We all know that Yao has horrible stamina. However, this comes as no real surprise when he's 7'6" and weighs nearly 320lbs. Perhaps just as debilitating is his lack of mobility that results from the weight. I know he worked with Anthony Falsone in the off season to put on the extra muscle, which I was happy to hear. However, I was happy to hear that because they also claimed that his conditioning was better than ever. Now that they're well into the season, and it is apparent that Yao's stamina is hardly where it needs to be, why don't they have him DROP some weight?Think about it. Yao gained the weight to help him get position in the post, pull down rebounds, play post defense, etc. Well the problem is that Yao doesn't seem to use his weight/muscle effectly enough for it to be anything but a DISadvantage. If he played with more power in his game and got down and dirty in the post night in and night out, then I could see the weight doing what it was supposed to. However, we all know that for one reason or another, Yao just doesn't seem capable of that mentality. So why not drop him back down a weight class? Maybe even below 300 like in his rookie season. His stats for that season, without ANY NBA experience whatsoever to that point, his stats (aside from points) were nearly identical or BETTER in every category across the board. One of the glaring differences is that he only averaged 2.80 personal fouls his rookie season, which I would bet was a direct effect of his smaller more mobile frame that helped him stay in better defensive position. I say they should trim him down 20lbs or more and stick him on a plyometrics plan of some sort to increase his jumping ability. I think even just a couple of inches or so would help tremendously. He can't even pull down double digit rebounds because he's too slow to locate the ball and get a position, and he can't get 6" off the ground. Plus the less weight he's gotta carry around, the better his stamina will be. THE WEIGHT IS POINTLESS IF HE'S NOT GOING TO PUT IT TO USE! Your thoughts?
Actually, I think his stamina has noticeably improved this year over last year. I remember every game he'd be breathing very hard if he was in the game for more than about 7 minutes. I've hardly ever seen that this year. About losing weight, that was actually a part of the conditioning program. They wanted him to reduce body-fat % and increase muscle. That should, theoretically, make him more mobile and agile. Has it worked? Well, it's hard to say if Yao's production has to do more with his physical condition or JVG's system. Yao seems to be making a more concerted effort to block shots and grab rebounds the past 4 games or so, and maybe his stats in this categories will go up over the course of the season. Even though his rebounding per game and per minute averages are down, he's actually rebounding BETTER this year than his previous two years. That is, he's grabbed a higher percentage of missed shots this year than before. It's just that Rockets are playing at such a slow pace this year and opposing teams aren't missing as many shots as last year, so there aren't as many defensive rebounds to be had and Yao's rebounding stats look worse as a result.
I value your opinion durvasa but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you on many fronts. Yao's stamina IS better, but that's like saying you've got $5.01 in the bank instead of $5.00 the day before. However, as you stated, the Rockets are EVEN slower this year than last. Therefore, it's possible that any improvement we're seeing from Yao in terms of conditioning is just a result of the slower paced game, and not Yao's body. He still grimaces and puts his hands on his knees when shooting free throws 5 minutes into a game. I also disagree that he's rebounding better this season. He looks so slow and clumsy out there this year, constantly getting pushed under the basket DESPITE his newly acquired muscle/weight, into a position where he can't react to rebounds unless they come straight at him. Even then, they tend to bounce off of his concrete slabs...I mean hands. He's averaging a full personal foul more than his rookie season too, which isn't acceptable by any means. The guy just can't move unless he's got a head of steam built up. No lateral movement whatsoever. Yes, Yao got his body fat% down, but that means raising muscle mass, not just losing fat, and since muscle weighs more than fat he actually gets slower. Heavy weight training doesn't increase speed, it increases power. The ideal thing for Yao, in my opinion, would have been to focus solely on short distance running/sprinting, a plyometrics program, and swimming for his cardio which would keep the wear and tear off his knees and back during the offseason. This might sound strange, but as a swimmer for many years, I honestly think that the motions of swimming strokes would help Yao strengthen the muscles he needs to go up strong through the arms of the defense. Each stroke is like a free-weight lift. I just hate to see this guy regress. Not to mention it sounds like he is making things worse by blaming it all on himself, and it doesn't help that he's the Chinese government's lap dog. I feel sorry for the guy because I think he'd be able to produce to his full potential if he were just allowed to live his life on his own terms.
About the rebounding, let's look at the hard stats provided by 82games.com. 02-03 7.8% off 19.2% def 03-04 8.3% off 19.3% def 04-05 (so far) 8.4% off 19.2% def Granted, this doesn't tell us everything we need to know about Yao's rebounding, but it does say that it hasn't declined as far as how likely Yao will will rebound a missed shot. But then, maybe his rebounds should have been much higher since the rest of the team doesn't rebound as well. According to the Falsone interview on Rockets.com, over the off-season Yao's weight was also being monitored. They didn't want him to get too heavy, because that would increase chances of injuries and hurt his conditioning. I'm sure there was a certain balance of muscle versus weight they were looking for. Also, while its true that the pace of the game has slowed down, you must also take into account the amount of work per possession Yao is expending on the offensive end. Virtually every possession, he's battling for post position. That'll take a lot out of anyone. You suggest that Yao should reduce his muscles, but if he did that he'd have to use more more energy battling down low. So there's that tradeoff. I'm still somewhat optimistic that Yao will improve in these energy/hustle areas over the course of the season. In recent games, he's looked more lively blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. If he can carry that over onto the road, and throughout the season, I'll be content.
I actually almost went back to edit my post to reflect this, but I figured I would just address it if you brought it up, and you did: I'm not talking about rebounding numbers, I'm talking about each individual rebound, or should I say rebound opportunity. As far as Yao having trouble getting position in the post, his weight is actually hurting him there too. A big problem Yao has in getting position is that he can't move laterally AT ALL because he's so heavy. A lot of the plays where he's supposed to flash across the paint from the weakside to ballside for an entry pass, he simply can't get over there fast enough, and that's why he's always getting fronted. If Yao is getting pushed around in the post despite using his 320lb frame, he might as well drop significant weight so that he can try using quickness and lighter footwork to get to his spots. I see what you are saying, and there's certainly no reason to believe that dropping 20lbs would definitely fix all or any of Yao's deficiencies, but I think it's worth a shot. He's a finess big man, a la Rik Smits, but they want to make him Shaq II. Not the answer, in my opinion.
