Just like i made that crybaby yao touch report, except you took it to another level. He ouches the ball alot, he's just reluctant on shooting. How many big men can or will touch the ball 40 times. Also durvasa, did you see how many times shane just stood opposite side and didnt provide a good angle for a pass by yao? If yao is on 1 blk and shane is on the other side, why stand in the deep corner?
I think the biggest concern with Shane, for me, is that he's not just physically off his game, he seems to be mentally off...and for a player like him, that's really the more important aspect. He needs to go do some yoga or zen or something. As for the discussion at hand....I don't understand why they don't run more pick and roll? If Yao is having difficulty with the defender of the night sealing him off, or the post-up player is having difficulty getting him the ball, they should go to a quick PnR. I know Shane isn't the best ballhandler for this situation, but with Brooks, Lowry, Artest, Wafer...pretty much anyone else, a pick and roll should work. ESPECIALLY with Brooks. Players like Williams, Paul, Nash make their living on pick and rolls. The Rockets used to do a lot more of it. I don't think the offense should be reduced to Yao/Ron post-ups and pick and rolls, but last night was a clear example where it should have been used more. Gasol, like Yao, is a pretty bad lateral defender. And the Lakers were using a lot of pressure on the ball handler. Offensively, I think Yao's key area of focus this offseason should be 15-18 foot jumpers. I don't want him to become Big Z like, but if he can add that to his arsenal consistently, I think pick and roll or pick and pop becomes much more dangerous with him, and more variety should make his post game more dangerous, too.
My guess is that is just how the Rockets run their offense. Were there any instances where a player other than Shane was standing on the opposite corner, and they made the shallow cut or basket cut you're recommending? The way I see it, for Yao to pass the ball over the defenders trapping him, it will have to be a high overhead pass. What is the best spot for Shane to go to in order to improve his passing angle? Keep in mind that our PF is often hanging around closer to the basket (which I think is where you want Shane to go) and he didn't receive many looks from Yao either.
Remember that play when Lowry cut from the corner to the middle and Yao drop him the ball? I think players should do more of that, it's much easier for Yao the weak hand to pass a short distance than all the way to the corner when weak-side doubled.
I'm not trying to take credit for this idea, but I remember asking Leebigez and Kwame do something similar to this on Battier. Of course they never did it cause they are all talk. Kudos to durvasa, I'll watch it when I get the chance.
I'm thinking Scola or Landry with a quick cut to the top of the FT line would be simple enough. We ran that play for Scola and it worked well. Granted Yao would have to drop the ball off quickly but it woul be better than a cross court pass to Shane or whoever is on the weakside 3pt line.
I'm just not that great with doing the video/editing stuff. If i put it down on paper, you wouldnt believe it anyway. Durvasa- i have watched adelmaan coach a long time and his offense is read and react, thats why he never hardly calls plays. Just like phil and the triangle, the answers are within. Watch scola dive and cut presenting yao with a clear target. Wafer does it also. I forgot which clip, but shane actually dove to the basket, but instead of reading and reversing back out once kobe left, he continued to the opposite corner. I bet if you were to ask adelman off camera, he would say he never tells a guy to just stand opposite corner.When he was opposite and kobe started going to yao, shane shouldve walked right behind him.
Probably because those guys were veterans that know how to play fundamentally sound basketball. The only player that knows how to pass it to Yao is Battier and Lowry, although Battier made many mistakes in the Lakers game. He is often times able to pass well against Yao. If it is possible to say Battier had a bad night that night. And that shows you that Yao is not the problem. His passers are. I would really like to see how good Yao would really be if he was actually played in a system where we can unleash his full potential and not have brain dead players pass it to him.
Battier will routinely cut to the basket when he's on the strong side, or even if he's up top as Yao is getting into his move. So I can't think of a reason why Battier would just be sitting in that corner, unless that is the actually what the coaches want him to do. It seems logical to me that if the coaches didn't like that, they'd tell him, and he'd listen to them and cut to the basket from the opposite corner just as he does when he's elsewhere. When Kobe leaves Shane to double on Yao, the Lakers have 3 defenders in the paint. If Shane tries to follow behind Kobe, he's losing that precious separation he needs to get a shot off cleanly. And, honestly, I'm not so certain he'd be presenting Yao with a better passing angle either. I guess that depends on how the Lakers have stationed their defenders. What I'll be looking for in the coming games is a counter-example, where someone other than Shane (e.g. Wafer) is in that opposite corner, and when his man drops off him to pressure Yao he goes to the basket. That will help me visualize what you're talking about better.
When I wrote "Entry pass problems", that doesn't mean it was exclusively his teammates fault. When a pass does not connect with the recipient, in my opinion blame has to be shared.
As I said in another thread, Yao's main problem is the SLOW move he starts after he gets the ball in the post. He seems always wait & look for a couple seconds to decide what to do, and that time allows the defense to make the adjustment, close the defensive gaps. The coaches need to draw some plays to spread the floor more, so he has more time to make his move before defense can adjust; and Yao also needs to make his move quick, instead always wait for something happen. You always want to dictate how the defense react, not let the defense to controls you.
BTW, this is what Pau said after the game about his defense on Yao: [rquoter] (on defending Yao) “I tried to mix it up with him and play him aggressively. I had to get into his body and push him as hard as I could.. It was hard work but it paid off. The refs allowed a lot of contact and there were not a lot of fouls called.” [/rquoter]
Although that is true, stuff like this would honestly never happen under the system of Jeff Van Gundy. He would really never let any rookies or young players play for him because he knows that they would make mistakes like they currently are making, well Lowry isn't making those mistakes though. I think a strict coach is honestly needed around here, Do you remember what kind of coach Rudy T. was durvasa?
Was he laid back like a Rick Adelman? From what I recalled during the beginning of the Steve Francis era, He would let him do what every he wants and just put the ball in his hands. I would really like to know what kind of coach Rudy T was during the championship years.
