It has become painfully obvious that Yao can not guard any big man that can shoot a jumper. He struggles mightily with his slowness of foot and they constantly torch him again and again as he is unable to cover their 15 foot jump shot. Yao is a beast when he plays teams that have a low post threat, he is in his comfort zone and can easily guard them. Just look at the current playoff teams, every single team and our chances against them is predicated on Yao. 1. The Lakers - Bynum being out is horrible for Yao, as he is asked to guard Gasol a very good shooting big man who can also drive, when Bynum is in, the Rockets match up VERY well with them. 2. The Spurs - Yao matches up great with Duncan, he does have that 10 foot window bank shot but he is mostly on the block and the Rockets match up very well with them. 3. The Jazz - This is a NIGHTMARE for the Rockets, because Yao can not guard Okur or Boozer, they both destroy him with jumpers or drives. 4. Portland - We do ok against them because of Prizbilla and Oden.....again....they are on the block so Yao can work well there. 5. Denver - Nene plays on the block and doesn't shoot jumpers - very favorable matchup for Yao and the Rockets. 6. New Orleans - When they have Chandler - Yao matches up fine.... 7. Dallas - They start Dampier.....Yao does fine. So for the most part, we match up well with teams......except for Utah.....but when teams go small and insert a big that can shoot, the Rockets defense falls apart, and it is all because Yao is slow..... So, since Yao is not going to get quicker, what can the team do? To me, I think they have to mix in SOME zone defense.....you need to keep Yao in the game for the mismatch on offense and what he creates for others simply by drawing their attention....but Rick Adelman needs to find a way to HELP Yao on defense when opponents go small. The team needs to help Yao, he is what he is....a highly skilled big man with a nice guy demeanor......which brings up the next point about Yao. Yao has to take some heat for his lack of skill in presenting a big target to pass the ball into the post. He plays like a much smaller man and the window to get him the ball is tiny. Yao needs to command his space......I think he is afraid of getting too many offensive fouls.....screw that......get some fouls.......some HARD ELBOW SWINGING FOULS....... Yao is too nice.....Shaq gets beat on, but I guarantee you he beats the crap out of his opponents too....Yao takes more than gives. When you are 7'6" tall and can not seal your man off on an entry pass, that is on you....Yao has to do better than that, he has to get his BUTT lower and his arms out, and GET WIDE.......if they try to come around they get an ELBOW in the eye socket......make them think about their decisions. Last night's game against the Lakers was horrible, it exposed a lot of weaknesses with Yao...I think the team beats the Lakers if Bynum was in there......because Yao can not guard a big with range. But..and here is the silver lining - Yao and the attention he brings got the team 28 wide open 3 point shots.....the team just missed them... Overall last night the team shot better than 50%, but the Lakers made a decision to pack the paint and force the Rockets to beat them over the top, and they didn't do it. BUT, this happened to the championship Rockets teams too.....there were clunkers....when the 3s did not fall, but enough of them did to win 7 game series. I will TAKE my chances with the shots the team got last night.....this team is getting better, it is just not there yet. And Rick Adelman has GOT to find a way to minimize Yao's slowness of foot, and lack of getting wide.....because both of those are VERY correctable....one as a team, the other as a player. Rant.....OVER. GO ROCKETS ! DD
I don't, Yao was 5+ feet away and Gasol was shooting wide open shots..... Yao can not physically guard a big that can shoot on the perimeter, he needs help. It is on the coaches to send help in that situation....ZONE....some. DD
That is excatly what I think about Yao... He has to break few noses to show people that he is not gonna accept this. Come on, they guy is 7'6. I am still waiting for Yao to STEP UP. He needs to play like he did against the Cavs.
was that why Adelman had Yao on the bench for (imo way too long) until the 3-4minute mark in the 4th last night? with the game sliding away? while yao was on the bench, Artest thought he could be the savior but either hoisted horrible shots or turned it over. i just got on the board to vent after that terrible 4th qtr and this is the first thread i read and figured id just rant here. ok done, later
I have been thinking along the same lines as you DD.... Ever since we went to a zone against Toronto and it worked, we followed up with the game in Utah where i was thinking to myself, We need to go into a zone.....Again last night, same thing..... Personally i'm tired of watching us get pick and rolled to death.....Adelman needs to freakin tuck his tail and go into a 2-3 with battier and brooks on top. If you aked me why we have been loosing these tight games, i would tell you. Rick Adelmans Failure to make adjustments on the FLY! Failure to make good set plays in timeouts and his horrible coaching mentality..... Don't get me wrong i like the guy... but a team like this one needs a coach that isn't going to sit on his hands, we need someone who is going to be just as excited and upset about every play as anyone else on the floor. Put on your uniform and your in the game. Do you want to see some enthusiasm out of your coach or have to wonder if there is a doctor behind the bench that has to check his pulse to make sure he is still with us!! Oh yeah and Whoever chants MVP for KOBE at the TC should be banned from attending rockets games until further notice. End Rant!
