he is no lock down defender inside but his sheer size alone can alter some shots so he is pretty decent at defending one on one not to speak of his help defense Pretty much everybody in the starting line up played some help defense
Yao's D-- whether you are talking 1-on-1 or help-- is a mixed bag, with very pronounced strengths and very pronounced weaknesses. He excels in some matchups (Dwight Howard) while struggles in others (Okur/Boozer, craftier big guys who can shoot from mid or long range). He generally good at protecting around the basket, but gives up open 18-20 footers because he doesn't come out far on pick and rolls. Overall, I think he is a positive on the defensive end for this team, in large part because the team has had a smart coaching staff and good, intelligent defenders around him. They do a very good job of using his strengths and protecting the team from his weaknesses.
It's nice to see that Rosen has hopped on to the Battier bandwagon after claiming he plays illegal defense with his hands.
I am talking about helping then recovering on a pick and roll... Carl above me said it better than I could. Yes he does well, but he has definite weaknesses defensively that he has to overcome, much like Chuck does with his height.
"Dwight Howard does block shots, but in his eagerness to do so, smart teams (like the Lakers) can run their offense in such a way that he's lured out of shot-blocking position. Plus, opposing centers who are able to face up and go can usually find a driveable lane. I seem to recall that Pau Gasol ate Howard's lunch in June. Why, then, was Howard selected as the NBA's best defender? For the same reason that Larry Hughes was named to the First All-Defensive team in 2005. Numbers." There is a reason why teams score baskets easily when Howard is out. Howard contests shots. The value of a shot blockers is not just the tally of blocked shots, but also the psychological effect on shooters. Intimidation. The psychological effect of a steal vs. a shot block are incomparable.
I will agree with you about the psychological effects of a blocked shot but it's not just the shot block itself. It's the manner in which a shot blocker protects the rim and the aggression he exhibits on defense. Dwight Howard blocks quite a few shots each game but he has the some of the "quietest" shot blocks I've seen. You can watch an entire Magic game and not realize he blocked any shots until you look at the box score. He isn't a intimidator in the way that Dream, Mutombo and Mourning were. He's also atrocious at position defense and is just not a very smart defender overall. It's a testament to his athleticism that he is able to be as effective as he is.
Yeah, I'm not sure about who's the quietest or loudest shot blocker, (Bill Russell was one heckuva quiet blocker), but how I value Howard's affect in a game is game around the paint, with and without Howard. There is a stark difference when Howard is out, when players of the opposing team scores around the basket,uncontested, rather easily. I don't think it's an accident that he's the best defensive player on arguably the best defensive team in the NBA. I don't disagree that he isn't the most polished defensive player at all.
I agree. There's a reason why Ben Wallace was one of the best players on a championship team, and Chuck Hayes can't get in the rotation on a perennial one-and-done team. In the end, Hayes is a situational player no matter how well he can man-up against the likes of KG or Duncan.
Yeah, it's called Larry Brown was the coach of The Pistons and Rick Adelman is the coach of The Rockets. If Larry Brown coached The Rockets, Chuck Hayes starts, you can take that to the bank.
Wallace started full-time under Doc Rivers in Orlando and Rick Carlisle in Detroit. He was a spectacular rebounder and a pretty good shot-blocking prescense despite his height. Comparing Chuck to him is an insult.
I agree. Chuck Hayes is more of a situational defender. Most of the players that Chuck Hayes is very effective at guarding are Post players that have more of a tendency to shoot jumpers instead of attacking to the rim. Chuck Hayes did an excellent job defending guys like Kevin Garnett, LaMarcus Aldridge, David West, Carlos Boozer, etc...... but he wouldn't do such a great job against guys like Shaq, Dwight, Duncan, etc..... Those would be the guys you want Yao defending 1 on 1. We have a pretty dominant duo of post defenders, unfortunately they both have exploitable flaws.
Just to clarify my post here before I get ripped, I was talking about prime Ben Wallace...not the current one that's pretty much done.
