More Post ups please !

Makes sense to me. I also like more touches for everyone, gives you an entirely different feel for a game. TMac has been dominating the ball a bit too much this season. Understandable, when you have a torrid start, but he has cooled off.

 

i agree, i play basketball and once i catch a lop pass i have to move quickly and take the ball right to the hole before the defender can recover. i dont think Yao can dribble and take the ball to the basket without getting the ball stolen

 

I always get a kick out of the "if you played the game" lines, I guess that's supposed to add more credibility? So being that I was a "player" and still continue to play that would mean that I'm a credible source, I guess. Being an undersized guy in the paint, I can tell you it's all about positioning the fronting defender, keeping him pinned and getting a lob pass that is over the defender but no so deep as it puts me right in the weekside defenders grill. The lob pass can be a difficult pass, especially when the other team has good backside help, it takes skill...something that an NBA PG should have...something that is clearly lacking here. It's more of a technique than a skill I suppose. Yao needs to pin his guy better before releasing...and has to get a solid grip on the ball...assuming that the pass is made at all.

 

True, but we did beat the Spurs last year in SA without T-Mac. To tell the truth, the team could and SHOULD have gone 6-1 during that 7 game stretch T-Mac was out last year. It's not like were we just getting our asses handed to us.

 

Who told Bonzi it was okay to shoot beyond 20ft!?

 

I'd like to see TMac dish the ball and then get the ball back after rolling off a pick and taking the shot.

 

scoring 84 points is no reason to celebrate the virtues of playing without mcgrady...we cant get to the line without mcgrady

 

Definitely agree.

Everyone is impressed with Scola after last night, but that wasn't even his A-game. His bread and butter is his footwork in the low post, yesterday was all mid-range jumpers. We haven't even seen that side of him yet.

Bonzi, when he's making his lay-ups, is a beast on the offensive glass and one of the hardest guards to stop in the post.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing Chuck Hayes get a few plays run for him either... preferably when T-Mac is back. He's not someone who can create, but he is a good finisher.

Yao and T-Mac attract so much attention that we are stupid to not take advantage of it. We need to make double-teaming our starts less attractive, and improve the overall spacing of our offense.

 

damn straight. nearly half of bonzi's points (probably more) in the SA series with sacramento were bonzi posting up the likes of bowen and such.
why not let him do it? i cant stand watching bonzi shoot bricks up from near 3-range. and scola was open SO MANY TIMES under the basket. owell- after a 6-6 start we might get to see this + stevey3 pop into the games.

i am so willing to take a 6-6 start if it means better coaching (sf3 + postups)

 

Whatever guy. I've guarded taller players and when they are slower and can't jump, it's easy as pie to deny them the ball unless they go far away from the basket to get it. Fronting works on all tall, slow players at every level, not just Yao. This is why smaller players are able to neutralize him. Making perfect, pinpoint lob passes in the NBA is impossible to do on a regular basis. Like any other pass, there has to be some margin for error and Yao give you almost none.

Receiving lob passes, alley oops dunks and rebounding.

You would think a 7'6" player would be great at all three. Not necessarily so because athleticism and dexterity are just as important. Dwight Howard is better at all 3 and he is 7 inches shorter than Yao. Amare is better at the first two and he is 8 inches shorter. No shame in that. When TP or Manu make wild passes to TD, he won't even try because he knows his limitations. He admits he can't jump and isn't very athletic. This is why a Yao vs. TD one-on-one matchup actually favors us, IMO.

 

Maybe you are just watching Yao and the guy fronting him, but you dont front a good post player without backside help. Scola got 20 points because his man was playing backside 'lob' defense on Yao. If we can continue to work this, Yao's numbers will go down, but Scola's will go up. The overall effect will be positive for the team.

 

why on earth would we move our best low post player out of the low post because his team mates can't get him the ball....... lets put the white flag up now

Scola is the perfect player to solve this problem, he should be flashing from the weakside wing to the foul line, from there he can make the pass to Yao and most importantly can also knock the jumper, meaning his defender will need to be up on him and make the pass easier, Yao has done this seal out really well before.......

roll over another time Dak

 

Don't get me wrong...he's a 7'6" player that plays 7'8", and any player that 6'8" or taller could front him with success if he doesn't go get the ball, or lets it go over him and catches it on the back side at his shoulder..

 

So your answer to an 8 man box in football is to try to run it to the side where there is one less defender??? Nooo....you fake it to the back and chunk it deep to a different player for a big play.

Same here, if they are trying to take something away, you can use that as a decoy and exploit another area of their defense.

 

Yeah, and just let Yao stay around the free throw line, I think he is a ~50% shooter there.

 

Front also means poorer defensive rebounding

 

There are several reasons why the Rockets haven't been able to throw the lob pass to Yao when teams are fronting him.

1. Yao's teammates aren't not good passers. They makes bad passes like the Raiders commits penalties, many and often at critical times.

2. Yao is not athletic and has butterfingers. Plus, he can't seem to pin his smaller opponents who are quicker than him.

3. The Rockets don't work on it as in finding a way to beat this.

One way to beat the fronting defense is not trying to force the ball to Yao, who is usually being sandwich by 2 defenders. Instead, passing the ball to a PF and let him lob the ball to Yao, who is facing the basket and his man is behind him. I have seen grandpa Charles Oakley did that a few times when he was with the Rockets.

YAO - PLEASE TRY TO DUNK EVERY TIME IF YOU ARE INSIDE THE CIRCLE IF NOT TRY TO DRAW FOULS.

You only have 3 good years left. Don't waste them. The Rockets needs you to bring us at least ONE CHAMPIONSHIP.

 

The main problem is Yao has a weak vertical jump. If they lob it more than a few inches above his reach he rarely catches it, and unfortunately many fronting players can tip the pass, or intercept it from the weak side when thrown to a height Yao can catch. A more mobile player can catch the ball at the rim for a dunk if fronted, but Yao has never been able to do that.

 

Yao can catch a lob pass if defenders focus on his teammate that has the ball. Instead of forcing the ball to Yao, pass to scola at the free throw line. All defenders will focus on Scola. Against the Spurs, Scola could easily throw lob passes to Yao instead of shooting those 15 footers.

It was great seeing Scola making those open shots.