Wow, this is the funniest thing I heard since becoming a Rox fan... Let me guess, are you his wife?.. I live in LA, do you know what we called Odom here?..
I have to agree with you on this one even though I am one of the biggest Yao supporter... Yao doesn't have the athleticism that most ppl hope for, only way he can shine is to have a slow half court team that tailor to his speed, which is clearly not the case with Adelman's style... If we ever try to play a fast pace game, his talent would be wasted, which make him an average player.. I think to best way to utilize Yao is play him like Tim Duncan or KG, which requires another top notch go to guy like D Wade, Parker, Chris Paul, and etc...
let me begin by saying that I love yao as a player- he's a class act, puts his heart on the floor, and has tons of talent. I also believe that a lot of the media unfairly attacks him because he doesnt fit their perception of how superstars should act...... but I have to be honest: we lost this last game because of Yao. At no point in the entire game did I feel like Yao could check Pao defensively and Offensively Pao not only prevents him from getting the ball, but forces him into bad shots once he does get the ball. Its as if the circumstances have to be absolutely perfect for him to score, and the slightest interference is forcing a brick. For the life of me I couldnt figure out why RA didnt sit Yao earlier in the fourth- Gasol was taking it to him offensively, we kept having to bring over the double team to help out and in doing so, caused scrubs like Ariza to hit open 3's and Odom to shine for the first time this series. Even late in the game when Yao was visibly limping up and down the floor RA didnt sub. They say to be careful what you wish for, but Yao sitting for a game to rest his ankle may be the best thing to happen to this team. Landry/hayes, Scola, battier, artest, and brooks would be fun to watch.
Forgive me for this (possibly lame) outside-the-box thinking, but could our continued pattern of losing to the Flakers be a case of poor conditioning and nothing else? The best athletes (Nolan Ryan, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice) are supremely well-conditioned. Poor conditioning eventually exposes all athletes, separates the good from the great. As has been well-documented, ours is a case of 2nd half collapses against LA. To wit, we own a +10 advantage in the first halves 7 games we've played against them this year. To break it down further, we were only losing two of those 7 games, and both times only by two points. Breakdown: Tied three times, losing by two twice, up by three once, up by 11 once. The second halves? I don't even have to tell you. We've been murdered, and in a way that's inconsistent with our excellent first half play. I don't think you can chalk it up to the Flakers' making brilliant halftime adjustments, because you'd think after one or two games against us they'd realise what we do and apply those adjustments to the next games. The first and second half disparities are so great that I'm at a loss to explain them. I'm chalking it up to conditioning. (So there!)
