After his 41-point performance and continued improvement (albeit 2 steps forward, one step back), it seems pretty clear that the Rockets should build the team around Yao. Given that and looking back a past Rocket championship teams as a guide, here are some observations about the pieces that seem to fit and pieces that don’t. When I say fit I mean players that fill similar roles as players on the past teams did. I broke it down by position. PG: Successful Model = Kenny Smith. Why Successful: 1) Hit the 3 when open (40%) 2) Committed very few turnovers. Current Model = Steve Francis. Comparison: a very different player than KS, hard to compare, but what made KS a success are not present in SF. Average 3pt shooter; many, many TO (KS= 126 TO in 94, SF= 299 in 03) SG: Successful Model = Vernon Maxwell. Why Successful: 1) Excellent defender 2) Good playmaker (5.1 APG in 94) 3) Put constant pressure on opponent with fearless driving and shooting. Current Model = Cuttino Mobley. Comparison: similar to Max is style of play and err…shot selection. Mobley is the better 3pt Shooter, Max the better creator (Mobley 2.6 APG career). This is a pretty close match IMO. SF: Successful Model(s) = Mario Elie and Robert Horry (Horry also in PF category) Why Successful: (this is where the broken record starts) Good D, hit the open 3 (say that 3 times fast). These two players also brought many intangibles like toughness, intensity and clutch shooting. Current Model: Jim Jackson. Comparison: JJ compares closely with Mario in that they are smaller than many SF but play very tough D and hit open shots. JJ has been the better scorer in his career but fills a similar role as Mario did in the glory days. PF: Successful Models = Otis Thorp and Horry. Why Successful: OT 1) Strong inside defender 2) Consistency (High shooting %, Rebounding, Effort level); Horry: Good D, hit the 3. Current Models = MoT and Cato. Cato fits the Defensive, High shooting %, banger model that OT exemplified (Not in the class of OT as a Top Shelf PF though). MoT is unlike other PF the Rockets have had but he sure is having a good year and he does fit the model of bench player the Rockets have had (in a Macro way: scoring off the bench a la Sam I am Cassell). These comparisons beg the question of how does Yao compare to the Dream because they are based on a team that was built around Hakeem. The big picture IMO is that they are both centers who opponents game plan to stop and cause problems for them on both ends of the floor. However, they do it in different ways: Dream had great quickness and leaping ability as well great physical strength (early career) and a soft touch (latter career). Yao has great size and a soft shooting touch with better passing ability and a fundamental team approach (much more refined skills than Dream was in 2nd year). I’m tired of Writing. What do you think? Which pieces fit around Yao? Is this a good model to learn from?
You forgot to compare this: Successful Model: Hakeem the Dream: impossible to stop, even with double or triple teams. Consistantly dropped 30 a night, and blocked about 3-4 daily. current Model: Yao Ming. Averages 17 points(10 less than Hakeem's hayday), 9 reb (3 less than Hakeems), and 1.3 assists (half Hakeems), and 1.8 blocks (half Hakeems)......very inconsistant. NEEDS secon superstar at this point in his career. The point: Yao will dominate, but not for another 2-4 years. Right now, he needs help to even make it to the playoffs in the West. Steve is that help. For now at least. Surrounding him with players from 94 will make us no better right now. He is not Batman.....yet
I think Bill Worrell said it best last night....We sometimes forget that Yao is still only halfway through his second season, AND he's only 23.... Yao has shown us flashes of what he can be. Getting consistent is going to take time and experience.
I did compare Yao and Dream. I think it's better if you look at their games at the same stage in their careers...a young Hakeem, a young Yao. Their games are about as different as you could get but they do cause similar problems for the other team.
I dont think you could even compare a young Yao with a young Hakeem. Hakeem was a consistant 20/10 dominant from day 1. He was unstoppable in the paint, physically. His "fire", emotionally, can not be confused with Yao. Really, Yao and Hakeem couldnt be farther apart in terms of style of play and attitude. This is not insulting Yao, but rather complimenting Hakeem. Yao is on the road to becoming a great player, become dominant in his own way.
