JVG's system pushs Yao too far from basket to catch rebounds

It is not JVG's system on defense that is pushing Yao out, Larry Brown had the man Yao was guarding always 15 feet from the basket, therefore Yao was not in position on the shots to get a rebound.

However, our 6'9" 260 pound PF was in great position and in 30 minutes of play managed to get ZERO rebounds.

DD

 

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, yup. Funny, it makes sense to take advantage of the rules.

 

I think Yao can teach his teamates about Zone better than JVG. JVG is too stubborn.

 

Totally agree. That's my biggest gripe about JVG... all this talk about his "grumpy" attitude seems ridiculous to me. Being grumpy only accentuates other issues, in and of itself its a non-issue. These millionaires have had "grumpy" coaches throughout their lives, and having someone else scream at them *can't* be something new.

The real problem with JVG's coaching is his lack of flexibility in working with his players. His defensive strategy is totally inappropriate for the team he's working with. It's obvious that Yao is often out of position... the question is, what're you going to do about it? Why is Yao still "jumping" out at jump shooters 15 feet from the basket? Why is Yao forced to to come a great distance to take a charge from penetrating guards?

Yao needs to be in a zone. You can call it "protecting" Yao (implying weakness on Yao's part), if you'd like... or you could call Yao the perfect anchor for any zone defense (accentuating his strengths). I think both are true. By staying at home in the paint rather than out on the perimeter, Yao can leverage his height most effectively on penetrating guards, and should be far more effective in sucking up rebounds. Make the opposing teams beat you from the outside.

Has JVG ever coached in college? It might be time for a refresher. College teams use all types of different zone defenses precisely because they *have* to learn to use the constantly changing talent they have at hand. Whether its a straight zone, matchup, box and 1, and triangle and 2... Yao could be far more effective in the middle.

 

It's not just Yao, but JVG's philosophy that's causing the problem. Larry Brown did a great job of exposing it the other night. On offense, once the shot goes up..it seems we're more focused on getting back on D and preventing easy buckets, thus we're not getting as many offensive rebounds...that's the tradeoff of having a good defense. On the defensive end, opposing teams are more willing to attack the boards because they don't have to worry as much about getting back on D to prevent easy buckets. Because our offense tends to slow it down and refrain from attacking early on in the clock, teams know they can gamble a bit and have guys attack the offensive boards without the risk of giving up fast break points...they know we're going to let them get back and recover. Essentially, if we're not making shots, we're shooting ourselves in the foot.