Step by step guide on how to beat the fronting easily

[Vator]

They have tried to throw the ball over the top a few times and it just doesn't work for the reasons already stated. Why would you throw the ball over the top when there is somebody standing back there ready to intercept it or put Yao in a position to simply turn the ball over or pick up an offensive foul?

[jzmagik]

They have tried to throw the ball over the top a few times and it just doesn't work for the reasons already stated. Why would you throw the ball over the top when there is somebody standing back there ready to intercept it or put Yao in a position to simply turn the ball over or pick up an offensive foul?

The help defender is the last thing you need to worry about in this situation, since their should be ample spacing created by having the teammates drawn out away from the post. If thats not the case, then they should just be passing to the man least covered anyways.

[Vator]

haha. this post shows so much ignorance.

if the pass to the post is supposed to come from the wing but the low post players is fronted, then the wing player has to swing the ball to the top of the key. This creates a new open passing lane between low post player and the player at the top of the key.

This is actually pretty close to the strategy they have decided to try. They have gone to a ball movement and misdirection attempt to attack that defense with mixed results. Sometimes it looks really good and other times not so much and I think the rest of the guys on the floor are at fault here. They need to make crisp and quick passes as well as shoot the ball well enough to keep the defense honest. Two things that are not exactly happening on a consistent basis which comes back to a personnel problem.

[Vator]

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The help defender is the last thing you need to worry about in this situation, since their should be ample spacing created by having the teammates drawn out away from the post. If thats not the case, then they should just be passing to the man least covered anyways.

The help defenders are the FIRST thing you need to worry about and it has absolutely nothing to do with spacing. The guy in front of Yao would be competely out of the play once the ball goes up into the air if there were no help defenders present. Best case scenario, what you are suggesting is going to do nothing but create a Yao sandwich.

What you have here is the perfect storm. Slow big man that can't jump, inconsistent outside shooters, and bad entry passing.

[compucomp]

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The help defenders are the FIRST thing you need to worry about and it has absolutely nothing to do with spacing. The guy in front of Yao would be competely out of the play once the ball goes up into the air if there were no help defenders present. Best case scenario, what you are suggesting is going to do nothing but create a Yao sandwich.

What you have here is the perfect storm. Slow big man that can't jump, inconsistent outside shooters, and bad entry passing.

Agreed on the backside help; I remember several games (Knicks game most recently) where if the defense was poorly set up and there was no backside help the lob pass was made and Yao was able to catch and finish at the rim. Sure Yao is not as good as Shaq or Howard at catching lob passes but he can do it if the defense isn't properly set up.

Unfortunately well designed fronting/doubling defenses, like the Suns/Warriors, or defenses where the defender simply ignores Chuck/Scola cause the other big to sink into the paint right behind Yao. The only person I've seen who can beat that kind of defense is Shaq. QUICK ball movement is the key to creating open shots, because these teams are often quick and rotate quickly. Lately for some reason the act of swinging the ball from side to side has been very slow and allowed the defense to compensate.

[jzmagik]

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The help defenders are the FIRST thing you need to worry about and it has absolutely nothing to do with spacing. The guy in front of Yao would be competely out of the play once the ball goes up into the air if there were no help defenders present. Best case scenario, what you are suggesting is going to do nothing but create a Yao sandwich.

What you have here is the perfect storm. Slow big man that can't jump, inconsistent outside shooters, and bad entry passing.

If there's a Yao sandwich, there's gonna be an open man next to the basket. With Yao's passing ability, it'll be relatively easy to get him the ball for a finish.

[Vator]

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If there's a Yao sandwich, there's gonna be an open man next to the basket. With Yao's passing ability, it'll be relatively easy to get him the ball for a finish.

No you won't because the defense rotates down to protect the basket. Basic basketball. Also I said best case scenario. This play has often resulted in offensive fouls (charge or high elbows) or turnovers (traveling, Yao getting the ball stripped right out of his hands, or he throws a bad pass because he has difficulty making quick decisions and passes with guys draped all over him)

It is a bang bang play with a lot of variables...almost none of which play into Yao's strengths as a player which is EXACTLY why small/fast teams are effective doing this to him.

