I think I've only seen Yao execute an alley oop a couple of times, most notably during the All Star game.
I wonder what they do in their practice. Don't seem to me they would practice new attack methods though. All I can see is the alley oops always happen among cat, sf and cato, only. Maybe these guys have their own private drill to perfect it "outside company time". But then it limits the effectiveness because only a small number of teamates will execute this during a game. Yeah, I don't see how Yao can't do such a simple dunk given enough communication and practices.
I am not saying lob it off of the backboard everytime but you need to get creative when a team is trying to shutdown one of the main options. You really need to work on getting the ball over the fronting defender and make the weakside come over because if they do then swing the ball around for the open shot.
Ya know... I don't think I've ever seen an alley-oop play to Yao. Not once. What's up with that? -- droxford
Nah. I doubt Steve Francis can throw a 50-yard pass to Yao in the end zone. Come to think of it, I don't think they remember how to play FOOTBALL. What were we talking about? Oh, yeah... I say Yao just needs to hold his ground and not slip as much. Watch his feet tonight. I think he forgets to wipe his soles on that little square before coming out. Everyone else does it, but if Yao doesn't do it, he gets pushed and then slides out of his block position, whereas if he were to wipe his shoes, he would stand his ground.
I saw this done once this year early in the season with Padgett as the entry passer. I still don't understand why they don't set Yao up in the high post and then have someone come back-pick his man so he can slide down the lane without being fronted. Seems like a simple play.
Because Yao can't jump high nor quick. In the history of the NBA, Yao did get an alley-oop ... once, ... from Francis no less, in last yr All-star game. It was a pathetic one ... he barely got off the floor ... but it was an alley oop! In regular season games, I think we attempted it twice and Yao simply watched the ball sailed over his head !
Well there are some good ideas in this thread...the throwing off the backboard one is kind of funny. Yao is just too slow...seriously.
Man, when I first read the title, I thought it said, "Stop Fronting, Yao!" Needless to say, I wanted to see what this was about... I think the BBS has addressed all of Yao's problems already: lack of aggressiveness, speed, ups, etc. Still even with these sizeable disadvantages, I think JVG just needs to learn how to capitalize on Yao's strengths. Instead of forcing him to bang down low, let him get the ball in the high post and create from somewhere closer to the freethrow line than the low blocks. His court vision is a valuable asset and he can work better up high, IMO. Just throw Cato in the post and let him get the offensive rebounds. Working in the high post, if a center is stupid enough to front him out there, then there's more room to throw Yao a lead lob pass into the paint where he can flush it down with his patented no jump dunks. Seriously, I don't see why JVG doesn't experiment with different post sets for Yao; it's obvious that he's no Hakeem or even a Ewing, so he needs to adept his style to Yao if JVG wants Yao to be the focal point of the offense. Just my .02.
Wow. I agree! But Cato cannot work in the post...Taylor maybe yes. But then on defense..Taylor is a liability. I think we should experiment instead of just dumping it down to Yao in the low post every single time and repeat the same thing. But as long as Yao can score...then it's all good. But our team needs to learn how to play against different defenses...and how to adjust to changes...and what to do. I think Yao would be good outside on the perimeter..he can shoot..and he won't lose the ball as much. He's a good passer too..but I don't know..he makes some nice passes when he's posting up.
I agree. I'd like to see the Rockets just try Yao as a passer with plays for the guards running all over the place. Yao would be making the decisions from a vantage point that would give him the best results. I'd rather see this at least tried once than the garbage offense as of late. A few losses from trying new plays is not bad if they learn something for the future.
