In the 05/06 season when Yao went down with an injury, that's exactly what he did while he was away. And when he returned later that year his turnover-rate was at a career low and his rebound-rate was at a career high. Now he was doing other stuff like studying tape, and he was probably fresher when he returned, but to me it looked like his hands were much better in those few months when he returned. I don't know if he ever returned to doing the tennis ball exercises, but his hands haven't looked as good since.
Great analysis. 1, many of Yao's turnovers come from passers' mistake. 2, Battier's defense come from efforts which Ron didn't always have. I agree coach JVG's evaluation on Ron. Ron has underestimated offense and overestimated defense.
I don't mean Yao's going to blast Brooks publicly or anything, he never does, but in his mind he may be thinking "man i'm ready for the pass, brooks just isn't passing it to me", so he'd under the assumption that it was Brooks who kept him from getting the entry pass, when in fact, HE was also at fault for not truly being ready for the pass. and like I said, Brooks is in a tough position. If Adelman says, "get that damn ball into Yao this posession early, don't wait until the clock is running out" (which has happened a lot), then he's got to get in to Yao period. If Yao positions himself at a bad angle, which he did because he wasn't completely facing AB but almost facing the crowd, then Brooks' pass is never going to be perfect. The entry pass is only as good as the available target is. You can have the greatest entry passer in the world there, but if the target is moving around, shifting, looking up and saying gimmethe ball, then suddenyl looking away because his man is giving him trouble, then that's a screwed up situation for the entry passer. And Brooks got that ball as away from Pau as he or anyone else could have, gvien Yao's positioning angle. the angle was bad because Yao made it that way. Dream was obviously much better than Yao sO i dont expect the same play, but look at how he use to position himself, what angle he was in, how he kept guys from going around him, it's not all strength or bulk since Dream didn't have that in excess, Yao doesn't have the strength either, but has bulk, and needs to learn to use it.
So you know what Yao may be thinking? Can you guess what I'm thinking right now? No offense, but this statement is r****ded. No coach in his right mind would tell his point guard to force in a pass no matter what. Which is why Brooks shouldnt have passed it. Too many unnecessary risks were present. Which is why the greatest entry passer in the world wouldnt force the issue whereas Brooks, an inexperienced pg, did. At this point in his career, he is not a good entry passer. Again, this is why the pass shouldnt have been made. Dream could also chase down point guards and had the agility of a cat. Its pointless to compare Yao with all his physical shortcomings to the best overall center ever.
Kobe might be the best help defender in the NBA, and he was coming from Yao's blind side everytime resulting in a ton of TO's. Now the reason for this help was for Shane's liability as an offensive player. As for AB, he simply is not a very skilled passer, he never was, and prolly never will be. But you know what, neither is Derek Fisher; i have to admit this is where TMAc would be very useful
i want to comment on the first vedio: it is obvious that in 1:40 that Yao lost his seal on Gasol, and it is guard's responsbility to acknowledge that and hold off that pass; or do a fake pass first to lure the fronter go for the steal then a bullet-pass to Yao... when there is a turnover for the entry pass to the post, i blame guards' bad regonition for noticing how well the seal is.
sorry, the play is on both videos even though but only pointed it out on the first one, which is of poorer quality, and zoomed in. On the second clip it's shown at 2:51, it shows more of the picture so she can actually see Yao's right arm and he's asking for the ball. and for the other poster who complained about Brooks passing it from way behind the 3 pt line, look at how far up Yao sets up, if Brooks had dribble closer, to where most entry passes are made, then the spacing would be too close, Brooks defender wouldn't even need to sag down, just turn and bam, there's Yao...
In that second one, it does appear he asked the ball to be thrown to his right shoulder/ or asked AB to penetrate from his right side. Also, Yao stick out his arm a lot when he try to balance himself. Of course, the ball was thrown to his left/center.....
takes a lot of precision doesn't it? adelman needs to have a "passing to yao 101" for everybody during every practice session and 2 hours before game time.
Actually not much. It's one play. It's not like he can't, he just didn't. He gets lazy/too smart on that one. The passer/bigman chemistry is still not there, but hopefully will improve over time.
I agree. On that specific play, Gasol gambled by swinging around Yao, maybe in an attempt to front him, and if Brooks had passed it high and away from Gasol instead of trying a bounce pass, Yao could've had an easy bucket. However, it looked like Brooks's line of vision was blocked by his defender and didn't see Gasol making his move around Yao. So perhaps Yao could've done a better job communicating where he wanted the entry pass. OTH I remember Lowry also had a problem with an entry pass during the second half as well. It might be interesting to compare and contrast the two.
Brooks may take most of the blame for this one(most, not all), but for the long term, don't you think Yao needs to learn how to seal his man consistently? If he's the teams #1 option he needs to be able to seal his man every time, or a large majority of the time at least.
There was at least 15 seconds left on the shot clock. Brooks could've waited. That doesn't change the fact that Yao was in a poor position to catch a slow bounce pass and Brooks shouldn't have tried. When everyone is shooting poorly and Yao can't get position, we'll lose. But if we can't get the ball to Yao, we have enough talent on the roster for other people to step up. Its not everyday that Artest shoots 25% from the floor. No offense, but I don't care if you disclaim it. They're totally different players. If Hakeem couldnt get the ball in the post, he'd come out further, get the ball, face up, and take his defender one-on-one. Or he'd quickly spin to the basket for a lob. Yao has neither of these abilities. You're looking to compare two players with entirely different attributes. So yes, its pointless.
What this tells me is Rox players don't know how and when to pass to Yao. The first offensive possesion in the first clip， Yao sealed Gasol right under the basket, Brooks just drove past him with his head down and dish out to Wafer, who in turn dribble sideways for a contested jumper. It went in, but I'd take a Yao shot under the basket anytime.
Yao was at bad angle, brooks can either throw a bounce or overhead pass, at that angle he cant throw a direct bounce pass because it'll go towards the corner of the court and Yao wont get it. An overhead pass to Yao's hand would have been to close for Pau to just knock away by putting a hand up. so he had to go for a bounce but closer to Yao's body. the problem came when Pau pushed Yao to the side fairly easily and went for the ball. Here's another issue. If the entry passer would send a bullet as an entry pass, then it gives the post defender very little time to try to poke it away. Problem solver, right? Well no. Bullet passes require you catch them like a football pass, not one handed. Yao moves a lot when trying to get position because he keeps getting pushed out and has to reset, so him trying to catch a bullet pass would be like a wide receive trying to catch a pass as he's getting hit, not likely to be caught . That's why again I think the big problem is Yao not being able to establish solid post position. One he does, then anyone can throw an entry pass to him.
You're right. Looking at it again, it's clear Yao's got his right arm outstretched, as if pointing to that side. But Brooks makes the pass before recognizing it, I think.
I disagree. An overhead pass to the right side of Yao would've been high and away from Pau, and would've left Yao in a good position to score. Good thread, BTW. Enjoyed the videos.
