams call you up and offer you a steal, the usual response is "no thanks". Also, Rudy was never in to making big trades.
JVG didn't prove that he was any better with the "undisciplined" Rockets he took over. They had basically the same record. Francis had his best years under Rudy. Once JVG came to town, he coincidentally started to suck. It seems JVG was in fact good at "squashing" Francis' game.
I've always wanted Yao to operate in the low post while using his face up game to fills up the gaps between low post plays. Yao's low post game and high post game isn't contradictory but complimentary. He is one of the most versatile centers in the NBA history. The good thing is his versatile strengths have great potential - not only can he be a versatile player on offense, but also achieve greatness in various aspects. Apart from a soft touch, Yao has the bulk and height to his advantage. Those three attributes are best utilized in the low post. Letting Yao play in the high post would utilize his touch and height, but not the bulk. Also, Yao isn't a good creator in high post, but more of a coordinator and finisher. So it's natural to make the low post the first priority and the high post the second. If I was the head coach, I would make sure the offense runs through Yao in every play with T-Mac out. I'd call the plays and make Yao operate in the low post twice then in the high post once. The high post game doesn't need to take away or cut into Yao's low post game, it can be utilized in a way that maximizes Yao's involvement in offense, generates a game flow and rhythm from all the cutting and passing, and make Yao as well as the team more unpredictable. The complaint about our offense lacking flow is legit, and the high post offense is one way to alleviate such deficiency. Every time Yao wrestles down low and doesn't get the ball is a waste of his energy, what's more is when that happens he's always out of the offense. He needs more dimension in the offense to fully utilize his presence. Yao's style of play is not just about Yao but also about the team. I actually think that if JVG is open minded enough, he's micro management styole is the perfect match to keep Yao in line from drifting to a Brad Miller or Vlade Divac.
JVG and the coaching staff deserve credit for creating the low-post beast in Yao. That being said I wouldn't give them more the 40% of the credit. What we seem to not realize is that the other 60% of the credit belongs to Yao and his dedication and adaptability to overhaul his skills and develop a dominating low-post game. That to me is the more important part of the story. I would love to see him mix up his low-post with his mid-range & high post games as well. Maybe more of a 4-1 low to high post distribution. Like tonight's game with Dallas smothering Yao and the team not able to hit open baskets it's time to reverse the rolls and have Yao pop shots from the outside or find the open cutter to the basket.
