I've read so many threads now about how other players isn't getting Yao involved and 9 times out of 10 the obvious solution is the lob pass. People the lob pass isn't that easy. It not only takes effort on the passer but just as much effort receiver. Getting a lob pass is all about postioning and explosives. You want to put the defender at an angle where he have to jump over/around you and you want to make sure you can be the first. Yao as good as he is, have trouble creating spacing and getting to the ball fast at this stage of his career. Just start thinking back to the decline of Hakeem, the year where he averaged around 18 points. He really lost all lot of his athletecism and getting him the ball was extremelly hard. I remeber one game in which we try to lob to him 3 straight times and getting it stolen 3 straight times because either the guy fronting Hakeem will out jump him or the guard will still the lob pass if Hakeem wasn't fronted. What about Shaq? Lakers find a way to get him the ball, if you noticed Shaq creates space, Shaq bullies himself under the basket, creating the space neccessary to get him a lob pass, and not to mention his position is great at shielding the opposing player from the ball.
Sorry forgot to add the reason the Rockets are able to get the ball to Yao succsssfully today was because the emence amount of attention the T-Wolves were giving to Yao. Under that circumstance the team did what it was suppose to do which was shoot the open shot. Unfortuneatly it didn't fall a lot of time, but it happens, get over it. We took the best possible strategy against the defense the T-Wolves played, the shots just didn't fall. If it did, the T-Wolves would have to start laying off Yao and we'd win and this board would be screaming "wow what great ball movement."
The players in the NBA are WAY to quick for the lob pass to be routinely effective when talking about over guys fronting. The problem for Yao is that he hasn't learned how to establish position on the low block where he wants it. It is partially a strength issue but also technique. He was always the strongest (or closest to it) guy on the floor in China so he never learned to use technique to establish good position down low. Not only does it force Yao further out where his shots and moves are far less effective. It also eliminates much of the spacing that would be created if he was 3 or 4 feet closer to the basket. As a result, entry passes are very difficult to make, passes out of the double team by Yao are nearly impossible because he is so far into the corner of floor and Yao's moves are rendered almost totally ineffective. Until he is able to routinely establish a spot on the low block where he wants it, he will have ups and downs in his post game.
All Yao has to do is seal his man when he is fronted. Then the passer should throw the ball off the backboard. Yao will then have the ball with NO ONE between him and the basket. The Rockets used to run this play with Billy Paultz. Rudy should remember this...and use it. DD
The reason the Rockets even have to worry about using the lob pass is a testament to their horrendous spacing on offense. When Yao is setting up for position there are like 2 other Rockets within 6 feet of him, thus allowing their defender to close on Yao quickly forcing the lob pass or no pass at all. Yao doesn't have problems getting in front of his defender despite what everyone thinks, it's just that when he does have position, there is usually another defender in front of him anyway because another Rocket is like only a few feet away from him. Just practice the spacing, and everything will be fine. The Lakers are masters at the whole spacing thing because of the offense they run. Rox might wanna look into that.
It is also Yao's reponsibility to creat the sapce, he doesn't do it on consistent enough bases. Shaq create spaces, Hakeem in his prime not only position himself well enough under the basket but is able to out jump any body for the lob, but I noticed it got a lot harder near the end of his career.
Of course all true, Yao must create his own space. The guards and forwards need to recognize when Yao is out of position and adjust their spacing, not just stand in their position that Rudy drew up in the diagram. It's a team game, you have to make adjustments on the floor, not just until your coach tells you during a timeout.
Jeff, I disagree. We've seen countless times where someone is fronting Shaq, Horry delivers the pass over the defender and Shaq either dunks or gets hacked. If the passer is standing there with arms up, pump faking and telegraphing his passes then yes, it's doomed. It takes a certain touch and vision to throw the lob before the defense has an opportunity to rotate. Our guards don't have that ability to exploit it. Also, if the defense does rotate you can usually find a cutter or someone who is wide open.
