Yao needs to concentrate on Defense and Rebounding

You really think Yao has only struggled once against Darko and players like him? Do some more observing before you call me out.

And it doesn't help Yao that Tracy is out either.

 

Read durvasa's post. He said it better than I did. When he runs into teams with players that are superior in athleticism, quickness, instincts, etc. he will have trouble. It's something he has to deal with. Effort isn't the problem.

 

HORSE CRAP.....he lets more athletic players take him out of the game...he could use his height to punish them...but he doesn't.

He is too nice.

DD

 

I believe you. I would caution against looking strictly at per-game numbers, though. The more points you score per game, naturally the more rebounds you'll tend to get (the more you score, the more minutes its likely you're getting ... and if you're getting more minutes, you're on the court longer to get more rebounds).

Also, it's a good idea to separate out the offensive and defensive rebounding. A player like Yao, who relies so much on his size advantage for scoring, will naturally get more offensive rebounds when he's rolling offensively. The really interesting thing to compare is how his defensive rebounding connects to his shooting/scoring. That's what I tried to show.

 

rookie year
16/13, 18/12, 17/15, 18/15, 15/12, 12/12, 11/17, 13/10, 12/10, 10/10, 11/19, 13/16.

2nd year
10/11, 16/11, 12/14, 18/10, 15/10, 12/10, 10/10, 17/12, 12/11, 19/10, 17/11, 12/10

3rd year
14/11, 13/14, 15/17, 14/10, 12/13, 14/11, 14/15, 19/12, 13/11

4th year
14/10, 15/12, 17/12, 13/13, 19/12

5th year
17/10, 16/11, 9/11

6th year
19/17, 19/13, 11/10, 17/12, 12/12, 16/14

this year
16/11, 17/15, 19/12, 19/10, 18/11

this is a quick and dirty scramble of all the games yao played where he had <20pts but double digit rebounds - in the regular seasons. that was 52 out of 424 games played. this year he's played 21 games so far; so that's 5 out of 21 for the season.

i have no idea how this compares to the similar numbers of, say, tim duncan's. just want to put it out there.

 

Just because Yao is taller than his defender, doesn't mean he can automatically punish them. You make it seem like it's so easy, like you have experience doing what he has to do. Yao has a short wingspan, while the players guarding him might be shorter but can jump way higher and have longer reach. They can intimidate his shots if not block him. They can get rebounds he can't get.

Yao is not Shaq. He's not Dwight, and he's not Amare. He can't dominate just on his size alone. You should know that by now. It's not his identity. He is what he is - a finesse center. It works great against some teams and fails hard against other teams.

 

Just stop, great players find a way to impose their will....Yao......not so much.

IBM.....did you notice the decline?

DD

 

splash, i'm with you on this one. effort is never or very very rarely yao's problem.

any player has matchup issues. yao is of no exception.

 

Ok, maybe I am not being clear enough, it is not necessarily about EFFORT but more about him getting down on himself and not staying consistent in his going after rebounds or playing defense.

If he is scoring he plays harder on both ends, if his shot is not falling he hangs his head.

That is what we are talking about.

DD

 

Yao has lost some upper body strength, and that is the problem.

 

That's the problem which shouldn't be a problem. That is kinda like the rox in general sometimes. They don't have a lot of versitile,multi tool players that can help in other ways even if they're not having good scoring night. Back to Yao, he misses rebounds just like he gets pushed off his spot, leverage. Part of that is playing too high which he does when he gets tired. When he gets tired or isn't scoring, he plays lazy. Not lazy as in giving up everything, but lazy as in playing high on offense and defense and not giving the effort needed to get rebound position, bump and release to go get the ball. On offense, he loses leverage, gets pushed out of position and either plays like a big softie, or just don't even try to battle through for positioning. Effort,angles, and anticipation. That's why Barkley, Rodman, Micheal Cage all can be 6'8 or shorter and pull down 14 rebs a game in a season. That's why Grant Hill one yr from the 3 spot avg 10 rebs a game. That's why scola for all his shortcomings can grab 7 rebs per 27 mins. You can't get pushed under the rim and expect to grab rebounds. You have to be in a certain position, probably where charge zone is at, put ur ass on someone, knees bent, and anticipate the carom of the ball and go get it.

