David West is a power forward who is a speedy guy like Carlos Boozer but not as strong But here it is Can't find the article though, It was on the Houston Chronicle.
Agreed!! Its about time for Yao to stop being the dominent helper and become the dominent scorer! It's upto the coach to tell Yao what he expects from him.
yao is the SLOWEST big man in the league. of course he will struggle against quick PF and C's like Boozer and David West. he's also not a great shot blocker because he isn't good at timing blocks or grabbing rebounds. i wish Yao would watch videos of Mutombo on defense. if Yao had Mutombo's defense and rebounding, he would be the best big man in the league.
Which tells u stats are for suckers. When yao goes out and deke comes in, the defense is just as good if not better. If yao goes out and landry,hayes or scola plays center, the defense is worse because of the smallish guys. If u think the Magic are a better team with Howard off the floor, then please cut your t.v. on and watch.
Yao is a great post defender, a decent help defender a poor to average defender anywhere outside of the zone and a non-factor at 3. but isnt that what he's suppose to be??
Pretty much, he's average to above average for plays with outside of the box area I would say he's all-defensive capable.
Yao is the ANCHOR of the Rockets' defense. And ever since he joined the team, the Rockets' defense has been top 5 in the league. Period. He may not be good at help defense, but he is a good one on one defender at the center position, and a GREAT anchor for the team defense.
Yao's defense is underrated but let's not overrate it in this board. Yao is good at using his body and he definately puts in the effort. However, he is slow (partly because 7-6 280lb frame) and is not the most fundamental defender. He is not a liability on defense but he does get exposed sometimes.
"stopping" David West? Forcing David West to make open shots isn't a solid defensive strategy if you are trying to shut down a player. Battier and Artest never are put in a position where they basically give their man something. Thats how shutdown defenders shut their players down. If Yao was a shutdown defender he should be able to guard players out at 15 feet as well as 5 feet. This is what makes actual shutdown bigs good (your Ben Wallaces, Cambys and Howards.. notice they all have similar builds too). Yao isn't a crappy defender mind you, cause he's smart enough to not give up more than he needs. But he's no elite defensive C.
yao is a good defender who tries hard. but he has weaknesses and it's adelman's job to sit him when he's faced against those weaknesses (facing a guy like boozer or harrington--JVG just let him stay out there and get destroyed). v. a typical post player like duncan, yao does very well. so lesson - quick/shooting/fast big men -> sit yao down more and go with the small lineup
Depend on Yao's offense. In those cases, if he lose his touch, you have to put him back to the bench.
He just made West shoot over him. Thats not stopping him, thats just picking the lesser of two evils. Again, he's not a crappy defender. But shutdown defenders would never have to force their guy to shoot over him. They would be able to contest the jumpshot and be quick enough to get back when the guy drives.
Yes... but is it shutting him down? He's basically hoping he can't make the jumper. Which, in that game he didn't. Battier never has to resort to that type of defense. Neither do your defensive Cs (Wallace, Howard, Camby).
The following posters know what they are talking about: Anyone with divergent opinions is either a Yao fans boy or lacks a basic understanding of basketball.
