I have seen this happen for two years now. Especially with ex-Rocket Mobley. Today in the Spurs game, Yao had good position a lot of times but the other players always seem hesitant to pass to Yao, even though he is the team's best shooter. During the 4th quarter, the offense ran through Mo Taylor... I think that Yao should at least touch the ball once in the offense because he is an excellent passer that can pass to his team mates. It's frustrating how the offense doesn't completely run through Yao. There should be change or JVG should be fired.
I agree to your observation. I think sometime the teammates hesitate to pass to Yao because he can't hold down to it, and it will be a turnover to the one passing the ball.
It's true that passing to Yao might result in a turnover, but I think that it's necessary to pass to him consistently because this helps him gain confidence. As he knows that his teammates rely on him, then I think he will perform better. Right now, Yao doesn't really know if his teammates are looking for him and this is hindering his growth as a player. In a sense, his teammates not passing to him will eventually prove not to be beneficial to him. Until we can find players that can pass to yao consistently and smart players who know where Yao likes to receive the ball, then we can have a truly great basketball team.
As of right now, there is a 25% chance of you getting a Turnover if you decide to pass to Yao, lots of times because he doesn't seal off his man good enough. After Yao getting the ball, there is a 30% chance of him turning it over, because he can't hold on to the ball, or starts dribbling and guards pick his pocket. So combined theres a roughly 55% chance that trying to pass to Yao will result in a turnover for the team. At least thats what it seems like.... WAY too many turnovers.
Yao needs to start putting the ball up despite the double teams too. Especially when his teammates are struggling. He passes out way too much. More often than not he should still be able to get a good shot off, even if two guys are coming after him.
I think the players who are hesistant to pass to Yao will more likely result in a turnover because the longer they take to pass to Yao, the more time the defense has a chance to respond and therefore react. The passing has to be fast and efficient at the same time. The passes need to be where Yao wants the ball. Some of the passes during the game were horrendous. They should really work on passing.
I meant if Yao can't hold down to a pass, it will be counted as a turnover for the teammate. It is unfair to the passing teammate. Maybe that is why the hesitation to pass to Yao.
I'll put like this: Knowing how strict JVG is, you don't think he wouldnt' get mad if we didn't pass to Yao when they're suppose to. I'm pretty sure JVG tells the team don't pass to Yao unless he is in a certain position. We blamed Steve, Cat, and everyone else for not passing to Yao. But the only 2 people that are stopping that from happenining is Yao and JVG. JVG runs a tight ship, and the team isn't passing to Yao enough, he's going to let them know about it.
This is exactly right. And it has been from the beginning. Seems like he waits too long before he decides what he wants to do with the ball. The great ones already know what they're going to do before they even get the ball. It almost seems like Yao is waiting for the double team so he can pass it back out again. We throw the ball to Yao in the post, he waits for the double team, then passes it out again. That's not how the offense is supposed to work. Yao needs to be more aggressive. Bullard mentioned on the air tonight that JVG has been getting after him about that.
You guys don't really understand JVG's offensive scheme. In most of the instances you described, watch a tape of the game or watch the next one. Yao almost always starts on one side of the lane, takes a back pick from a teammate and rolls across the lane to the other side. It allows the team to find him from different angles, particularly rolling across the middle which clearly seems to be his favorite. JVG has ALWAYS liked to run his offense deep into the shot clock which is why Francis frustrated him so much walking the ball up the floor. He runs LONG plays so he wants them into the offense as quickly as possible. If you ever saw the Knicks when JVG was coaching, he loved to roll Ewing across the paint after his initial post up because the second post up usually results in much better position on the block. The same is exactly true of Yao who isn't as physical as Ewing was and needs the extra time to get set. One play that seems to be a favorite gets the ball to the right side, lets Yao post there then swings the ball back to the top of the key to a forward (Taylor seems to do this most often). When the ball is swung, Yao slides across the center of the lane. The initial pass from right back to the top forces the defense to commit to the perimeter as they are looking for the forward to swing the ball around the key. Instead, the forward looks to Yao across the belly of the lane giving him a myriad of options once he gets the ball. If he doesn't get it in the key, the play has a second option to swing it all the way to the left and then again attempt to go down to Yao in the block or set up an isolation play if that fails. Also, there are plays that are run with Yao as a decoy to cause the defense to commit and open lanes for cutting to the basket or finding open shooters. Tonight was difficult because the Spurs are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. They like to deny the pass into the post and they rotate VERY quickly. They are loaded with solid defensive guys. Their plan tonight was pretty clear: get very physical with Yao and try to throw off his rhythm. It basically worked. The same thing is going to happen to Yao over and over until he learns to establish position and battle back against guys who are pushing on him. He will have to learn to be the aggressor if he is to get the calls in the post a la Shaq. This isn't some conspiracy theory with guys refusing to pass or a case of Yao not being strong enough to get position, though he does need to improve that aspect of his game. This is the way JVG runs things in the low block - one of them anyway.
No. I prefer the alternate romantic languages of, for instance, French or the Germanic tongue. As a matter of fact i find the English vernacular quite bland in comparison to its eastern cousins. Parlez vouz francais? Vous etes un ane.
