Would Yao Ming have been much better in the 80's?

[f4p]

As a Rockets fan, I've often thought no one was more hampered offensively by the change to zone defenses than Yao Ming. All post guys were hurt, but Yao almost certainly the most. Swarming defenders, weakside defenders 2.9-ing in the paint waiting to help on fronts. Little guys getting to fight big guys for position very physically. But what if Yao played his 7 (mostly) full seasons in the 1980's? With illegal defense. And post offenses abounding. Could he have had a 30 ppg season somewhere in there? And I'm not even focusing on defense, but with guys like Eaton and Bol racking up blocks, what is someone like Yao doing on defense in a world still focused on 2's?

Yao was 7'-6" with tree trunks for legs. You couldn't move him, and once he caught the ball, he had a sweet hook shot and a very nice turnaround over either shoulder. And if he pinned you close to the basket and you fouled him, he shot 85% on free throws. Basically, once Yao caught the ball, it was over. Maybe not over like with Shaq, but Yao was going to do something high percentage. He peaked at 25 ppg on 60 TS% in 2007.

The problem was that whole getting the ball to him thing. Yao may have been mobile for a 7'-6" guy, but he was slow by NBA standards. And not great at leaping. Teams quickly figured out the best strategy was just to front Yao and have a weakside defender 2.9-ing in the lane. With Yao's poor mobility and jumping ability, passes over fronts needed a certain finesse and accuracy. Too far away and Yao couldn't get it. Too high and Yao couldn't jump for it. It needed to have arc to get over the defender but still fall to Yao. And that's where the weakside defender ruined everything. Getting the pass over the fronting defender wasn't that tough, but the weakside guy would just steal it. The Rockets tried things. Yao would spin and seal his guy as the Rockets threw it to the top of the key, but most defenders could still get back in front and the weakside guy was always around. We switched sides of the floor. Everything.

And sometimes it worked, as his 2007 stats show. And that's on a team with a 91 pace and defensive coach Jeff Van Gundy. Go up to an 80's pace and we're talking more 27-28 ppg. But many possessions would have the shotclock drained trying to get it to Yao and the Rockets would force up a late shot or turn it over forcing a pass. So the team offensive results were never great.

But man, in the 1980's? Offensive possessions usually didn't even start until the big man on the team jogged to his favorite left block position. His defender usually waited patiently just inside the paint. There wasn't the modern day physical jostling, especially from smaller players, to keep you off the block. You just went to the block and put your hand up. You can even watch something like Hakeem and Shaq in the '95 Finals and how they basically just conceded post touches. There was less spacing with no 3's but doubles came in much more obvious ways because of illegal defense and took longer to get there. There were weakside defenders, but they were 15 feet away guarding the guy in the corner, no matter how bad the guy was at shooting. I think teams would have still come to the conclusion that fronting Yao was their only option, but it would have been much trickier, with the over the top pass working much more often. And maybe the more egalitarian offenses of the 80's wouldn't spend such an inordinate number of possessions focusing on Yao. But maybe they do if he's dominating?

So, could Yao have jumped from 25 ppg to 30 ppg? If not, what's his peak? Would his offense not benefit much, but he'd average 5 blocks per game?

[wojoaderge]

How many centers in NBA history have averaged 30 pts in a season?

[Ruma85]

As a Rockets fan, I've often thought no one was more hampered offensively by the change to zone defenses than Yao Ming. All post guys were hurt, but Yao almost certainly the most. Swarming defenders, weakside defenders 2.9-ing in the paint waiting to help on fronts. Little guys getting to fight big guys for position very physically. But what if Yao played his 7 (mostly) full seasons in the 1980's? With illegal defense. And post offenses abounding. Could he have had a 30 ppg season somewhere in there? And I'm not even focusing on defense, but with guys like Eaton and Bol racking up blocks, what is someone like Yao doing on defense in a world still focused on 2's?

Yao was 7'-6" with tree trunks for legs. You couldn't move him, and once he caught the ball, he had a sweet hook shot and a very nice turnaround over either shoulder. And if he pinned you close to the basket and you fouled him, he shot 85% on free throws. Basically, once Yao caught the ball, it was over. Maybe not over like with Shaq, but Yao was going to do something high percentage. He peaked at 25 ppg on 60 TS% in 2007.

The problem was that whole getting the ball to him thing. Yao may have been mobile for a 7'-6" guy, but he was slow by NBA standards. And not great at leaping. Teams quickly figured out the best strategy was just to front Yao and have a weakside defender 2.9-ing in the lane. With Yao's poor mobility and jumping ability, passes over fronts needed a certain finesse and accuracy. Too far away and Yao couldn't get it. Too high and Yao couldn't jump for it. It needed to have arc to get over the defender but still fall to Yao. And that's where the weakside defender ruined everything. Getting the pass over the fronting defender wasn't that tough, but the weakside guy would just steal it. The Rockets tried things. Yao would spin and seal his guy as the Rockets threw it to the top of the key, but most defenders could still get back in front and the weakside guy was always around. We switched sides of the floor. Everything.

And sometimes it worked, as his 2007 stats show. And that's on a team with a 91 pace and defensive coach Jeff Van Gundy. Go up to an 80's pace and we're talking more 27-28 ppg. But many possessions would have the shotclock drained trying to get it to Yao and the Rockets would force up a late shot or turn it over forcing a pass. So the team offensive results were never great.

But man, in the 1980's? Offensive possessions usually didn't even start until the big man on the team jogged to his favorite left block position. His defender usually waited patiently just inside the paint. There wasn't the modern day physical jostling, especially from smaller players, to keep you off the block. You just went to the block and put your hand up. You can even watch something like Hakeem and Shaq in the '95 Finals and how they basically just conceded post touches. There was less spacing with no 3's but doubles came in much more obvious ways because of illegal defense and took longer to get there. There were weakside defenders, but they were 15 feet away guarding the guy in the corner, no matter how bad the guy was at shooting. I think teams would have still come to the conclusion that fronting Yao was their only option, but it would have been much trickier, with the over the top pass working much more often. And maybe the more egalitarian offenses of the 80's wouldn't spend such an inordinate number of possessions focusing on Yao. But maybe they do if he's dominating?

So, could Yao have jumped from 25 ppg to 30 ppg? If not, what's his peak? Would his offense not benefit much, but he'd average 5 blocks per game?

A for effort, written well. Not sure how much trouble yao would have in today's game, Yao was pretty dominant sucks he couldn't stay healthy. I wonder if they had more shooting around him would that ease off the weak side defender, You raise some good points.