All I can say is that I agree 100% with leebigez. I know the Rockets can be a top 4 team in the West but I wouldn't bet my money on that. Most of fans sound like it is already a fact that Yao will return to the All STar form and will average 20/10. Remember what Ilguaskas said? It took him 2 freaking YEARS to come back. 2 YEARS! If you ask me about Yao, I really don't have any expectations. I wish him well but I don't count on him AT ALL.
Lets make it real then since you're supposedly calling me out, i will take you're $100 bet and triple it along with leaving the board for until the following all star break if they make it to the onf finals. Whats up?
We have a deal. I will match your total, and do the same if the Rockets don't make it to the WCF. It's on.
This is a bad bet Leebigez, I understand where your coming from as far as Yao not being the first option. But you seem to not believe in the big guy or this team. I do, I just don't think Rick is gonna bog the offense down just to wait for Yao. Making who ever runs the court our first option and when the defense sets then we'll look for Yao. Yao could be in the low block but I also expect to see him in the high post. I also expect to see Scola to get his touches down low as well. Who truly knows at this point? But I do expect at least to have home court at least in the first round. Let's roll, as-is..... WCF here we come!!!
Ahh snap! Now that's a throwdown (or a pissing match). Now hug it out guys... But seriously, this is a bad bet for both of you guys. For RFL11, the chances of any given team making it to the Conference Finals has got to be less than 50% (unless you're the reigning champs) if you factor in the injuries, bad matchups in the playoffs, or just the unpredictable parts of the playoffs. I would never make a bet on any thing less than 75%, but that's just me. For Leebigez, you've just put yourself in the position of rooting against the Rox. I'd say you're odds of winning the bet are better than RFL11, but I'd rather just enjoy the season and watch the games without feeling conflicted about how they do.
This. To add to this, the best shot in a given possession is the one with the highest true shooting percentage, which you can really disaggregate to specific types of shots. For example, we think of Battier as a poor offensive player, but in any given possession, he may have a highly efficient shot. In his case, if he has the open corner 3-pointer, which he probably shoots at over 40%, that's the equivalent of hitting 60% on a 2point FG (which is a shooting percentage you would consistently take). If Battier is open on a driving runner, that's not a very good shot to take. But the broader point is that you can't just look at a given possession. It's more important to set up the offense as a sequence of plays. We need balanced scoring in order to make the defense have to choose to leave open a high percentage shot. If you start with a bread-and-butter play that consistently gets high TS% shots like Yao in the low post (or similarly Pau or Duncan or Jordan back in the day), you force a double team, which then contorts the defense and opens up opportunities for others who can't distort the defense with individual play. It's even more effective when you've got a guy who can beat anyone off the dribble in AB or a guy who can stretch the D w/ a quick curling jump shot like Martin. We will be a scary team if Yao can establish himself as a dominant player again. The main question beyond Yao's health is who can be the finisher. The finisher relies on the ability to create one's own shot after the offense fails to open someone up. I'm not sure Martin is the guy--so I'm guessing it'll be AB since at least he can pop a 3 and beat his own man off the dribble.
Your continued effort to paint anyone who holds a different opinion about Yao Ming an "only fan" is getting more pathetic by day. Are you capable of winning an argument without using such a lame tactic?
Martin Yao Brooks I don't think Scola will be far behind, and there will be nights when he's in the top three.
Trust me, I will never root against the rockets and paying $300 to the tip jar would be worth it if they make it to the conf finals. I don't think or bet with my heart and I wasnt the one talking about moneytary bets. No if we're going to thow a little change, lets throw something thats wont come out the 5th pocket lol. This started as I don't think the rockets know what their doing which wasnt the case. I just see basketball and other flows of the game in a different perspective and posters take things out of context. Can i see nights where yao is being fed alot? For sure. Can I see nights where he wil be shooting alot of jumpers? I can see that also. I just don't think posters really understand how difficult its going to be to bring back that old style for 1 player who will play limited minutes. The example I will use and I'm not sure its a great example is shaq in phoenix. I say it might not be the best because shaq has always been able to get quick positioning and make quick moves around the hoop. Throught his career and even in his older years, the coach didn't have to set picks across the baseline to get him open and double repost all in the same possession just to get him free. Well, he went to phoenix in the 7 seconds or less and he fit right in and amare was blowing up again. They didn't all of a sudden alter everything for shaq just for shaq. The next season, porter tried to focus on shaq and slow the game all the way down because he felt it gave them the best chance. Well, they struggled and porter was fired. Gentry went back to his previous tempo and the whole team played better and shaq had a rebirth of sorts. So what it comes down to is is the team better pushing tempo, getting quick and easy buckets, using yao's defensive presence and yao as a shot finishers or are they better slowing it down, using yao as a shot creator? I personally think they will be better using yao as more of a shot finisher in those 20-25 minutes so everyone else can benefit. Thats all. I guess we will see in preseason how it plays out.
