More and more teams are using lineups without traditional centers in today's league. The Rockets are one of the few teams with a traditional center who's also an all-star. We all know that Yao has great difficulty in defending against teams with 5 perimeter scorers, and unfortunately we are facing such teams more and more often. On the other end, we should be able to take advantage of smaller teams with Yao's size, but for whatever reason he hasn't been as effective on his postups this year and he depends on teammates to get him the ball around the basket without turning it over (either that, or miss the shot so he can go after the offensive board). In the fourth quarter, when the game is close, if a team decides to play small against us, how should we counteract that? Do we really have an advantage with Yao, or are we better off using Scola (a decent low post scorer, acceptable defensive player) or Hayes (better defense, almost no scoring)? Here are the options available to us: (a) We can continue to do what we have been doing, and give up open jumpers every possession and try to punish teams with Yao. (b) We can go to a zone defense, though the few times we've tried it the past couple years I don't recall ever successfully getting a stop. (c) We can sit Yao and try to matchup with teams using a smaller lineup. Here's a scenario to ponder. Suppose we meet Golden State in the playoffs. In a close fourth quarter, if Nelly goes small, what should we do?
If we can hit our shots, shouldn't we leave Yao in for post defense and act as a decoy on offense? I'm afraid of the psychological aspect of sitting Yao at the end of a game. It may pump up the other team while deflating our own team. But, I have seen him be ineffective at the end of games at times. I guess I could see benching him for limited minutes against certain teams (especially if we're playing well without him in the game).
should be, but NEVER will be, no matter the matchup. i dont think there is any coach in the league who will sit an all-star center (or any all-star) no matter how much they struggle against a certain team.
I just want to point out that if you play zone, you are in fact, giving up the jumper. That being said, I would normally play Yao, play man-to-man, and instruct him to play off his man several feet. Give up the long jumper, use Yao to help with penetrators, and instruct Yao to do everything to get post positioning on offense.
That's true. What you're suggesting is I think what the Rockets more or less try to do against small teams that use a spread offense. Yao doesn't stray to far away from the basket, because that would make him completely useless on defense. It's basically up to his four teammates to scramble and defend the other five players. Some (Rafer, Battier) are better at it than others (Luther, T-mac, Bonzi). Invariably, it leads to a wide open shot if the other team is any good.
man....i agree with alot you say, but this is NOT one of those times...YOU CAN NEVER bench one of the best centers in the league...are you kidding me?!!! some of your other options seem more on target but not benching Yao... you better get ready to get bashed by others for this thread
It's just a discussion. I listed the options, and I want to know people's views on this. This issue is really bothering me, because it's one of those situations where there are no good options. We have to choose the least bad one.
Adelman actually did bench Yao in key defensive possessions in the closing seconds of the Charlotte and Denver games.
Huh? For every matchup that exposes Yao, we deal the opposition a mismatch problem on the other end. You adjust......you don't bench your best and most dominant player. Sure there are situations when you sit Yao (end of a quarter to keep him from getting a silly foul, putting all your three point shooters in, etc.). But by and large, you make it work with Yao. There are ways to counter small ball, just as there are methods to counter a lineup with two bigs. Adelman may not be adept at this type of stuff...or maybe he is. I mean, he is an NBA coach. But bench Yao? In the words of the great Whitney Houston - Hell-to-tha-no.
I've proposed bringing him off the bench to reduce his minutes and to allow him to compete against fatigued or inferior players.
i wouldnt sit him against the suns because of yaos size over amare. i know we usually struggle against them, but i think we can beat them with yao in, this year at least. now utah.....i dont trust the ball going in to yao at all, and hes pretty worthless on defense too, so i say sit him.
Sure, but that isn't as vital when the opposing team has 5 players who can hit open shots from the perimeter. Further, while Yao is usually a pretty good defensive rebounder for us, that contribution will also be lessened against teams that shoot perimeter jumpers due to long rebounds.
Amare is such a terrible post defender, I think it's worth it to play Yao against them despite what he gives up on the other end.
Right, which was a no brainer. But you can't make offense/defense substitutions with, say, 5 minutes remaining. So, there you have to make a decision -- play Yao and *hopefully* take advantage on offense, or sit him down and put in a defensive unit that matches up better.
