Iggyemu wrote:quote snipped
Did you even read my other long post where I went through your post and responded point by point? And you're the one accusing me of not reading your posts?
Now to respond to your new points:
Yao is just about as good as Duncan in the low post. Their post games share many of the same characteristics; I remember reading through Spurs forums occasionally and seeing the Spurs fans come up with the same "god Tim stop playing so soft, stop shooting fadeaways" line that Rockets fans say for Yao. Duncan may be better at getting himself in position to get the ball because he is quicker and because he can face up and drive, but Yao is taller so he can get his shot off easily against anyone while Duncan struggles against bigger defenders (like Yao, for example). Their moves are basically the same, they have the turnaround jumper and jump hook. Duncan is better with his shots on the move, but again Yao can simply shoot over any defender while this is not always true for Duncan. The difference between the two players is on defense, where Duncan is simply at another level, but that is irrelevant to this discussion.
You are still wrong that the answer to fronting is bringing Yao to the high post. It is and has always been quick and precise ball movement and execution of basic plays, like the pick and roll with the man who is giving backside help. I gave several examples of things that the Rockets have done do break the front. Bringing Yao to the high post is not an answer to fronting. It is simply a different offensive set that has nothing to do with breaking the front. When Yao slides into the low post from the elbow, if the defense is alert the front will be there again.
You are also wrong in that teams front in crunch time; teams almost always revert to a base "man-up and help in the paint" defense in crunch time. The fronting occurs typically in the middle of the game when Yao is on a scoring spurt. If you noticed, even GS and Phoenix, the two teams that front/double Yao the most, reverted to a base man defense in crunch time. This is because gimmicky defense almost always give up open shots, and the concept in crunch time is that the offense must earn their points by beating the defense, not because the defense beat itself by leaving someone open by design.
If you really believed in Adelman's offense, you'd want to trade Yao for Brad Miller and change. Yao is special because he can score over anyone in the low post and he can draw many fouls in the paint and convert his FT's at 85%. You are completely taking that away from him by moving him to the high post. It would be like telling McGrady to not demand the ball, and instead crash the glass on possessions and go for offensive rebounds. Sure, he could do a mediocre job of it, but it is completely wasting his strengths and making his weaknesses look worse. The results were not borne out to be positive for the Rockets either; Yao's game suffered last year and the offense improved by .8 points per 100 possessions, and that's after adding Landry, Scola, and Bonzi Wells. Yao simply put is a poor fit to play in the high post and it is not making the team better that he is playing worse. JVG once said that Yao is the best player in the NBA within 10 feet of the basket, but very average outside of there. Do you want to see the best player in the NBA, or an average player?
You still refuse to answer this question, so I will repeat it: When was the last time a team improved when it by design made its star player play worse in literally EVERY facet of the game?