 

The entire team is one of front runners......they need to be tougher mentally to go anywhere significant in the playoffs.

DD

 

i've already agreed with leebig in another thread earlier that yao does tend to have this issue SOMETIMES. (and this also has to be put into the context that every great player has bad games and off nights from time to time.)

but to classify it as an effort problem is false, at least not accurate.

yao has declined - from his short mvp-like run 2 years ago. it seems to me he's lost some of his upbody weight and strength and this has created some problems for him (eg., last night). but i am not sure if that's good or bad in the long run.

i'm still hoping yao can go back to his status 2 years ago. i don't think he's 100% as of right now - both physically and mentally. will he eventually get there i don't know. but i think he's got another shot.

 

Where have you been????? You need to send this VIDEO to Daryl Morey, because he is in "denial".

I have been preaching this forever now!! The Rockets have the same problems they have had for the past 4 or 5 years, they are too small and too weak upfront. Chuck Hayes is too small, Yao and Scola are too weak - they don't finish strong, neither do they get long rebound. To often, the opposition
rebounds the ball over the top of them. We need someone who is long enough to rebound and block some shots. You can't continue to send out the same lineup hoping for a different result.

I hope we can make it to the NBA Championship this year but I just think Scola and Yao do not bring enough defense and rebounds on a consistant basis to win a championship!!

 

I'm with DD on this one. It's not that anyone wants him to be Shaq... but the deal is... SOMETIMES we see he CAN do it. He CAN be dominant, he CAN block shots, and he CAN slam the ball.... but all too often, he lets aggressive competition and lack of referee support affect his play.

He gets in ruts where he lets those things make him play timidly. He seems afraid to take advantage of his skills and attributes at times. Does this mean I think he should be Shaq or Amare? no. It means that when I see first hand that he is capable of playing stronger, and then doesn't, that it disappoints me, knowing he could be more dominant. Hakeem told him so. No, he's no Hakeem (only Hakeem is Hakeem), but Dream told him the mentality he needs, and he just hasn't been able to consistently employ it.

Perfect example... last night against the Hawks. Pechulia started basically cheating in the third, and it got him down. He was getting away with murder, and instead of shoving it back in his face and teaching him a lesson, he let it affect HIS intensity for nearly the entire third period. But then something happened (Wafer's block? better passing? some ref support? whatever) He comes back in the fourth and was awesome... spinning in the paint between defenders, hitting his shots and getting the foul, basically, gaining confidence to return to being what he should be... dominant.

I like Yao as much as anyone, but he has the skills, attributes, and ability to be a more dominant player than he is, and frequently, it's EXTERNAL factors that shouldn't be changing his game... but still do.

I think it will improve, with slightly regulated minutes, a little more time under his belt, maybe an injury free season would help.

Point is, Yao COULD be even better than he is. Rather, he is, and just doesn't seem to know it.

I do sometimes think he's too worried about fouling out. He's important to the team, and as seen last night, especially in the fourth, but if he's going to be a liability with his timid play, he's no better than fouling out of a game being sensibly aggressive... in my opinion.

 

Very well said. Besides the physical limitations that Yao has, his mentality is more critical for him to be dominant.

 

yao had a great game, but he still has the same weakneses. he'll have another porous defensvie and rebounding game sooner or later.

i just hope it NEVER happens in the playoffs, when every possession does count. watching the youtube clips is murderous.

 

That's because Yao isn't a great player by that standard. I wouldn't call him a superstar. Too many holes in his game that defenses can feast on. Unfortunately he's pretty much the anti-thesis of the man we wanted him to become (Hakeem). His mentality will never involve imposing his will on another player/team. But more than anything, he just doesn't have the physical strength and athleticism to dominate every team in this era of the NBA.

Even Morey wonders why more teams don't front Yao. If more teams do, then the number of ineffective games he has will increase. I would much rather treat him like a role player. In games where he matches up well with defenders, then feed him the ball. But when he's playing teams like Boston, Memphis, etc. rest him more and don't run the offense through him. It's just not efficient. This team has plenty of other weapons to win without him when the matchup doesn't favor him.

 

You will not be a rookie for long. Nice post.

DD

 

great post.