What if he's not doing that well in the low post because he can't get position? You look at a player like Duncan who can play great in the low post but because he also comes out every now and then it becomes harder to defend him since he isn't one dimensional. Yao has that capability. Further if Yao's mobility is starting to degrade Adelman's high post system might still be very effective considering how much he got out of an aging Sabonis with almost no mobility or a slow Divac as a passer out of the high post. I agree that it would be a mistake to park Yao in the high post but this is about being able to adjust and keep the opponents D off balance. That's true and its likely we will see some of the personality change. But I don't believe that the team as is is so limited. Head has become known as a set jump shooter but on those Michigan State teams you would see him run and move quite a bit. Alston while a very inconsistent jump shooter can still run and take care of the ball. Hayes hustles and could still be effective in a more open O scheme.
The big difference is Duncan can put the ball on the floor and get closer to the basket. When Yao puts the ball on the floor, bad things usually happen. Duncan is more versatile than Yao in that regard. IMO, Yao being less mobile severely limits his effectiveness in the high post because it reduces him to being less of a scoring threat. Either way, if Adelman goes that direction, I'm curious to see how it works. Hopefully you are right. I thinks it's been proven that whatever Luther did at Illinois, he is much less versatile in the NBA because his weak handles and poor passing are magnified. Unless he comes back in October a much improved player, we need to trade him if he gets us any value. Short players who cannot handle or pass and cannot create their own shot are of limited use. I like Chuck but he is a marginal NBA player. Without Tracy and Yao, Chuck wouldn't be in the NBA. His physical limitations and lack of skill are tough to overcome.
D'oh! My mistake I got Illinois and Michigan State mixed up. I'm not as down on Head (sorry bad pun) as others. Maybe its because living in a state with a Big Ten School I got to see what he could do in college.
A lot of people brought this up, but I need to harp on it again. I'm worried about Yao's effectiveness in the high post because I'm worried that he simply lacks the mobility. I know Sabonis and Divac were effective, but the contrast is that the high post was where they could do the most damage; neither was a superb low post player during their time with Adelman. The high post is a triple threat position, and unlike Duncan Yao lacks the quickness and ballhandling ability to drive to the basket should his defender go for the pumpfake. I expect to see a lot of contested jumpers by Yao under this offense. The alternative would be the drive and kick by T-mac or Alston, which is a good shot but relegates Yao into a Kurt Thomas role. What I do think is a good thing is Yao's new freedom to shoot that shot. We saw under JVG that Yao was basically not allowed to shoot when not posting up; this had the benefit of forcing a mentality of low post dominance on Yao (and incredibly successfully: remember when he ATE UP defenses earlier?) and somewhat deteriorating his other abilities. The idea of a dominant center is one who can foul out the entire opposing frontline, one who can change the game by his mere presence. Yao was that earlier this year. Just look at the other centers in the league: they were freaking terrified of him! Yao's rookie year was that of a very visually appealing player. That pass to Moochie was unbelievable, so was the Dreamshake. However, just look at the physical difference. Yao's gained at least 50 pounds of basically pure muscle. In the Utah series he was painfully slow--I think part of this was due to injury, but him trying that baseline spin on Okur was agonizing to watch. He doesn't have the quickness he had back then or necessarily the vision--as someone else pointed out, his high assist year was this year due to the constant double teams rather than any fancy passing. If you want Yao to play an effective high post game, it's impossible to not lose some of his low post dominance. He'll have to shed pounds and we'll have to live with a lot of turnovers while he refinds his passing touch. I hope Adelman sees what I see: the most dominant low post center in basketball. The high post is fine to mix it up a dozen or so touches a game, and to combat swarming defenses like GS and Phoenix. Adelman and Yao especially better realize what got him to become a 25 and 10 player, and work on things that will get him to be a 28 and 12: better passing out of doubles, taking care of the basketball, agility drilling. Yao's got to retain that mentality of dominance, the swagger that only the greatest, most unstoppable low post players had. They (Hakeem, Patrick, Shaq) knew that everytime they got the ball at a certain spot it was an automatic two. Nobody in the world was going to stop them from scoring the basketball; everyone in the arena knew it. Yao better not forget that once he starts shooting those 15 footers again. If he doesn't, I'm looking forward to an improved Yao that will shock the world. If he does, then these last two years were for nothing.
No, I remember read reports that JVG said Yao will not go out play at the high post as long as he's the head coach. something like that. Well, his wish was granted now.
Come one people. Yao can do BOTH!!! Anyone remember Dream, He worked on the low block but also shot a lot of jumpers from the high post or found cutters from there etc. It mixes up the plays, positions, etc. making less predicatable. Also, Yao is great, but we all know he won't get as many foul calls as he should. He was being mauled on the low block every play. By using the high post sometimes, he will take less of a beating.
Assistant has him afraid to make adjustments. You mean to tell me this went over you guys heads? It's pretty sad that he drilled this team into doing things the same way no matter what. Hey Yao, you want your opponent to be off balance not knowing what to expect. Call up Dirk and the Mavs and see what it did for them when Nellie played Avery like a puppet.
Truth is we don't have anyone who could handle Boozer, and yes Yao could have gone out and chased Okur and all that running around would have been sweet to see. I hear your points they are good ones, except it usually doesn't work to try to make a big change for a series and execute under playoff pressure. I have to agree with Tracy, the game 7 was on him. I told my sons that if Tracy posterizes 3 dunks in game 7 we would win... all it took was for him to get mad as **** and impose his will in the lane. If Tracy had gone hard to the rack with every ounce of his ability we would have won game 7 at least from the free throw line. Tracy looked timid most of the time coming around the high pick and he had many opportunities to take it hard to the rim... That was the difference for me... Lebron, a healthy Wade or Kobe would have attacked. Tracy keeps defining himself in the play offs as a perimeter shooter instead of player who attacks the rim. I find it hard to believe that Tracy couldn't attack Derrick Fischer... What is that all about
Yao is just too modest. I think he had many chances of almost getting triple double this regular season, and twice in the playoff series against Jazz.
Yao wants change. If you dont get results after 4 years, who doesnt want change? Cant blame Yao! What will Yao's stats next season? 29 points 11 rebounds, 2.5 assists 2.5 blocks. A career year is coming for Big Yao.