Yao played ok. It was a good game. A little to much Ron at the end of the game. You can't piss off Kobe though thats why we lost.
WATCH THIS!! It show all the rox mistakes on defense, they scored a lot more on yao than on Scola or Landry. Its a video of the lakers Highlights, but we can learn a lot from this. Yao defended the paint very poorly as exposed here. The push on Scola by kobe in the play where he got the ball form the floor is awsome! no call. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehR3lfhPqEo
sometimes Yao needs to step up and block the shooters. it doesn't matter if he leaves the paint.Don't let them shoot with no fear.
To me resolution #1 is to start switching D's on ensuing possessions. Last nite a switch of Yao on Powell (let the Lakes use him to win; as if) and Artest or Battier on Gasol for a time. Get unpredictable. Jump shooters love the same old. Please, Mr Coachie, change things up!
The Team needs to hire a decent big man's coach= ie Moses or Hakeem and I feel sure they can help Yao improve! Jack Sicma is remembered as a big man who was great from the three point line, which is not what Yao needs.
Yao will have his difficulties against any team with a great pick and roll player. So I wouldn't say Yao matches up well against New Orleans, for instance.
I noticed this a lot during the game.....when Yao was in the post, Kobe, Fisher, etc. would come to his blind side and either swipe the ball or disrupt his motion for a fade. Why hasn't anyone yelled out to Yao that someone is coming to his blind side?
I think sometimes they do, but more importantly, it means the rest of the team needs to make wide open shots. The Lakers basically packed the paint the entire 2nd half and forced the Rockets to shoot over them....they hit their midrange and clanked their distance shots. That was the ball game...... Agree with you about Yao....someone needs to yell "MAN ON" or something to alert him someone is coming. DD
Yao is also a difficult go to in the final 2 min of a close game because of three things- 1. He is turnover prone- he does not have good hands and yes the pass has to be perfect into the post. 2. Once teams wise up, more teams in the playoffs will front him in the final stretch and without quickness Yao often gets lost dealing with the fronting defense. 3. Yao puts the ball on the floor way too much in the post and that is exactly how Kobe stripped him and how he gets alot of turnovers. Yao has to learn to catch and shoot, especially from 10 ft. in. I agree that Yao cannot be reliable in the final minutes, he might have his times of domination but they are few and very inconsistent. We should be able to pound him the ball in a close game but his lack of quickness and his hands and his awkwardness make it risky to force the ball to him. I think we should consider bringing him out some and run more pick and roll. If they work on the pick and roll Yao can definately hit a 10-15 ft shot, also getting him out on the pick and roll can free up both artest and both PG's who can slash to the basket.
if yao picks up the weakside help just a few more times or if artest isn't having one of the worst shooting nights of his career.... we win this game. not to say that i disagree with your assesments, but people here are overreacting. sure, this game exposed some flaws, but in the end we had several opportunities to win this match and just failed to execute or make the right decision. that being said, yao has to learn to PICK UP THAT DAMN WEAKSIDE HELP. IT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
Yao is such an enigma...'he is what he is'. He's so dominant within 10 feet of the basket, but any further out and he's like a whale trying to solve a rubic's cube with one flipper tied behind his back. It's embarrassing to see him out there because you know he's not going to stop anyone or (gasp) block a shot. Everytime Gasol got the ball you knew he was going to score on Yao. Frankly, I'm suprised Phil Jackson didn't run that play everytime down the court, it was money and there would be nothing we could do to stop it except pull Yao out of the game. How sad is that? You'd have to pull your best offensive player..a max player..b/c he can be exploited so easily? Not only that, but he can be taken out of his offense by simply fronting him...that is, unless the ENTIRE TEAM works together to try and set him up in his spot...but it has to be perfect or he can't get it. In crunch time this strategy, more often than not, ends up wasting a possession and forces us into a rushed shot. Ugh.
