I was 6'6" so I played center in Jr. High. I was taught then not to tip rebounds backward, because I didn't know who I was tipping too. Yao tips several rebounds every game, and a high percentage of the time they go to the other team right under their basket. That is a bad as a turnover. Sometimes it makes for an easy putback. Yao should be ashamed of himself, that at 7'6" he tips rebounds standing flatfooted instead of jumping up and grabbing them. Where are the Rocket's coaches and what does Ewing do all day?
he probably doesn't have the reaction time to just go up and grab it, so it tips it. At least if he tips it, there is a chance it goes to a teammate, instead of going 100% to the other team.
Rodman would always tip rebounds and he's arguably the greatest rebounder in history then again he wasn't 7'6".
When you are on the offensive end, you alwasy try to tip the rebound backward hard so it can reach near half court where your guard is.
Unless Ewing or Van Gundy can come up with some sort of bionic implants to improve Yao's combination of not good hands, slow reaction time, slow lateral movement, and slo-mo, lead footed leaping, there's not a whole hell of a lot they can do, and they have said as much.
Sam, You are absolutely right. But, as I recall he didn't seem that slow his rookie year. He has fair foot speed end-to-end, but he has no quickness at all. Can this be fixed in anyway or are we stuck with it for his carreer. Can the coaches do something to cover up rhis deficiency?
I think we can agree that Rodman and Yao can not exist in the same sentence about rebounding(except this one). And, if Rodman tipped it to himself, which he often did, then he certainly knew to whom he was tipping the ball.
Thank you. Yao is just not physically blessed with quickness, which is essential for rebounding. He does have good fundamentals which can help him be a good rebounder provided he have help down low. He can perhaps average 11 rebounds a game max, but he would nmever approach Rodman or ben wallace type numbers
I've said this a few times myself but I think it's an incorrect assesment. Yao is pretty quick for his size, I've seen him spin and move quickly with great footwork. He doesn't lack quickness, he lacks reaction time and timing. The ball goes clank, Yao only has a split second to react since his heigth puts him closer to the basket than smaller guys. A short guy has more time to react and can probably get a better perception of how the ball will bounce to meet the ball for the rebound. Yao has less room for error. Add that to a natural slower reaction time and boxing out your defender... equals a poor rebounding percentage. Some night he will put up 10+ just due to his size and being in the right place at the right time, but i doubt he will ever be a great rebounder until he can grab rebounds without relying on a strong box out, meaning to out hustle the defender and meet the ball before he does. I believe he can improve from what he is now but i don't think he can be anything more than a 10.5rpg guy. That is no slouch either anyway.
what yao need is to not rotate downlow and try to contest a lot of shots, and have a PF that can hang inside. A lot of missed shots are long rebounds which usually bounce off the rim and drop to mid post or highpost. That's where guards and other quicker guys can reach first and where Yao could not use his height to his advantage. Yao did a pretty good job considering the defensive assignment he had. We're blessed to have Sura and TMac that can board. Yao uses his size to his advantage to box out opponent and help secure the rebound for no second chance point when the whole team is on defensively.
If Yao had as much determination to rebound the ball as he does to run and be the first one to help any fallen teammate up off the hardwood, he'd be one of the best.
That must piss you off royally, I've seen you mention this like 4 times already lol wth happened to the guy who pushed that stupid guard 12 feet on his behind.
yao can be a top rebounder but his rebounding is inconsistent like the rest of his game. when he looks like he is really concentrating and trying, like near the end of games during clutch time, he looks like he can grab rebounds and get position as well as anyone in the game. for you people who think he is a bad rebounder then yall are simply mistaken. he is not a bad rebounder. he is simply not as good as he could be. right now for players who play over 30 mpg yao is 12th in rebs per 48 min. thats not bad just so yall know. and he is not bad for his size most good rebounders are not over 7 feet tall. yao is actually a pretty good rebounder considering his size.
Yao has some disadvantages with his lack of quickness, foot speed and jumping ability. But I still think he can be a decent rebounder. Yao was a better rebounder last year with Cato as his partner to help fight the other bigs downlow. I bet if we added someone like Stromile Swift to the front court we would see Yao's rebounds actually rise as well as the overall team defense. Howard/Padgett/Tayor is just not a good PF partner for Yao. Yao needs to be paired with a quick leaping PF in the Chandler, Swift, Camby mold.
Deuce: I think I have to award you the brass ring for your answer. Maybe that is why I thought Yao looked quicker last year. I know when I was young (14-15) I was so much taller than everyone around me that I tended not to jump either for rebounds or when I shot. Wasn't that I could not, I just did not. That is a coaching problem. Although, IMO rebounding is mostly knowing the angles and ball bounce geometry and can be learned to some extent. Several posters have noted that Deke has had an impact on Yao's rebounding. That's good and if Yao would quit tipping to nobody, on our team, that would be better.
But Rodman was able to tip the ball to himself precisely because he was one of the greatest "quick leapers" in NBA History. I don't mean that he could jump out of the gym, I mean that he could just get up and down so quickly - he would often squeeze out 2-3 jumps in the period of time when a normal player would get in 1. He looked like he was on a pogo stick sometimes. Yao does not possess that kind of springiness.
