Good Gawd a'Mighty.. so many people squawking and complaining.. *sigh* I don't know if it's because most fans simply don't have any kind of true understanding of the sport of basketball, or if they just assume that having a player the caliber of Hakeem Olajuwon on your team is just a normal state of affairs, or what.. but it is clear that the majority of people doing the moaning and complaining on this board just DO.. NOT.. GET IT. Why is it important to have a 'dominant center'; why is it so important to count the 'touches' by Yao Ming every game? Why is it so important that the 'offense must go through Yao'? Remember that the only real goal in a basketball game is to put the ball in the hole more times than your opponent over the course of the game. It doesn't matter who puts the ball in the hole, as long as it goes in. But the assumption seems to be that either A) Yao Ming will simply turn and score by himself, every time he gets a 'touch', or B) that he will, by virtue of his superlative passing skills, help to create a good shot for a teammate, off the double- or triple team. As long as the ball goes in the hole after being funneled through Yao, all is right with the world. But that's not the point. It's not about just 'adding that piece', it's not about just inserting a player like Yao into this team and expecting results. Last night's game against Boston was the prime example. Because of the well-publicised infatuation with blindly funneling the offense through Yao, Boston's strategy was simple: 'don't let 'em'. And they didn't let us. And it worked most of the game, because the guys have finally bought into the concept. Unfortunately, the 'touches-for-Yao-at-any-cost-and-damn-the-torpedoes' offense doesn't take into account the fact that, no matter HOW good a player is, if you throw him the ball while he is triple-teamed, then you are STUPID. The point of having a dominant center (such as Yao will become within a couple of years) is not to make sure the ball always goes through his hands. The point is the defense Boston played against him. Three players guarding one. Hmm.. Let's see, that means there are two others completely open.. hmm.. so, if I throw the ball to Ming, he will surely see whoever the open players are, and get them the ball, right? Argh. No. The entire TEAM, every dang player on the floor, must start seeing and reacting to what our mismatch dictates, and how the other team chooses to respond. You make the other team pick their poison, as long as it IS poison. You don't just decide ahead of time what their poison will be, because they will beat you when you do that. Think of the Rox title runs, especially the second one. That team was not about being better athletes. That was all about the fact that that team, once it had finally grasped and understood the concept of functioning as an entire UNIT to take advantage of the magnificence that was Hakeem Olajuwon, that team simply knew it was going to win. (which is why, by the way, Houston would definitely have beaten the Bulls that year, even with Jordan). So, Boston decides to take away our acknowledged game plan of force-feeding the ball through Yao's hands. The fact that this allowed both Cat and Stevie to get off is NOT a reason to start crying and complaining about how selfish they are. It's a reason to start celebrating! Next time a team considers the 'triple-team-Yao' strategy, perhaps they will also recall how that got Boston stunned. You can see the beginnings of the glimmers of understanding from some of the players on this team, of just how potent Yao's presence makes the entire team, but they are nowhere close yet. Last night was a good start, but it's going to take some time and some patience, and they are going to have to start seeing more successes like they had against the Celtics. Not next year, but the year after that, we will probably be able to talk about hanging banners in the new stadium, and still be able to keep a straight face to boot. So, yes, the ball does need to go through Yao's hands a lot, successfully, in order to dictate to the other team. But just because the ball may sometimes not be allowed to go through Yao, as long as the alternatives are just as poisonous, then it's not a reason to complain, it's a rerason to cheer! (23 seconds of dribbling and a jacked up shot does not count hehehe .. it only counts if there is actual ball movement) sorry, just had to get all that off my chest.. ciao!
Nero, Excellent points and good overall post. Sometimes if one steps back, it really is that simple: If this team is going to succeed it will be when A) Other teams deny Yao his touches and our guards go off or B) Other teams let Yao have his touches, focus more on the guards, and Yao dominates inside. We can win either way. Last nights game was wonderful to watch towards the end. It was a step in this team's evolution. If our guards can continually show they can step it up when Yao is doubled, then other teams will be hesitant to do it so often. So simple .............in theory.
Great post, but I doubt many will respond because most posters do not get it. They are bandwagon posters and complain just because everyone else is.
I dont know how many fans saw the ball game last night. I saw the most of it. To me , Yao didn't get doubled or tripled like you guys said. If he did, where those SportsCenter highlight showing Yao was wide open coming from? Not once, not twice, He fought for position and did get chance and simply cound not get the ball. Some occation the guards just dribble the ball UNTIL he is doubled. But it doesn't matter, we just learned from some of the fans here that whenever teams won, no matter how they played the ball game, the only thing allowed is to cheer. So let us cheer for it, haha!
