I said this in the initial injury thread and pretty much got attacked for it. I'm not taking anything away from Yao, I think he is a great player and it is very difficult to take away 22 pts and 10 rebounds out of your lineup. *disclaimer* I'm not bashing Yao, just making an observation based on the members of this team and the system, nothing more. With the type of players that we currently have and with Rick Adelman's offensive system, does anyone else think this Rockets team functions better with Yao off the court? I think it does because with Yao out, we have more room to operate. Yao was a dominant force in the middle but we all know he is slow and IMO he clogged up the lane offensively. Now, when the team goes to the hole, they have more room to operate down there and there are more assists driving to the basket. I see it. I also believe our turnover situation and the fact that we always feel we have to force the ball down to Yao in the post have improved. I also believe that the team looks fresher and not as lethargic in the 4th quarter as they did when Yao was in the game. I believe his endurance issues hurt the team overall. We now look "Fresh". Now, on the defensive side of things, I really believe we are better. Yao is a big body, granted, but he will never win defensive player of the year, lets be honest. Now we have Mutumbo in there, a proven defensive player of the year and one of the best defensive centers of all time. I also believe that with the added quickness of our smaller lineup with scola & landry, our defensive rebounding is stronger. I've said a hundred times dating back to last season, game 7 last year vs Utah if Deke is in there in the final 2 minutes instead of Yao, we win that game and that series. Yao was too tired & slow to grab a defensive rebound when we needed it most. I believe that the Houston Rockets lost Yao and became more like the Phoenix suns without Shaq, and the Phoenix suns gained Shaq and became more like the Houston Rockets with Yao. They are both two totally different teams, and the record shows. Speed, quickness, and Freshness combined with somewhat of an inside presence in today's NBA is a winning formula IMO. I'm really excited about this Rockets team right now.
Deke can't give you more than 20 minutes a night, and you'll miss Yao when we have to play teams like SA and LA.
wow I knew this thread was going to pop up sooner or later. didn't we win 12 straight and 16 of 17 with yao?
Pretty much. When stacked up against the top teams in the West, we will need to match their firepower. Everyone is contributing now, but having a dependable 22 and 10 to go along with those contributions is a whole other ballgame.
They look better defensively I thought the same when Yao was out last year but I don't know if they actually are. Until they can beat the Mavs, Spurs, Pistons, and Boston the question of whether they're better isn't really worth bringing up.
how did you get random idiot? anyway, i got drilled for a thread about are we for real or not - this guy is going to get pummeled.
I don't really agree with the argument that Yao clogs up the lane. Actually, it's the opposite. He'll draw attention to him, which allow openings to other players around the bucket. If you replace him with Hayes or Mutombo, defenders can play off them more. Yao is a dominant low post scoring option, and that can't be underestimated. There will be nights when we play very good defensive teams, and they're going to take away a lot of our options. You'll see the value of having a Yao Ming then. Deke's filled in admirably on the defensive end, but I don't think we can expect him to play 20 mpg the rest of the way. And I hate to bring it up, but there's no guarantee McGrady will be healthy the rest of the way either. If he goes down for a stretch of games, it won't be pretty not having Yao as a fall back option.
Like I said, wait until we actually playing against locked down defense from Utah, Spurs, or maybe Mavs. Yes, we are playing very very well. But without Yao, every game is a fight. Are you confident we can beat Indy or Nets. With Yao in the middle, when things dont work out, you always can throw it in for a easy bucket. We dont have that option now. If we are in a locked down situation, we are vulunable. There is only one creator on this team now. Today at times, when Denver locked Tmac down, our offense looked pretty bad.
Wait until we play a defensive team. The offense will become cringe-worthy. Yao took 2 defenders more than anyone in the league. Rockets will not continue to win with McGrady scoring only 25. Those 3's will not continue to fall. And Yao's absence will take its toll. I am not saying we can't pull through, but it will become clear how Yao makes the game immensely easier for everyone on the floor (except maybe Bonzi when he was a Rocket). No time in NBA history would be better without a Yao on it.
Anyone who thinks we're better without Yao should ask themselves what does it mean to say you are better? People said we were better without t-mac. then some said we are better without yao. but really, what's happening is we're just getting better and better with each game so it looks that we're not feeling an injury as much. trust me, if we had yao tonight - denver would have been blown out much worse.
i didn't read the post but any kind of implication that we're a better team then yao is just flat-out wrong.
I do think our defense has gotten better, and by better I mean we're more versatile and can adjust more easily to any style of offense we face by simply subbing Deke in and out. Deke for all his age is also a more agile on-ball defender than Yao; he's not as strong anymore but he actually jumps. That being said, I don't want to discount all the work that Yao has put into improving his defense the past three years. He's certainly better than where he started, but still it is a problem for him to know when to commit to the block and when to simply let his out-of-control attacker go (via the charge or the standing still with arms in the air, not leaning forward). And of course there remains the problem of refereeing Yao--you don't see one quarter the ridiculous calls with Deke because it's just sort of assumed that Deke is a veteran and knows how to not foul even if he does it sometimes. And the final caveat, whatever we gain on defense without Yao is FAR FAR OFFSET by what we lose on offense when he's not there. Let's hope he makes a full recovery and returns in time for our repeat run to the title in 2009!
WOW! Yao clogs the lane! And T-Mac Owns Bradley! <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5OHUAjxPo4I&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5OHUAjxPo4I&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
I said this very thing, before we blew out our next 3 opponents. I believed this when he went down and so far I've been proven right.