[tha_rock220]

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If there's a Yao sandwich, there's gonna be an open man next to the basket. With Yao's passing ability, it'll be relatively easy to get him the ball for a finish.

Um only this totally ignores the problem we're discussing. How can Yao beat fronting defenses??? If this problem isn't solved there's no way he can make the pass to the open man.

haha. this post shows so much ignorance.

if the pass to the post is supposed to come from the wing but the low post players is fronted, then the wing player has to swing the ball to the top of the key. This creates a new open passing lane between low post player and the player at the top of the key.

It's something like a triangle, and the Rockets have used this. The problem is Yao is usually fighting for position and pushed too far away to effectively post up so this won't work. How guys can dislodge him and deny him the ball so easily is baffling.

The solution to this problem begins with Yao. He needs to stop being a pansy. Give a hard elbow early in the game to whoever is grabbing and fighting him. I'm not talking about some baby crap that draws a flop and a foul but a real foul that makes defenders tentative.

Either that or go back to JVG's thing and start the offense on one side and moving with picks and passes to the other side. I'm tired of seeing Yao get the ball 18 feet from the basket.

[BaYBaller]

Basically the sandwiching of Yao gives up the jumper to the PF all day. Unfortunately for Yao, Hayes couldn't hit the ocean with his jumper.

Vator is pretty much on point, it also has to do with Yao being prone to strips, being slow, having no hops, and very tentative post entry passing. I've seen on a couple of occasions where Yao spins off his man toward the basket but the pass never arrives. The chemistry is not there. The fear of a TO has really hindered any sort of lob passing chemistry to develop.

Having Yao in the high post also can be effective if the primary shot-blocker on the opposing team is defending him. The problem here is that more often than not the primary shot-blocker is the one sagging off of Hayes and they have their other big on Yao.

That really only leaves one option for Yao and that's basically having him flash into the paint and receiving the pass there rather than on the blocks. This has been effective but again, the post-passers have been very tentative. The ball movement and passing has to be crisp to make this play effective.

[Undrafted Rook]

Has Adelman or someone from his staff commented on the fronting defense?

I believe in high/low plays to beat the front/sandwich. It has very little to do about Yao being a pansy imo. Fronting is a legit way of defending a post threat, many have problem beating it if the defensive rotations are rightly timed. But I think is foolish to go away from Yao if he is fronted, cause fronting puts the defense out of balance like doubling, and that needs to be exploited.

[bronx43]

Have you guys noticed that as long as the Rockets run Adelman's motion offense, it doesn't matter if defenses front Yao. In fact, the past few games have shown that when defenses front Yao, his offensive efficiency sky-rockets. He's shooting well above 55% for the last 5-6 games to take his fg% back up above .500. When he is fronted, and given that the rest of the team is in constant motion setting up plays, Yao will be in good position for either an offensive rebound or an easy bucket from good positioning. It is only when the other 4 guys on the floor stagnate, that our offense breaks down.

[BaYBaller]

Have you guys noticed that as long as the Rockets run Adelman's motion offense, it doesn't matter if defenses front Yao. In fact, the past few games have shown that when defenses front Yao, his offensive efficiency sky-rockets. He's shooting well above 55% for the last 5-6 games to take his fg% back up above .500. When he is fronted, and given that the rest of the team is in constant motion setting up plays, Yao will be in good position for either an offensive rebound or an easy bucket from good positioning. It is only when the other 4 guys on the floor stagnate, that our offense breaks down.

Well if your defender fronts you you obviously have inside position for the offensive rebound, that's basketball 101. Teams compensate for this by having the other big sandwich Yao which also boxes him out as well. The Knicks did this and it allowed Randolph to get like 22 boards or something.

The main difference between last year is that we are scoring a lot more points in the paint, as compared to relying more on the 3 last year. Shots closer to the basket means shorter rebounds, which means more put backs, and Yao is taking advantage of that. I'd imagine in the last month or 2 Yao is averaging like 3 offensive rebounds a game or something like that.

The problem with the fronting really occurs when they force it in to Yao too much, which leads to excess TO's. It's really the tentativeness of our guards more than anything. If you're going to pass, pass crisp and fast with no hesitation. If you have the defense off balance and running at your then make your move quickly to penetrate.