In these Yao, Hakeem and other centres PPG comparisons, what you have to look at is the shots taken per game. Yao only averages like 11 shots a game, and I wonder how many shots these other centers take to get their 20 + PPG?
If u mean zone defense, no. But u know, it hasnt effected Duncan or Shaq, or any other excellent big man. It effects Yao, cause he isnt quick or strong enough yet to catch a lob pass over a defender. Do u see anyone really trying to front Duncan? Every time I see someone try, he gets a dunk. Hakeem's #s would've been close to the same. As far as comparing Hakeem and Yao's stats at this age....here is Hakeem's rookie year, where he was probably same age as Yao.... 20.6 pts 11.90 reb 2.68 blks 1.21 stls 1.4 assists And this was before he develped the dream shake
Well, do u see our guards lob the ball when Yao is fronted? I bet Duncan would be treated differently on our team. So our guards need to trust Yao more and Yao has to work extra hard to earn that trust. Unfortunately it seems Yao's style of play will make it extremly hard to get respect...
This argument is like saying if Steve is better than Michael Jordan. Comparing present players to a top 10 player in NBA history is just plain dumb. The fact is the Rockets have an effective inside-out offense comprised of Yao down in the low post passing out to shooters on the perimeter when he gets double teamed. I don't know what everyone else is watching. He's doing that pretty damn well. It's the guys on the perimeter who need to can the shot. JJ is obviously the best perimeter shooter. Cuttino is second from outside, and Steve is by far the poorest on the team from outside. I don't care who in the heck is in down in the low post or who is on the perimeter. I just want to see the offense run well with players with the appropriate abilities playing their roles. Are you folks Rocket fans who want this team to win? Or are you just rooting for individuals without any respect to making the team better?
Yes, I have. Not routinely, cause it results in a TO every time its been tried. the better option is to pass it to Cato or Mo on the top of the key and let them throw it in to Yao. But this doesnt always work either, cause Yao's probably been in the paint too long, and needs to get out of it before the 3 seconds. Just watch the next time someone fronts Yao. Lobbing to Yao is not effective right now
Back to the original point, what do y'all think about the pieces around Yao using the past as a guide? I feel that Cat and JJ fit well (in the model) and that MoT and Steve are partial fits...MoT is offence off the bench but this came from Sam Cassell in the day. I like the idea of having a forward scoring points off the bench to keep up the pressure of the oppositions interior defense. Where as Steve is not like KS in terms of style of play or numbers (some good, some bad). but he is somewhat comparable to Drexler. Both are guards who bring a balanced game to the floor (pts, rebs, asts). I don’t think Steve understands the game as well a Drexler did, but they are asked to do different things on the floor and that makes it hard to compare in detail.
You are missing the original point, this post WAS not originally about Yao - Hakeem. It is suppose to be about the pieces around Yao, referencing the past. The specific comparisons between Yao and Hakeem are irrelevant as you have said, the important thing is that Yao is creating double teams and making them pay when they don't.
Originally wrote by Hyedue "If u mean zone defense, no. But u know, it hasnt effected Duncan or Shaq, or any other excellent big man. It effects Yao, cause he isnt quick or strong enough yet to catch a lob pass over a defender. Do u see anyone really trying to front Duncan? Every time I see someone try, he gets a dunk. Hakeem's #s would've been close to the same. As far as comparing Hakeem and Yao's stats at this age....here is Hakeem's rookie year, where he was probably same age as Yao.... 20.6 pts 11.90 reb 2.68 blks 1.21 stls 1.4 assists And this was before he develped the dream shake" How many shots per game Hakeem tried? Otherwise, Iverson will be Number 1 every year.
Yes, you are right. The most important component of the inside-out offense is there in Yao. The guy is passing out of double teams which is exactly what the guy down low is supposed to do.
53.8 % shooting that year I posted stats from(rookie year), believe it or not. Coincidently the EXACT SAME % Yao is shooting right now. 53.8. I might be mistaken, but were u actually trying to diss Hakeem there while trying to praise Yao?
You don't need a statistical analysis of their rookie seasons to conclude that Hakeem was far superior to Yao as a rookie. That is not a knock on Yao, it is a fact. Ask around...
