As much as I like Yao I have to say truly great players can not be neutralized as easy as Yao is when defenses front him. I think it might be prudent for the Rockets to work it into their game plan that when a team starts fronting Yao he slides out to the high post. If he can prove that he can hit a high percentage of 15 - 18 ft. jumpers (I think he can) then teams will be more reluctant to front him when they know he will just slide outside and hurt them from there. I think a 60/40 or 75/25 mix of low/high post would make Yao and the Rockets truly great. All Yao would have to do is react to how the opposing team is defending him. If they front him, then slide outside for jumpers which also clears the lane for penetration. If they don't front him then stay low and kill them from there. This would be a very easy way to utilize Yao's true potential and take away the opposing teams ability to neutralize him .
Yao must develop a consistent perimeter game and the drive to finish strong around the basket. He should take notes on how Dwight Howard finishes.
Just a gentle reminder, you should have been reading my posts as I have been covering this subject since 2002 and brough it up less than two weeks ago.Y
Not really change his game, just evolve his game like all good players are suppose to do. First off, his stamina needs to increase. Having better stamina to be able to not only play 35mins, but to be really effective in those 35 mins would help a lot. In the 4th qt's, u can really see Yao dragging. If he increases his stamina and core stregnth, he can get some easy post ups by rebounding and running down the middle of the floor. Shaq,dream, and robinson was great at this. Next, film study. Yao isn't a dumb player, but he's a slow thinker. He doesn't handle variables well and overthinks. If he watched more film and can anticipate cuttger before the cut to deliver passes, ghe offense would really open up for this team. Even on a team with buck williams and duckworth, not to mention the kings teams, adelman has always like having his bigs making passes. It opens the baseline and gets everyone involved. Finally, the mid range shot and off the blocks jumpers. This is a great shot for yao. He can shoot them and make them at a high clip. While on post ups and brooks dribble drives, he can step off the block baseline for a easy 10-12 ft jimmy. That shot is no different than the baseline fades he shoots on a consistent basis. The ft line jumper is the answer to fronting. Once again, its a shot yao can shoot, he just needs to make sure he sets his pick in range so on kickback, he just shoots. Just like brooks, Yao is a better shooter/scorer when he already has in his mind he's going to shoot. Yao just needs to get comfortable in those shots and let them fly. Its not going to entirely change the offensive attack and root him out the post, but it gives him a chance to be a play finisher and just stroke the ball.
i am concerned now that his stamina will be a bigger issue with the foot injuries. how can he work on bb conditioning when he is so fragile with his feet. i would imagine less court work? all i see is the beginning of the end for yao. still very good but it is impossible for players to just change who they are over and over. makes more sence to surround him with others who do things he can't. i don't remember shaq, or dream or any player for that matter changing their game so often. impossible i think.
and to compare core strength? of shaq, dream and robinson to anything yao does is crazy. core strength? yao should be compared to Muresan, Bradley, Eaton and Bol. That is who he is not Ewing, robinson, shaq, dream, etc. I think that is a bigger factor in our expectations of yao more than anything. we need to stop comparing him to players 50 lbs lighter and more than 6 inches shorter.
Once his foot heals, his training can be more resistance training. Parachute and pool work. Those methods increases cardio plus minimizes the strain. Also core strength. That's power cleans either from the floor or ground. His core needs to get better. The more air you can intake, the stronger you are. A lot of pool running will do wonders for a guy like yao. If he can endure running in water or with a parachute on his back, imagine how it would be without being in a pool and without a paracute.
pros of yao with a consistent jumper 1. we won't have to waste most of the shot clock getting yao the ball against fronting defense 2. we can space the floor for our other post options, scola, artest, tmac 3. yao doesn't have to wear himself out in the low post throughout the course of the season 4. opens up penetration
i an advocate of this. however, adelman tried this with yao for the first month or so of the season last year when he took over the helm and yao actually "complained" about his role. i doubt yao will change his role, though i love for him to do so.
Yetti Always have enjoyed your posts. If you would like we can even have the mods edit your name into my OP as some sorty of psychic ghost writer.
that's pretty much what i have had in mind for yao. well said. like any great player, yao needs to evolve his game. and this summer is the best time for him to do it, since he's free for the first time.
If I may, leebigez... I agree with everything you've said here about Yao. But all this hinges on Yao's mindset and approach to playing the game. The focus of the offense has always been about Yao. He's 7'6". 300 pounds. Skilled. Intelligent. Dedicated. Unpretentious. Did I mention he's skilled? Yao's had a deferential mindset about who he is in the NBA, and who he CAN be, in my opinion. I admit, I'm not as good at character study as most people around here are, but Yao is a very thoughtful person and player. He always wants to make the best choice during the game, especially on offense. He hasn't quite figured out yet, to me, that the Rockets' best choice is HIM. The only thing I think Yao needs to do is lose 10-15 pounds. Rick Adelman doesn't want Yao out of the low post anywhere near as much as we all might like to think. He just needs Yao to be healthy and a bit more mobile on offense. And a bit more selfish offensively. Yao is very versatile offensively, and Adelman had said several times during the playoffs that the reasons why fronting defenses work so well against Yao, besides how his teammates reacted to it, is that too often he tried wrestling with people on the same side of the floor for too long. Once Yao gets fronted, he should move to the high post instinctively, and quickly. More activity by Yao helps out against those defenses as much as anything else. That's why I like Rick Adelman. He can adapt his offensive philosophy to his personnel. What the personnel have to be is smart enough to react to how they're being defended. Yao is who he is. But he can be a little more.
right? there are so many qualifiers for yao at this point. needs new players to get him the ball when he's fronted needs to be moved out to the perimeter to combat the fact he has a difficult time getting position needs to be moved out to the perimeter in hopes that it keeps him from missing MORE time needs big guys around him now to rebound since he's gonna be hanging out at the perimeter
But every story has a sequel. Let's surround the player you've described with role players who stand firmly rooted at the arc (they did), struggled mightily to get easy transition baskets (they did) and then over-hype the results when Yao gets injured and the wins (22 of 'em) continue against sub .500 teams (they were) or a team (LAL) going thru the motions (they were). Moral to the "story". The sooner the Rockets understand Yao is what is, the better they can focus on defining what's really needed from the other 7 or 8 rotational players.
