Many threads have come up about Yao's scoring or the number of shots he puts up, but I believe his best role is that of a playmaker from the low post or even the high post. At 7'6 Yao sees everything on the court and has an amazing passing ability. Have you notices how whenever he gets the ball in the post he usually gets it to where players strong points are. I remember a few times last night where he recieved the ball from Jim Jackson, then waited till he was doubled and simply handed it back to him for the mid range jumper, this occured with Mobley as well. He also fed Mobley a BEAUTIFUL pass under the basket though he missed the layup, and fed MoTaylor a nice on under the basket as well. Simply stated: Yao has the best passing ability on the team. He also is the most patient and understands the game the best. It does not matter if he puts up 6 shots or 20 shots, it matters if he has the ball in his hands because good things happen. We all realize Steve is not a traditional point guard. By maximizing Yao's ability, Steve will play off the ball similar to Mike Bibby in Sacramento. I don't think Yao has Webber or Vlade's passing ability just yet, but I think he can surpass them with his size and court vision. Steve and Cuttino make many mental mistakes, and by allowing Yao to make the decision of what to do with the ball, we are capitalizing on their shooting and slashing strengths. I would think that every team in the NBA will not be double teaming Yao or scrambling like in the Memphis game to get the ball out of his hands. If we can constantly get him the ball, our gunners like Piatkowski, MoTaylor (out to midrange), Steve, Cuttino and Nachbar (recently) will have a field day and we will make teams pay the way they did when Bullard, Maloney, Elie, Smith and Horry would make double teams on the Dream pay the price. Yao has already surpassed the Dream's passing ability and has the potential to be the best passing big man of all time (Never saw wilt when he lead the league in assists!). I loved our win last night, but felt that on offensive side we hit many shots that we don't normally hit. We should not rely on that (or the inability of the bulls to hit anything!!) to be our game plan. It doesn't matter if Yao scores or not, when the ball is in his hands good things happen.
I definitely hope Steve learns to play off the ball. He is just as big a threat when he doesn't have the ball as when he does. If he is just a tiny bit open, Yao will get it to him and he will score easily. Good point about JJ, he knows how to play the 2 man game with Yao.
Bingo! We've got enough threads on Yao, but this is still a good post. In particular, I like your phrase "I loved our win last night, but felt that on offensive side we hit many shots that we don't normally hit." That was the problem with the Rockets offense all last year. Winning was predicated upon being "hot," rather than efficient scoring opportunity creation. While I love nice wins, I also fear that big wins won through bad behavior provide reinforcement for that behavior. Yao offers a ridiculously efficient option to run the offense through. Until the offense is channeled through that option, we're going to be left to "out-talent" the other team. And while Houston's good enough to do that sometimes, it's never going to result in a contending team. What you suggest... might, quite soon.
Khan we got the shots we want. It would be a mistake to say we we were hitting outside shots only. We are an inside-out team and that is what you saw last night. We built the lead on inside shots; it is just that it was not exclusively Ming. It was easier to hit the outside shots when you have a comfortable lead. The number of shots Ming got last night does not concern me. He is like an Ace, not to be used all the time. The involvement early on of as many poeple as possible is just as critical as the amount of shots that Ming takes. To me it is almost proven that Ming can get shots whenever the team wants. I am not as certain that we are sufficiently adept at doing great things when a team is able to take the ball out of his hands.
I'm not worried. Based on the game plan philosophy that JVG has implemented alone, I expect to beat teams that we are "supposed" to beat (consistently!). "Scoring easy buckets" has just become easier and more common. Scoring no longer just has to come from Francis (always struggling). Francis is actually putting the team ahead of himself, while letting his athletic ability shine at certain times. He's playing within the system, FIRST! I love it! So, these changes alone (offense and defensively) will produce more consistent winning. The last 5 or 6 games we're playing winning ball (yes, even the ones we lost). It's about getting the best chance.
I agree that Francis is actively trying to play a more team oriented game and is doing well at it. But between him and Mobley there are so many missed opportunities when Yao sets a pick and screens beautifully towards the basket that are just not taken advantage of. Steve is an able passer, but Yao is an excellent one. Yao also has the height to see the whole court and based on observations gets players the ball where they like it much like Jason Kidd and Chris Webber. Even though we slaughtered the bulls last night, how many blown pick and roll's were there?? Cuttino has the worst shot selection of any guard i've seen in a while except maybe Stephen Jackson. I cannot recall him EVER passing the ball to Yao. He is always set up perfectly for open threes and for slash's to the bucket (which he missed) but its like he almost refuses to do so! I honestly think that Steve is not as talented a passer as many, but is understanding it and I believe that is why JVG even wants him to shoot more, but use 'less dribbles' to get the shot. He knows that Steve is an amazing scorer, but will never be the floor general in a traditional point guard sense. I have stated for a while that what we need at the two is a bigger/smarter SG that can shoot. Thats why I think the addition of Jackson and Piatkowski will ultimately lead to great things. I see that Jackson knows if he gets in the right spot that Yao will get him the ball and he knows how to play off of Yao. This may be because that is how he played in Sacramento, but guys like Cuttino need to learn this. I'm stating this after a big win because its not emotion speaking after a loss, but a fundamental change needed in the philosophy of our team to be successful.
I will say it again and again - it is Stupid basketball not to run 150% of your plays via your best, most intelligent and most efficient basketball player. Egos be damned. I strongly believe every player in the NBA wants to win but most of them are not sincerely about winning at the expense of their egos. Mooch is just not good enough but the ball rests squarely on the shoulders of SF and Cat IMO because the more than anyone else start the offense. Just like FDK pointed out, we can also use Yao in the high post just like SacTown uses Divac to free up Francis, Mobley, Boki and JJax to score more and shoot uncontested shots. This is in addition to his low post feeds and the double he will command there too. It just makes simple straightforward sense. Don't it?