What I saw oftenly in the game was that Yao created good positions but the guards decided to penatrate instead of trying to pass. It seems Mobley always uses Yao's post position as a decoy, fake pass then drive (Francis sometimes also, but not so often). I don't think this is what Rudy wants to see. But he just lost the controll of the guards.
if you were Yao,when you tried hard to get a good position,but your teammates just ignore it. One time is OK,two,three times is OK,how about 10 times in a game,70 games in a season. Yao is team player,he likes to play basketball like a team.
I think you're forgetting about the power and strength of Shaq compared to Yao. Shaq can seal off anyone making the lob very easy.
This is not like in Hakeem's day ZONES ARE LEGAL so Even with good spacing the defense can lag in now. This is simply something Yao has to work on EVERYTHING IS NOT THE GUARDS FAULT PEOPLE!!! Rocket River
While I agree that Ming doesn't know how to maintain enough ground, then be able to spring towards the pass(lob), we don't have a Robert Horry or Drexler type of post-passer. It's one of those fundamentals that tend get over-looked, but can be the difference between a turnover and a couple points.
Jeff, it's cool how you posted pretty much the EXACT same post from another thread (Concerning Yao: Handling the double team). I guess it's pretty convenient to CUT and PASTE your thoughts in different threads
First of all, no team in the NBA plays all zone. They mix it up based on the other team's offensive game plan and how their defense is adjusting. Second, no one said it's all the guard's fault. Clearly, Yao is not always good at getting optimum position. However, there are a couple of facts I absolutely believe to be true: 1. When Yao has the ball, he is a more effective passer than anyone we have (which is sad but true). 2.When Yao is facing the basket within 15 feet he can make the jump shot. 3. When Yao is 2 feet away, his jump hook is very difficult to stop. Ok, assuming that Yao has problems getting great position, what do we do? Sit there and complain about his inability to find the perfect spot on the court? Ignore him completely if he can't establish position? That's absolutely ridiculous. if this is true, shutting down the Rockets will be as easy as 1-2-3. Rudy needs to find opportunities to get Yao the ball and when he does have the man fronting him, the guards need to attempt the lob pass. The lob pass isn't just to get Yao to score. he can also pass out of it if the defender rotates. We should also consider using picks to get Yao open. He should get more touches than anyone on the team outside of Steve Francis. If the defense has made adjustments, so should we.
1. Being the big men, Yao must either postion him self in the post to receive the ball or be up for a rebound. With the defense that Minny played yesterday where they lagged off our guards, the best option is for the guards to shoot the jumper since the chance of it going in is greater than the chance of the pass being successful. Look at the game yesterday, the shots our guards took weren't bad, it just didn't fall. It happens when we had Hakeem too. 2. Shutting down the Rockets will not be easy as 1-2-3, think back to the Hakeem era with the throw it down style of playing, this team lived and died based on the outside shooting. Cuttino, Francis and sometimes Mo, Griffin, and Posey are good outside shooters, if the shots didn't fall it didn't fall, it happens in basketball. 3. It's not that we can't secure a lob pass to get Yao to score, it's the fact that the chance of us even completing that pass in that postion is very low.
I'd like to see Posey make the entry pass to Yao more often. He's quick and very long. I know he's still getting used to the players and system, but he would be an obvious choice, imo. Someone mentioned how good Clyde was at getting the entry to Hakeem (of course, they were both skilled beyond mortal man and on the same page ), and I don't see why Posey can't be used more in this role. There were clearly times when Steve and Cat seemed to have a hard time getting it into Yao. The TWolves deserve credit for how they played him. Opponents will be looking at this tape. Thank goodness they all don't have a KG. The guy is something else. I hate to say it, but I can't help myself... can you imagine what a difference Brand would have made in that game?? Our PF's were really exposed. EG is still learning and MoT is still rusty (I hope!), but that was the difference in the game.
I only saw about 5 minutes of last night's game on NBA Fastbreak, but there were a couple times that Yao was semi-open near the basket that a lob pass might have worked. But a lob pass is difficult to make. You need to pin your man and maintain enough space between you and the basket for the lob to drop in. Yao may not have the agility right now to make that play work.
