Hey, basketball junkies out there. Can we say this team has found the ways to counter fronting Yao? Before other teams would just throw a quick 6 footer in front of Yao and he would never see the ball again. Now, since after the ASG break the fronting is still going on but somehow we seems always can find him inside. I play bball a lot, but I am not at the level where I can see subtle adjustments like this. What changed? Actually all I want to know is, have we solved the problem or is it just happened that we've been playing the teams who are not good at fronting?
Quicker ball movement, and a dedication to feeding the post. When they tried fronting Yao, the guard would throw the ball to the top of the key where Howard would either take a wide open jumper or feed Yao. Since Howard's at the top of the key, the defender's no longer "fronting" him, more like "siding" him. But if the passes aren't quick and decisive, the defense can adjust. So you gotta have quick ball movement and a dedication to feeding the post.
Good observation. Here is my take on it. Yao is establishing himself down low very early in the shotclock and the pass goes in quickly before the double team can get established. Also, they are RE-posting Yao. Wesley seems to be the best one at re-entry pass. That completely breaks down the double team if Yao gets the return pass and quickly takes a shot. It is awsome. Other teams may adjust and shut this down pretty soon. Lets see if Yao can keep it up now that he won't be catching anybody off guard and coaches can develop a plan of attack.
some of the credit goes to faster ball movement. some goes to greater and faster recognition by Yao of what the defender is trying to do. In the past, Yao would get fronted and would waste time trying to get around the fronting defense, to present himself for the entry pass at the same passing angle. In the past few games, both Yao and the passer have recognized the fronting defense early. The passer swings the ball to the top of the key. Simultaneously, Yao is pushing the fronting defender OUT, toward the orignal pass angle, and sealing him off from the new passing angle . . .usually JHo from the top of the key. The combination of both of these elements creates a bigger passing lane for the top of the key entry pass. When we are slow to react to the fronting defense, we get bit by the dwindling shot clock and we wind up hoisting up a low percentage jumper or commit a turnover. ---------------- Defenses will soon see that we have made this adjustment. They'll continue to front (to play behind Yao is suicide), but their weak side help will have to come faster, to close off the top-of-the-key-to-Yao passing lane. In that situation, J-Ho will have to either bury the J or fake the entry pass to Yao, and swing the ball to the weak side shooter, who will then have to hit the 3 ball. If we do that to a high degree of efficiency, there is literally no defense against yao. These are the reasons that all great coaches preach sharing the ball. Consider the Hakeem championship teams, the current Spurs and Pistons. Also, these are the reasons why all great coaches and defensive teams are have elite individual defenders. These are the reasons that SF3 got traded for potato chips.
Anyone notice that Yao's a lot better at sealing off his man nowadays too? There were some "near-fronts" by that weirdo Pollard last night but Yao just shoved him back with his off-arm while receiving the ball with his other. But you guys are probably right - a combo of all the things said above.
1) Yao's improved strength and endurance helps him seal off his defender 2) The high screen decoy. Yao fakes as if he's going high to set a screen then quickly drops down in low post set. 3) Yao's teammates helping by picking off his man. 4) Rafer Alston, quickly getting the Rockets into their offense. There are all sorts of little things going on away from the ball that help Yao get good position in the paint. All that movement from one side of the paint to the other by Yao is not just a waste of energy but keeps defenses from getting set or more importantly Yao's man from fronting him.
It hasn't been solved completely. When teams focus solely on stopping Yao, we can still have problems. The difference now is Yao is shoving guys around more (especially with his behind), he is moving around more instead of standing relatively still and guys are looking for him and zipping him the ball whenever there is a crack in the defense. Yao knows he will be rewarded for hustling to get open and therefore he's trying harder! I give Rafer a lot of credit for this and now the whole team has caught on. But the problem won't be "solved" until the other players can kill defenses that completely key on stopping Yao. That is why we need Tracy on the floor to beat the upper echelon teams.
Biggest difference, in my opinion. Yao's never really had a true PG with advanced passing skills until Rafer.
Yao has gotten better, but the REPOST has made a huge differnce, passing it immediatly back into the post..... They are committed to Yao now, and he to them....and it shows. DD
The combination of Yao fighting to establish himself in the post, as well as his teammates commitment to running the offense through him has made the difference. Also, Yao is much better at establishing and holding position down low than he was in his first couple of seasons. He really gets low and digs in, making it difficult to push him off the block.
One thing I noticed in the game against the Blazers is Yao has learned to dislodge the defender. In the past smaller guys would get under Yao's high center of gravity and keep him pinned. Now Yao ducks down to lower his center of gravity and uses his arms to get leverage and push the defender out of position or pin the defender. He's learned to use his arms and shoulders better even when rebounding especially on the offensive side. He looks like he's been schooled in wrestling or something and this coupled with his improved mobility and aggression has made it tough to front him or defend him in any way for that matter.
Thanks for your inputs, all of which make a lot of sense. Basically it is a combination of team effort and Yao's own improved strength and speed. The league is sure taking notice of these changes, so other teams' defense strategy will change too. The rest of the season will show if Yao can truely become "unstoppable". Now let's just hope T-Mac, the other corner stone of the Franchise can recover from the back problem. Rockets will be contender for years to come.
I have noticed that Yao is backing his opponents deep into the paint before he gets the ball. He did that a couple of times last night and remember him doing it once in the Timberwolves game. By the time he got the ball, he's already under the basket and will get an easy layup as a result. That's fun to watch.
