I had been a fan for years, and I got a feel yao's rebound and block will go up significantly this year(2+ blocks and 12+ rebounds). Under JVG's system, almost everyone's numbers are down. These years, Yao has almost the similar rebounds per minute as his rookie year while most aspects of his game are up. That's something to think about. In my opinion, that's due to his chasing guards effort and the energy-wasting banging in the paint(He keeps improving his stamina, but JVG keeps adding more unnecessary tasks to him). For example, yao used to admit that whenever he plays shaq under JVG, it's actually a lot easier because JVG will stick him inside with shaq instead of chasing guards outside. And of course shaq will defend him one on one to keep yao freshed without battling for position. Last season in Washington, there's a light problem before fourth quarter, and the final quarter was delayed for a few more minutes. I then told my friend to expect a great quarter from yao. The yao scored 23 pts in this quarter to single-handedly win the game. Need I to say why? I'm pretty confident yao can average 12 rebs per game, which may surprise many but not me. I could be wrong, but I hope I'm right.
Yao's lack of rebounding is not only because of runing out of gas. He loses tipoff 9 out of 10 times to much shorter but quicker opponent.
You're talking about pace but I doubt even if the pace goes up he'll average 12 rebounds per game. With a 16.0 rebound rate and the minutes he plays, even with a high pace the best he could get would be just below 11. However, he has had a 17.5 rebound rate year (05-06), which could lead to 12 rpg.
i think he has a chance also. a combo of staying healthy, playing a few more minutes a game average with that health, and more possesions a game. although you have a lot of above average rebounders for there position playing on this team now, and i think that may take a few here and there away from yao.
That's a good point. I never realized that. I expect him to average 11rebs/2.5blks. His arms are a bit short though(7'3" wingspan for a 7'6" guy!!??), else he woulda been giving us 14rebs/3.5blks
I think his rebounding will go up to around 10.2 to 10.5. I just don't ever see him rebounding consistently enough to top 11...hope I'm wrong. I think blocks per game stays around 2. All of which is fine and dandy. If Yao can still average 24-26 points per game, the biggest push to putting him towards an MVP caliber season should hopefully be in assists. Last year was his best passing year at 2 assists per game. If he can get that up to around 3 or 3.5 per game, watch out. 25 points, 10.5 boards, 3.5 assists, 2 blocks with a good FG%, and hopefully reduced turnovers...that's definitely something to write home about. For comparison purposes, last season Dirk (MVP) averaged, 24.6ppg, 8.9rpg, 3.4 apg, and 0.8 bpg.
They'll go up because he has better players around him and he won't be a one man team in the paint. There will be more spacing so defenders will be pulled further apart so Yao will have an easier time in the paint.
They may go up since he'll probably be a little further away from the paint, thus not have to battle as much for position. They may also go down due to Scola's board presence.
I predict Yao will score less, rebound less, and his minutes will decrease. I'm hoping he will loose some excess weight so that he can keep up with the offense. He will average around 21/9.0/(3.5 assist Which is a big upgrade ) We just have so many weapons for Yao and T-mac to be the focus. If one was to be the go to man it would be T-mac. One that Adelman has allready confirmed in an interview. We have Steve Francis one of the best rebounding guards in the league. And a more flowing ( moving offense ).. The thing I would want the most is that Yao gets less minutes so that when it came down to the 4th quarter he will have the energy to step it up. How many times have we seen Yao own the opposing team in the 1st or 2nd quarter, only to see him do nothing in the 4th.. We are a more balanced team with better rebounding something that will affect Yao's stats..
it's not about stats anymore guys. yao will still get his pts but i prefer him to shoot 55-57% rather than just break 50%. i don't look at the #s for defense. i want teams to be scared when they face us b/c yao will intimidate them. i don't see that yet. hopefully, next yr, yao will be the "INTIMIDATOR".
Hed have to start playing more than 40 minutes a game to get to 12 rebounds per game. Id be more than happy if he could just get back to that REBRATE of 17.5
personally, i would more like to see yao's assists go up instead of rebounding. in the old system yao plays like a isolated scoring point, i hope adalman's coaching will help bring his passing game back. im still hoping our overload 1 position will bring us a decent power foward to deeper the front court, possibly a 10/10 player, if that dream comes true, i dont think yao 's rebounding will going up significantly.
I think his numbers will consistently go up (scoring and assists, especially under Adelman's system). He exerts so much energy on the offensive side of the ball, I can't imagine his rebounding or defensive will improve a great amount. This, coupled with his obligation to the Chinese National Team. I know it was something that the Rockets and we as fans were willing to give up when he came here, but is anyone else frustrated with this situation? He could be in Houston working with Carroll Dawson or Hakeem, but instead he's practicing with second rate talent. Nothing he can do about it, of course, unless he defects... and I don't see that happening. Unless the Chinese government continues to criticize him for being late.
What interview are you referring to? I don't recall this interview. I don't understand why you would want to decrease Yao's minutes. His stamina has improved, and he is the most efficient player on the Rockets by far. He should be getting the most PT. 35 MPG is optimal, going too far below that is underusing him. I can't see his stats going back down to 21/9 territory unless something really bad happens, like another injury. I'm sure Adelman knows what he has in Yao and he will get ample touches in the post.
Question is, is it worth more to the Rockets to have Yao be a more efficient player, or have his volume of minutes go up, and consequently his aggregate stats. Ideally, these things would happen together, but it seems that Yao becomes less efficient the more he plays...marginal inefficiency of the next minute or something.
Yao's numbers will go up slightly, simply by the fact there will be more possessions in all of the rockets games next year. I can see them averaging 5-8 points per game more than they did last year, the biggest improvement will be his assist total and FG% and Rebounding. Can't really see him getting many more PPG than he did last year.
More possessions per game means more running up and down the court...don't be so sure about those stats going up, especially 5-8 points?
I'm trying to find the link but it was when they interviewed Rick in T.C. He was saying along the lines that he will not look for Yao to carry the scoring load as much as he did this past season and that he expects T-mac to score a bit more. Now this was before Bonzi resign and the pick up of Steve F. Your crazy if you haven't seen Yao fatigued in the 4th quarter??? He should get 35 min a game at MOST!!!! We need to have him step it up the most in the 4th when it matters... The opposing team will put more of a fight in the 4th than in the first 3 quarters... This is Rick A. Team now not JVG you are going to see them move alot ( ALOT more ) he will get fatigued just trying to run with the offense.. Vlade Divac only played 35.2 mpg for a season once and after that he averaged only 30 in SAC... He's the type of coach that if he knows you can get into your set ( plays ) quick enough he's going to swap you out with fresh legs... I love this system because it's really going to use T-mac more ( Cut, Drives, and Screens ) something we are all going to love.. I hate T-mac staying in the perimeter shooting J's at a 35% clip ... He's horrible at the 3pt line so why bother ( Drive to the frigin hoop man ). Well now with this new system ( more movent ) we are going to see higher FG% shots
