# Yao Ming Needs To Be The First Option On Offense Starting Now!



## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

I have seen enough of Yao Ming now, to realise that it is him, that is going to be the decisive factor in leading the Rockets into a yearly contender.

Here are my reasons as to why he needs to be the number one option on this team.

1) Feed him the ball early. One, because he is the teams best rebounder. Feeding him the ball early will get his confidence going. The last thing you want is to starve Ming of the ball and then expect him to give 100% on defense and rebounding. You need to feed the dog and he will guard the gate.The key to the Rockets game is their transition game. This starts with the defensive board and follows with the quick outlet pass, to the guards.

2) Giving the ball to Ming in the high post makes Mobley and Francis even more dangerous. One, Ming is decent creating on offense. Two, once you have Mobley and Francis, two of the fastest guys in the league, creating off the ball, makes the offense even more dangerous.

For example, assume that Ming has the ball in the high post. His immediate defender is going to be right on his tail. What this creates, is space in the lanes for the Rockets scorers to get to the hole and create. They can move and operate into the space that Ming has created, by him being in the high post.The lanes are free for movement and creation.

Offense is based around spacing. Utilising Ming in this fashion, opens up the offense of the Rockets and makes them even more dangerous.

3) Once Ming has the ball in the low blocks, watch out. One, the defense is traditionally at its most shakiest once the ball is closest to the basket. Once Ming has the ball down low, he can either finish with a dunk over his shorter opponent, or simply draw the quick foul. Obviously, the bigger guys are more foul prone than others, so Ming has the advantage here. Simple pump fakes, or up and under moves should be enough to draw the cheap foul. This will get Ming to the line and keep his immediate defender in foul trouble, making Ming take it to him even harder.

4) Can spread the defense all over the floor. When you are able to spread the defense all over the floor, they are able to communicate less. They cannot rely on each other for help defense. So, when you have spread the defense all over the floor, by having Ming in the low post and the shooters on the wings, you can isolate a player against the weakest defender of the opposing team.

Here is an example. When Ming has the ball in the low post, assuming that he is not double teamed, I would position Francis and Mobley on the opposing wings. You can see that the defense is spread all over the floor and to all parts of the half court. Here, you hope that Francis or Mobley are being guarded against a weaker player. They can simply use their one on one skills to get to the hole, for the easy finish. The ability for the defense to react and rotate to help are reduced as they have been spead all over the floor.

5) Wait for the double team. When Ming has the ball, you can bet that an instant double team is going to come his way. One because he is so much taller and can finish that much easier in the post. When the double team comes, I back Ming to feed the ball back outside for the easy shot. When the defense and doubles collapse on Ming, one player is going to be free for the uncontested shot. That is where Ming, with his great height advantage can see over the double teams and find this player for the easy score.

Or, once he passes the ball back outside, if the defense collapses and rotates to the wing player, who is free, they can feed the ball back inside to Ming for the easy uncontested finish. So the Rockets have two options here. The more options they have, the more dangerous the team is going to be.

6) Francis can be even more dangerous when Ming has more touches. I keep saying time and time again, you do not need to have the ball to be a good player. Simple college teaching mechanism.Moving without the ball is an art. Just because Francis and Mobley do not have the ball, it does not mean that they cannot be effective players for the Rockets. They can move into better scoring positions and feed off Ming in this instant.

Overall, I am backing Ming in to have a buge season this year. The Rockets just need to use him in the right fashion and this team is well on its way to being dominant in the very near future!!

Agree with my theories or not??


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## Ducket (Jul 16, 2002)

you don't have to convince me that a highly cerebral agile and athletic big BIG man like Yao shouldn't have the ball almost all the time. it ain't rocket science.  I honestly think that Rudy T was just too wishy washy to force this upon his young team; he was afraid he would cause rifts. i'm curious to see how van gundy approaches this. he seems to be less of a players' coach than Rudy, so he may just force his team to give Yao the ball, and it could implode on him...


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## carayip (Jan 15, 2003)

Would Steve Francis swallow his "Franchise" pride and ego and allow Yao to have the ball all the time instead of himself? I doubt it. And Francis is the PG so he's the key to allow Yao to do so if we want it to happen.


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## Joluis (Apr 25, 2003)

Yao should have the Ball Almost Every Time, & He Will Be Effective Because He's 7'5" & Good Player. However Steve Francis is The Key to The Team, If He steps Up & Stop Playing Playground Basketball, Houston We'll Be Great.

Yao will Perform when He gets the Ball.


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## JGKoblenz (Jul 19, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>carayip</b>!
> Would Steve Francis swallow his "Franchise" pride and ego and allow Yao to have the ball all the time instead of himself? I doubt it. And Francis is the PG so he's the key to allow Yao to do so if we want it to happen.


There is some questions that need to be answered:

Can Yao play at full level 48 minutes per game? Can he handle all the pressure? Is he prepared to be the first option on offense?

Remember it's his second season. Steve Francis is an amazing player and can do it all.

I loved the way Yao played in his first year, but we never know. If he keeps improving, I agree with you guys. Francis is the key. He isn't a real PG, but as KOK said he needs to realize that he will be more effective using Yao and moving without the ball. I don't think this will be an easy change, and probably they will need more then one year

.


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## Ben1 (May 20, 2003)

I think what Yao and Francis can be is like what Shaq and kobe are.. The main focus on offence is to feed the big man (Yao) and make full use of Yao's good passing skills.. Francis will play as a SG and compliment Yao's game like how Kobe plays with Shaq..


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## carayip (Jan 15, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Battlestar</b>!
> I think what Yao and Francis can be is like what Shaq and kobe are.. The main focus on offence is to feed the big man (Yao) and make full use of Yao's good passing skills.. Francis will play as a SG and compliment Yao's game like how Kobe plays with Shaq..


The difference is that Kobe is younger and less established than Shaq and Shaq's a proven dominant player in the game, so it's very logical for Kobe to take a backseat to Shaq (even then it still took a coach of Phil Jackson's predigee to make it work and the situation actually still had a lot of conflicting every now and then). But with Yao and Francis, it's the other way around. Yao's the younger and less established player. I doubt very much that someone of Francis's caliber (at least a 2-time All-Star) and huge ego (I am not blaming him for this, every NBA player has certain ego or they wouldn't be at this level) would defer to anyone so easily, let alone a somewhat unproven and younger player.


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## carayip (Jan 15, 2003)

Plus, Yao's too unselfish and team-oriented as a player. I think he does consider Francis as the leader and will always defer to him.


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## numb555 (May 25, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>kingofkings</b>!
> I have seen enough of Yao Ming now, to realise that it is him, that is going to be the decisive factor in leading the Rockets into a yearly contender.
> 
> Here are my reasons as to why he needs to be the number one option on this team.
> ...


No Shiet Sherlock


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