It's really simple and beautiful, in theory. But I keep thinking about the time when lakers had Shaq, Jones and NVE. What's the different between Kobe and Jones/NVE, what did Phil Jackson bring into the lakers? I don't have a clear answer myself, but i know there must another important piece for Rockets to win the title, again.
Thats a different story all together. Phil got Shaq to lead his team by playing defense and making defenses pay. If you look at the offensive output between the championship and non championship years, it did not change that much. All Phil did was light a fire under Shaq's lazy butt.
I was complaining from prior to the start of the season! I was able to forsee the problems that would occur betwen a dominent scoring Point Guard and a team with the potential of a future Championship. I have been a solid Rox fan for over 21years.
oops, some typo there and I cannot edit it. By the way, I think it is unfair say SF and Cat cannot make into playoff by themselves. In fact, they can. I truly believe that even without Yao, with Cato as starting center and healthy Mo T, they even have better chance without Yao. To me , Yao just didn't fit to the guard-oriented offense system, no matter how hard he run, he cannot catch the average team speed. Right now Cato did a better job than Yao. So you can see sometimes when Yao is not on the court, suddenly their offense runs smoother. They probably can stick to this system even going into the playoff, but I doubt they would be a serious force for the title, no on in the western conference use guard-oriented system win the title. No exception for them. I think that is most of fans other than TRUE FAN worried about.
The Lakers did not face zones like Boston threw at us. Now that they are, they are having their worst season in years. [slap you upside the head] Zone's are legal now. Look up the history of zones in college/high school. Zones were invented to deny the ball to tall centers.
THe reason for that is because Cato doesnt need the ball and Yao Ming does! This is what the Guards need to get into their heads!
The problem is that we have short memories. Don't forget that our guards usually don't step up. Often times we make bad passes or take bad shots. I agree with the origional post, and with your points except that sometimes Yao is going to be that player flashing through the middle. And when he is there is no excuse for not getting him the ball. If Yao has the ball in the lane or even up top at least two players are likely to think that that is not good to have him open, then a unique thing happens a pass. Agreed that people need to learn to use Yao, but so do the teamates. Mike
Zone became leagal years ago. The lakers were not bad then. How could you forget Shaq's injury this season? When Shaq played with NVE and jones, zone was illeagal, but LA was no contender.
If we win, who gives a crap about how many touchs a player has? We dont sit here and complain about no touchs for TMO...or JC.... I am not a Yao hatter, I do think the rockets should play through YAO, but on games they win. I could really careless about it. It is the win that matters.
I think the fact that Celtic played tight defense on Yao last night really bailed out our guards. So many of you would just say it was the tight D, and Yao's inability to "hold positions" that led to few touches by him. Honestly, I dont think our guards adamantly refuse to pass it to Yao, sometimes they do ignore him even though he is wide open. But I think most of the time, they just couldnt because of the defense, or simpily they suk at it. Especially both our guards like to dribble and shoot first, and pass it later if needed. They make it even more difficult than it should be.
I shared a different point of view with you. Remember first time Rox played Lakers this year? That is SF show, that is probably by far his best One on One success. Then what, Rox lost a long steak or something. Looking back, I'd rather have Rox lost that game and won those after. That is the nature of Guards one on one show: inconsistent. And I doubt Francis would ever reach the level of Kobe, T-Mac played. Not because the skill or the athleticism , because he lack height, not tall enough, sadly, B-Ball is eventually a big man's game.
Peoplevon this board used to get it. But then they changed what "it" was. Now what they get isn't it, and what's it seems weird and scary to them. It'll happen to you.
This entire thread is fine and dandy as long as our guard play is consistent. For the last 30 games or so, teams have realized that Yao is a very good player. They have stopped leaving him and have even double teamed at various stages of the game, at different spots on the court, or throughout the entire game. If Cat and Steve can play with the same skill level as yesterday, everything will be fine. Do we really think that will happen? If every team in the league starts playing this "gimmicky" defense or some variation of it, then what. We will burn teams 1/2 the time. The other half, we'll continue to look terrible. Steve and Cat can lead the team to victories but they won't be able to do it all the time. Posey cant hit outside shots, EG is on and off and Mo Taylor is just as streaky as some of our guards as is Glenn Rice. Unless Rudy T. finds a way to overcome this type of defense, more and more teams will utilize it. And on the days our guards are hot, we'll win. And when they'e not we'll lose. So how are we better off than we were last year with a healthy Steve Francis. I agree that it was great victory yesterday. However, unless you think Francis and Mobley can combine for 60 some points everyday, we'll never reach the next level. This is why you pay the coach. Find a way to beat the zone and get our center involved or take your chances with whatever the defense gives you. If I were an opposing team, Id take my chances with Steve and Cat.
