I'm not saying I totally disagree, but when has a team ever started worrying about minutes when a guy has been in the league for 6yrs? I mean if that's the case, we need to start looking to trade him or on his next contract don't pay the max.
I am afraid that we might have to assume Yao will miss many games because of Injuries. A player with his size just can't play so many games in a season. So we might be better off just assuming Rockets is better without Yao.
Actually right at the start of the Denver game, the whole team has problem finding open shots since no body can penetrate and T-mac was TO like 3 in a row. You'll see a lot of those when Rockets were facing good D-teams like SA, Phoenix, NO etc.
Looks that everyone is b!tching on you Desert_Rocket, I am here to support you. Yes this team is better without Yao, and now it's time to trade him....
I guess never, but when has there ever been a 7'6" guy who has been so pivotal (i.e. relied on for minutes, points, rebounds and free-throw shooting)? I can only think of Mark Eaton and I'm don't think he really compares--- except for the size... The team could have to start worrying about minutes because of increasing worries about injuries such as this. We could still enjoy Yao's great contributions for fewer minutes per game for more years to come. Of course we'd create an international incident by wanting to low-ball the contract and cut his minutes. Yao probably wouldn't go for it either but then again maybe his deferential personality would see the "logic."
It's so freaking funny some idiots on here already think we don't need Yao and lets trade him. Hello?? Have the playoff started yet and did we win the championship yet?? Our easy schedule is about to end soon so be prepared if we start losing.
66 points in the first half tonight????? Are you kidding me? We are runnin and gunnin, there is more room to operate, our turnovers are down, our defense is solid. We are a new breed of the Phoenix Suns. Desert_Rocket = Nostradamus! I'm excited!!!!!
what it looks like... is we should have been riding the bench... instead of Tmac and Yao... all season... for this team to go from only 4 players scoring in the playoffs to a 16 game win streak is a good start...
If thats the way you think....f this team loses in the Playoffs... then you should make no excuses for Tmac.... because you cant use the team as a excuse... if Tmac chokes in the playoffs again.... I hope he doesent... but 10 years in the NBA tells me he will again
I'm Going on Record to Say that YES this Team is Better w/o Yao Here's why... without Yao... 1. We have better ball movement 2. Our offense gets more FGAs 3. At no loss to getting high percentage shots 4. We have more points in the paint from dribble penetration 5. And we have a more balanced offense overall On point five, what's been truly incredible is that imho each player, especially Rafer and T-Mac are now becoming even more formidable offensive forces b/c they are dribble penetrating more AND getting their jump shot opportunities. The offense of old, be it under JVG or early season Adelman, (but less so Adelman) had more players relegated to jump shooters. If they failed to make, then they kind of had limited potency on offense. Problem with that scenario is that, as any bball player knows, the jump shooting game gets easier when there's success on dribble penetration to be had and vice versa. No where is this more evident than in the more balanced INDIVIDUAL performances of T-Mac, Rafer, and even Battier. Additional points I'd add 6. There's more minutes to go around to OTHER offensive players 7. Not to mention more FGAs to be spread around to other players 8. Strangely, better rebounding overall 9. With more offensive rebounds 10. And more second chance opportunities On 7, Scola and Landry are the chief beneficiaries imho. The fact that we are getting production from the 4 is actually a better and more potent complement to our production from the 2 with T-Mac. I may get shot down for this, but I honestly didn't think T-Mac and Yao were all that complimentary of players. Had we had the prolific scoring and dribble penetration of Rafer of today with a healthy Yao, I think there are synergies there to be found. But Yao and T-Mac? I'm admittedly still unconvinced. So, yeah, as a team, it's an unforutnate loss that we lost Yao. But I can not notice the uptick in everything on the offensive stat sheet absent Yao. We haven't lost a step at all. In fact, we might have gained one in getting quicker and faster. My two cents. Flame on. theSAGE
I'm not saying we're better w/o Yao. Not going there. But I believe one positive is that we are better at matching up against small-ball teams. I think without Yao, the coaches are more flexible with the bigs they put on the court. Against Indiana, there was no hesitation removing Dikembe quickly into the 1st and 3rd quarter to put a quicker 4/5 combo out there. I think that's a good thing, and it wouldn't happen with Yao playing. Does that offset all the great things Yao does? I don't think so. But it's one thing we have going in our favor.
WTF! i didn't read it. i know it's nothing else but BS i don't know why there are so many morons on this board
YOU DONT WIN WITHOUT A BIG MAN.... it's as simple as that. we beat a few bad teams without yao, and people think we're better without him. hillarious.
Wrong! The main reason was that Adelman was finally starting to play the rotation properly during this winning streak. He was playing Yao and Rafer too many minutes. Yao was playing the full first quarter too often. Another reason was that Scola starting. The main reason right now is Adelman starting to trust his bench and going with them early. And another thing is that this team was starting to gel really well before Yao went out. Yao is a 50% shooter. The BIG reason this team been doing well since Yao went out is that the whole team been keeping the momentum and shooting around 50% which is totally unheard of.
No, he didn't. He scored enough on one end to make up for the defensive difficulties on the other end. There's no guarantee that will happen every game, or even most games. And, if you recall, we nearly gave up the entire lead in the 4th quarter because we couldn't get a defensive stop. That game, Yao worked which is great. There could just as easily be other games against a team like GSW where Yao can't get going. It's not like we solved all our difficulties matching up against small ball with Yao on that one night. I think it will always be an on going issue.
Assuming Adelman's not inflexible, or that Yao would get pissed with less minutes, what you're pointing out is not an advantage at all. If Yao has trouble matching up against certain teams, then he can play less minutes. But there are a lot of teams(especially the top defensive teams) where our current style would have problems with. At that time, Yao's abscence will be truly magnified.
I love you guys, I really do. - (After went 7-4 w/o Tracy) We are better without TMac! - (After went 4-0 w/o Yao) We are better without Yao! Even funnier that some people are actually trying to find logic/reasoning to backup crap like that. I'm just hoping no fans of other teams post links of this thread on their BBS. God I feel so embarrassed now just to think about that.
