For the X and O guys and coaches out there. Yao despite being 7'6" is a disappointing rebounder and I hear all the time from Tolbert and Legler that he'll never be a good rebouder outside of his space because he does not possess the athleticism to jump out of his area. Larry Bird didn't possess great athleticism and he was a decent rebounder, Bird I think did it with reaction time, he seemed to time his jump and was a split second faster to the ball, which helped hs rebounding. The question is: Do you think that Yao will ever become a decent rebounder and what does he need to do to get there?
Yao is already a decent rebounder, but I doubt he'll ever be a good one. Yes, he's young. But generally speaking, if you ask me to bet on if someone's gonna change in the future, doens't matter what it is, I'd say probably not. We all wish something about someone else can just change, so the world can be a better place. However, it's much harder for people to change than we think and we wish. Yao spent 24 years to become who he is today, and what makes us think that he will change from being a decent rebounder to a very good one?
A lot of the times I see him "miss" a rebound, its because he gets the ball knocked out of his hands (strength) or he has slow reaction time and gets out-jumped. Strength can obviously be improved... and reaction time is a bit more complex (but can be improved by an increase in such variables as desire, adrenaline, killer-instinct, wanting to be the best, etc.) Size clearly isn't everything... otherwise guys like Barkley, Rodman, or even Sura would never be getting the boards they did. Normally, his lack of reboudning doesn't really effect the team... since Sura grabs most of the long ones, and the team was rarely out-rebounded when he was there... but these last few games, its become an increasingly frustrating problem. #1 solution: Bring somebody else in who is a good rebounder.
Like Steve Francis. j/k really with Yao on the team I am beginning to think that we have to have an rebounding back court for this team to win.
It is better to ask what makes Amare S. a great rebounder. Answer: speed, quickness, timing, vertical leap, stamina, and hand/arm strength. In other words, athleticism. Answer: Swift.
I don't think Yao is even a good rebounder in his space. Sometimes the ball will bounce right to him, and if theres a man behind him pushing or going hard for it, Yao hardly ever comes up with it. If anything, Yao needs to learn the art of the rebound flop. It's not really a flop, but when a guy pushes you in the back when you're ready to get a rebound, you have to leap into the air so the push will send you flying forward so the refs can see it. Now, guys will push Yao off balance and then outjump him for the ball.
Amare really isn't much of a rebounder himself. Neither is Stromile Swift. Athelticism is not the most important factor in rebounding. Nor is size. The most important factor in rebounding is desire. It's the I-want-the-fxxxing-ball-more-than-you-do attitude that makes guys like Rodman, Barkley, and Ben Wallace great rebounders. Yao simply lacks that attitude. It's something that can not be taught. As someone said, the best way to solve this problem is to bring in a better rebounding four. Juwon has been doing a much better job on the boards lately.
Yao also tips a lot of rebounds outside rather than bringing it in. I'd bet this decreases his avg 1-2 rpg. but still accounts for the team controlling the ball. I'm okay with that. Nevertheless, Yao loses too many boards that get tipped/stripped from his hands.
No, a few percentage points more. But it is the type of rebound that he gets. Ming gets largely what comes to him at 7'6". Amare explodes to where the ball is, and looks spectacular doing it. Offensively, he looks dominant on the boards. Stats. can only go so far in comparing players. There are rebounds and there are critical rebounds. There is the dominance and intimidation factor which is largely psychological, but can win or lose games. If Amare was 7'6" and retained his athleticism how many rebounds would he average, 20, 30? It is almost freaky to think about. Bottomline, Ming needs a rebounding sidekick.
Yao is just too slow. His reaction time sucks. And he tends to have phases of Catoitus. (Butter Fingers) That's the only downside for our big guy, his reaction time is slow. On the offensive end though there is no question Yao rules.
Yao is just not a very good rebounder...he gets pushed around way too much... I mean come on he is 300lbs. he should be busting people out the way, but he is just a soft player. Hopefully the rockets can trade Yao for KG in the future, the pistons proved that you dont really need a center to win a championship.
Yao is never going to be a good rebounder, period. Reason: poor athleticism, slow reaction, virtually no vertical, no speed, short arm/hand. That being said, I think Yao can grab 10-12 boards per game eventally. Reason: One day he will box up, like other great centers. Right now, he let small players to get too close to himself. Knock out some unlucy ones he will crate space for himself. He will still only be able to grap the board of his area. But his area will be larger.
Thank you for pointing it out. Amare LOOKS like a better rebounder. But Yao REALLY gets more rebounds than Amare. I'd take reality over look everyday.
Is he really that great a rebounder then? Not a stats guy, but a great rebounder in my mind pulls in at least 10 boards a game (comparable to his minutes of course) Garnett is a great rebounder, Duncan is a great rebounder. I don't think Amare is exactly feared for his rebounding... maybe getting dunked on, but I don't see anything particularly special about his rebounding.. in fact, I think Yao has better fundamentals when he rebounds. Of all the attributes you mentioned about Amare's rebounding, only 2-3 of them can Yao really improve upon-- stamina, timing, and strength. Yao is never going to be a speed guy chasing down balls like Malik Rose. Gosh, I hate it when people use this argument, but i'll bite. Yes, if Amare was 7-6 and could retain his athleticism, he would be a monster. And if Earl Boykins was 6-5 instead of 5-5 he'd be the best player EVER to play the game. Stuart
Of course if Yao is 8' and retains all his other attibutes he would be able to get get 5-10 more rebs a game too.
