JVG's DEEP WHISTLE "hoax" ? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It sounds to me like the testimony of so many of those who were accused in the infamous Moscow Show Trials of the late 1930s ? dutiful, and absurd confessions made in hopes of saving their skins. I mean, was "Deep Whistle" a game official or a paper pusher? The only reason why Van Gundy would obfuscate the issue was to make his tale of martyrdom more convincing. OK, coaches have been publicly airing their gripes about referees for some time. And, to some degree, these complaints have been successful in turning a few marginal calls the complainant's way. (As far as I could tell, Van Gundy's $100K only bought him one call ? in Game 6 a foul called on Mike James should have been called on Yao.) Contrary to accepted wisdom, however, it was Pat Riley who initially institutionalized this unofficial grievance process, not Phil Jackson. But Van Gundy had another motive in mind ? blaming someone else for his own inadequacies. I wonder what excuse he'd manufacture for his season-long game plan that required the slow-footed Yao Ming to be setting perpetual high screens and then rolling all the way to the hoop? Sure, the strategy worked well enough for the Rockets to win 51 games during the regular season, but what was the cost? A leg-weary, super-passive Yao come the playoffs. The high screens should have been a sometimes thing, and the 7-5, 330-pound Yao should have been stationed in the low post where he could have done maximum damage a la Shaquille O'Neal. (How many high screens is the Big Pivot Maven asked to set?) Perhaps Van Gundy could claim that his dog ate his playbook. Hey, it's not like this guy is a genius. </div> source It seems JVG wasn't really good at availing himself of Yao's advantages properly.
When set, Yao sets great screens. More importantly, he is a good mid-range shooter so his is a double-threat for a screen-and-pop, or as he did against Dallas a screen-and-roll. If he can avoid getting cheap fouls, then Yao will be very effecitve as a screener.
Yao setting up picks worked great in the season. We won 51 games. He still got an okay amount of touches, putting up 18 ppoints per game. There was no reason to change the gameplan when the team was doing so well. Another classic hater. These guys need to think about what they are saying a little more.
The person made only two "points" to support his claim that Van Gundy isn't a very good coach. Both are ridiculous. He says that his Knicks team was one missed shot from being eliminated in the first round. He forgot to mention the fact that team's best player (Ewing) was hobbled, that they were an 8th seed at the time, and that they made it all the way to the NBA Finals (no other 8th seed has ever accomplished that feat). Then he says that Van Gundy would have been fired if Francis et al. weren't traded. Where does he get that from? The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time in many years in Van Gundy's first year. Isn't that the sign of a pretty good coach? That said, I do think that the Rockets need to take greater advantage of Yao's post skills and not ask him to move around as much on offense. But you can't blame Van Gundy for recognizing what's obvious to any Rockets fan -- Yao simply isn't adept at this point in his career at staking out a position and maintaining it in the post. A majority of his points in the first round came from pick and roll. That was obviously the Rockets bread-n-butter play, so how can we criticize JVG for relying on it? Yao is a very good picker, and McGrady (not Yao) is the best decision maker. Pick and roll makes perfect sense. If Yao can progress to the point where he can catch the ball in traffic down low and react well to traps, then the Rockets can lay off the pick and rolls. But, in general, when the Rockets did that it made the offense sluggish and turnover-prone.
Charley Rosen is an idiot!!! Look at Yao, and then look at Shaq. They have totally different bodies and they play totally different. Shaq is a low-post monster while Yao has the potential to be a high-post monster. This guy klnows nothing about Yao and simply wants to see a 7'5" Shaq. Rosen, go **** yourself.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kingrex:</div><div class="quote_post">When set, Yao sets great screens. More importantly, he is a good mid-range shooter so his is a double-threat for a screen-and-pop, or as he did against Dallas a screen-and-roll. If he can avoid getting cheap fouls, then Yao will be very effecitve as a screener.</div> You said it best. Obviously, Rosen doesn't watch Yao a lot to know that Yao is at best when being the picksetter in a PnR situation. Being a great shooter, opponents are forced to keep him guarded on the perimeter and thus allows McGrady room to drive if he desires. When Yao rolls into the paint after setting the screen, McGrady's well placed passes often gets Yao two easy points in the form of a dunk. If we have Yao on the inside all the time, it would just clog up the lane if McGrady wanted to drive.
