Do you think the Lakers will play Yao straight up with Bynum, or will they try to take him out of the game with Pau fronting?
He did pretty damn well getting up and down the court in the Portland series. I'd play him straight up if I'm the Lakers. You guys got a big team with the bodies to handle him- Bynum, Pau obviously but Mbenga could come in handy as a body to matchup with Yao. Odom could work decently as I will explain in the following: From a GS fan's perspective, we ALWAYS fronted him with very mixed results. Al Harrington seemed to be Yao's poison for a lot of the time. We'd usually front with Al but a lot of times Yao pinned him behind him. Of course Nellie had a friggin platoon of 6'3 guards digging at Yao immediately when he put the ball on the floor and we'd run his ass up and down the court at every opportunity. Also he'd have to come way out to the 3 pt line to guard Al. Some games it worked well and really gave Yao trouble. I think Harrington was so much quicker and shorter that Yao couldn't really make any power moves (Al was a good flopper) and then he also had to worry about Monta, Baron, Jack, Azu, Barnes, etc. swooping in from all angles and pressuring the shit out of him. Like I said, a few games it really took Yao out of the game. A few games they raped the shit out of us. Having seen a decent amount of Houston this season I'd say thats not a good thing to do. They pass extremely well, move off the ball extremely well. LAL has the bodies to match up with Yao and play him pretty much straight up.
Yao always gets tired when you get out on the break, and Lakers run more than Portland. Portland played the slowest pace in the NBA this I believe....
From listening to the commentators talk during the Portland series, apparently teams have the most success against Yao if they front him. Though I think the Lakers will just defend Yao straight up. It won't matter anyways, Lakers will win whether or not they contain Yao.
So you guys are saying Bynum will play for at least 30 minutes? Do you think Gasol will be used to front Yao? I am sure Phil will try to front Yao with Gasol at least once by game 5.
I would be very surprised if the Lakers don't front Yao the for the majority of the series. The more times Yao catches the ball in the post and has an opportunity to score, the more likely the Rockets will win. I think the Lakers will mix up their defense initially, but in the second half and in the fourth quarter they'll front for the most part.
We arent fronting...We have a big enough team that we dont have to. The Rockets suck big donkey dick. Yao is a bigger pussy than Pau!!!
the blazers have a big team too. fronting isn't about having enough size to guard yao. it's about it being the most effective way to defend yao and this rockets team. if the lakers don't front yao i'll be shocked and happy and the odds of the rockets winning the series would increase.
They would be better off fronting Yao because it's harder for Yao to catch the ball and creates a tough passing angle. I'm more worried about the Lakers containing Scola and closing out on the corner 3's by Houston. I also agree with JRay, the Lakers are going to run Yao dog tired in this series. There's a lot more pressure on him to defend against Bynum or Gasol versus Oden & Joel P.
Maybe, but Yao always faces tough defenses. Every single NBA game teams focus on him, so he's seen it all. Battier, Artest, and Wafer is something Kobe has never seen before in the playoffs.
It doesn't matter because none of those guys can check Kobe one on one. The dilemma Houston is going to face just like every other team in the league facing the Lakers is who do you double team? Both Gasol and Kobe can pick a defense apart if you use single coverage on them. If you double team either player it opens up opportunities for Ariza, Odom or Fisher to burn you. And as I mentioned before, Houston has no answer for the Lakers high pick and roll.
Scola can check Gasol. The pick and roll with Kobe and Gasol will hurt the Rockets. Houston hasn't had an answer for Kobe in the 4th all year. If he continues to tear it up, LA might sweep. I expect to see something different, starting with tonight. I can take losing to Kobe for 3 quarters, but not 4. Someone else has to beat us in the 4th.
The Lakers forced two turnovers by fronting Yao in the first quarter. The front is best strategy against him, and the Lakers will realize it soon enough.
