Yao kills us. They didn't make a big enough effort to get the ball into him. I know we played good defense on him and as they rotated the ball, Greg and Joel managed to keep him fronted. But HOLY FUCKIN HELL! If I was a Rockets fan I would be pulling my hair out watching Aaron Brooks and Ron Artest dribble the clock out while Yao just fights and waits to rebound the ill-advised shot. Let's all hope they abandon Yao again on Thursday.
If you want to watch a clueless basketball team then watch the Bulls try to execute a play that isn't off the fast break (wow, they take bad shots!) In my opinion the Rockets aren't clueless they are just frustrated and a little impatient -- Brooks looks a little lost running an offense; I mean he's a talented scorer for sure and quick as lightning, but like most young point guards he seems to really struggle making the timely pass.
this is the problem with the rockets. one of the reasons they were better after tmac shut it down and alston was traded is because those guys were even worse at getting yao involved. but artest still fails to make smart plays a lot of the time and brooks is hit or miss in that regard. brooks still has time to develop into a guy who knows the right play to make. artest is beyond help.
Ya, how we bitch about Oden not getting the ball, just imagine what it'd be like to be a Houston fan and the Rockets don't get the ball to Yao! I know I'd be so piss. Oden is at least a rookie so there is some excuse, but Yao seems to always hit his shot, open a easy shot for someone else, or draws a foul. A lot of credit is due to our centers and even LMA at time, but they are not trying near as hard as they could to get Yao the ball. As others have said hope it continues! From what I've read they do have problems when teams fronts Yao and if they start to panic worrying about another 1 round and out they just might be even more impatient!!
I still don't get why they just simply look at him, and if he's fronted, they just go one on one and ignore him. The dude is 7-6! Just throw it up there and let him grab it. No one is going to outstretch him if you throw the ball up 8 feet in the air. But good for us I guess.
Yao's hands aren't that great. There's a reason they don't throw a lot of lobs for him; he needs a bounce pass or chest pass.
He can't really jump, either. So a leaper could intercept that pass pretty easily. Heck, Outlaw's leapt in there to block his shot a few times in the series. If 6-8" Outlaw can block Yao, then Yao's not getting up there very high.
So if he's posting up and he stretches his arms straight up in the air, he can't catch the ball? Man... seems like he's a little more skilled than that.
This problem goes way back to even the Steve Francis and Cutino Mobley years. And on his Chinese team. Yao has never had somebody who could deliver him the ball. I've been blaming the Rockets' offense, as recently as fifteen minutes ago. But now that I think about it, if the same team problem plagues a player for six straight years, on both the NBA level and the international level, at some point you have to stop blaming the teams and look at the player. When was the last time anybody ever complained about Duncan not getting enough touches? Has that problem ever plagued him over a major part of a season? Yet much of his career has been played next to a shoot-first PG in Parker. How about Shaq? Sure, he's bitched to the media at times about touches, but it might've been after 4 or 5 games. It's never struck me as a systemic problem on any team he's been on. Maybe the Rockets are stymied by Yao being fronted because Yao is stymied by Yao being fronted.
Yao just isn't very agile moving side to side to open himself to a pass - something Both Duncan and Shaq were. They just made themselves available for a pass better. This is one of the reasons I really want to see Oden regaining his explosive athletic ability next year. If we do not give him the ball more often then - we are doing something wrong.
of course yao has always played on a team with steve francis, tracy mcgrady, or ron artest. all three of those guys were capable of getting yao the ball, but also have felt like they deserve to be able to do whatever they want on offense and run the show. the rockets are doing well now because artest has the worst guard skills of the 3, so he is unable to actually force the offense to himself as much as he would like.
that would be great for the blazers. i would encourage the rockets to let artest walk in the offseason.
Seriously? I mean, I can see how frustrating it is, but the guy has been a great defender, and he's actually got a nice perimeter shot (finally). I'd actually love to have Artest in a Blazers' uniform. Our team has great ball movement, so much so that even Outlaw seems to exist reasonably well in it (well, he did until this series). If we could swap out Batum and Outlaw's minutes and insert Artest (bench Batum, let Outlaw walk), we'd have a kick ass team. And Roy wouldn't be stuck guarding all the great swingmen during crunch time. I know there's the whole "anti-Jail Blazers" thing to consider, but we've got so many choir boys, and Roy has such a strong personality. And the team has such a no-nonsense approach to the game. You just know Przybilla and Roy could keep him in line. One caveat: Portland shouldn't sign him for more than two years. With a guy like Artest, you just can not even consider a long-term contract. He's just too volatile. Any team that signs him needs an exit strategy. Provided you have that, though, he'd be a great pickup.
seriously. i don't want to have to deal with the guy. i loved the move when they brought him in. it was a huge upgrade in getting him for how little the rockets had to give up. but i'm ready for him to leave. yes, he's a great defender but he's not a smart defender. he's just a good player period but one who just makes incredibly stupid plays far too often and can't be relied on. a crazy fadeaway 3 is never a better option than getting the ball in the post. and he makes dumb defensive plays as well. against the lakers this year(in a game artest was in the process of singlehandedly losing), he wildly gambled for a steal when there were three seconds left on the shot clock leaving kobe wide open to knock down a 3. there is no doubt in my mind that if the rockets are able to put away the blazers in this series, that ron artest will personally give away two games that the rockets have a shot at winning against the lakers just through stupid plays. i'd rather have a more reliable player even if he's consistently worse than artest is at the times artest is playing well. i think it could be argued that the only player who has made dumber plays than artest this season is zach randolph.
yeah that has to be frustrating for houston coaches and fans. maybe they go after nash or kidd? i'm not sure of their cap situation
Yao is a rhythm player. Other than dunks, notice the shots he hits...they're in the context of a fluid motion. As long as the Blazers disrupt that, Yao will become less and less effective.