Don't worry my friend, we know you are right about the way they will treat Yao. He will be one of the options, not the ONE...but one of several. DD
Really, the only fans are the only ones who are hyper sensitive to my criticism or uber ommitance of yao and thats why i call them out. I can have a discussion with deckard in the past about scola and i never call him a scola only fan. Why? He knows its nothing personal about scola and i may think its best for the rockets and vice versa. Everytime an only fan gets in a rage about the words i use in regards to yao, they can never look past the entire body of what I'm saying and can only focus on a few words. I've said it hundreds of hundreds of times that I think yao is a hard worker and a good player and I like him, but some posters will take my tarde thoughts and relate them into i don't like yao. I just think his time is up and this team has been held hostage long enough. None of the long time fans care about of the court stuff in regards to yao, thats something thats will be brought into every argument about retaining or letting go of yao. The only thing the old rockets followers see is 1 2nd rd appearence since 97 and being lapped in the west because managment bet on 2 beta's who were injury riddled. Of course those with cash cow syndrome won't understand that because the rockets just started in 2002.
How about 1st 5 possessions of the game we let each starter take a shot. Order depends on what the defense gives. Whoever makes the 1st shot is the #1option for the game and 2nd one to make it is the 2nd option and etc. If no one makes it than we start over. Fair enough? Poeple crying about who should be the 1st, 2nd or 3rd option... most teams have a clear defind 1st option and the rest is just blehh. Aren't you glad we have this problem where we have 4 starters that could be the 1st or 2nd options on some teams?
Fixed. C'mon I like the Rockets as much as the next person on the board, but I don't see anybody in our starting lineup who can be the #1 option on a championship caliber team as of right now * * Can't say Yao because I haven't seem him play NBA level basketball since early 2009
I don´t think Parker would be a first option on a championship winning team, yet, it was. The reason was because 2nd (Duncan) and 3rd (Ginobili) were very effective and the team knew when to look for which one of them. And they still have a prety weak fourth option in Michael Finley. Yet, none of the three took more than 18 shots a game on average, Parker 18, Duncan 17 and Ginobili 14 were their options.
Interesting point. I can see that throwing in a major piece like shaq can have its risks, but I don't think this is quite appropriate. The Suns had a concept that was built around Steve Nash and his ability to create shots for a bunch of athletic guys who could also shoot. That was inherently a fast paced offense. Problem with this scheme was the lack of a big who could take up space around the block and also finish down low for the playoffs. But all they could find was Shaq in the twilight of his career. Showcasing Shaq in an offense that was built around Nash was bound to fail. He was no longer quick enough to seemlessly fit into the Nash-centric team concept. The Rox on the other hand have been built explicitly around Yao. All the pieces were brought in with Yao in mind. Last year, when they ran up-tempo was because they had to in the absence of Yao, not because that's their preference. So bringing Yao back will not be a radical departure from a team concept that was built up last year, rather it will be more like returning to the concept that the team was originally designed for. Bringing Yao back is like returning a keystone to a wall, so I expect that his contribution to the team will be even greater than the points he brings back since it'll make all the other guys around him play the roles they were originally meant to play. Now, this all is predicated on Yao's ability to stay healthy and return to form, a fair question. But given the difficulties of completely refashioning the Rox lineup, Morey decided to go all-in with the pieces he's got--a gamble tied entirely to Yao's ability to stay healthy. Using Yao as a 'shot finisher' as you say would be a second-best option in the absence of an effective Yao. If Yao comes back to form, it would be a big mistake not to play to the identity that the Rox were designed for. I'd much rather see games in the 90s than in the 110s. We weren't doing very well when we were scoring all over the place last year.
Can you even read? I am not even discussing the usage of Yao and how he will play in the coming season. I am strictly talking about your attitude. In the past two years or so, you have repeatedly labeled anyone who disagreed with you about Yao Ming an 'only fan'. No matter how you spin it, your tactic is as lame as lame gets. I just hope you have enough mental ability and knowledge to win a debate, not by calling names or using labels to discredit the other person who holds a different opinion. And the way that you have replied shows that you are just as hyper sensitive to criticism as anyone in this thread, if not more.
