[National Press] Expert: Simple game plan — give Yao the dang ball

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/30464972/page/2/

Expert: Simple game plan — give Yao the dang ball

Rockets are ready to lift off, but first they need to realize their strength

ASK THE NBA EXPERT

By Ira Winderman

updated 1:04 a.m. ET, Wed., April 29, 2009

Give him the ball.

Don't weigh the options. Don't worry about the double- or triple-team, don't get too clever for your own good.

Give it to the 7-foot-6 guy with enough brawn to cast a shadow over Shaq.

Give it to him because he shot 9 of 9 against the Blazers in the first game of the playoffs.

Give it to him because he shot 13 of 15 at midseason against the Cavaliers.

Give it to him because he shot 12 of 12 before that against the Heat.

Give it to him because he shot 11 of 13 against the Kings and 11 of 15 against the Mavericks.

Give it to him because sometimes this game can be as simple as give it to the tall guy and get out of the way.

And give it to him so the referees can't possibly turn their back as the clawing and clutching continues.

Make no mistake, Yao Ming has had a stout start to these playoffs for the Houston Rockets. Whenever he left his hotel in the first round, Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla and LaMarcus Aldridge were there to surround him, sort of like that Verizon hoard, only taller.

Yet for every shot that Yao has converted, there has been at least another to be had if Ron Artest actually looked into the post, had Aaron Brooks not been so quick to race past the post, had Von Wafer not hoisted one of his own.

What has been confounding at the start of these playoffs is not how much Yao has accomplished, but rather the limitations put on his shot totals.

Tuesday's Game 5 loss to the Blazers was almost laughable. Twenty-six shots were taken by the Rockets before Yao got his first shot in the 88-77 loss, a missed turnaround hook with 6:19 to play in the second quarter. His first basket did not come until 2:37 remained in the first half.

Just to reiterate: Twenty-six times the Rockets determined it was better to have someone else take a shot before Yao got a turn. Yes, Przybilla was relentlessly fronting. But, uh, by late April, shouldn't you have figured out how to throw it over the top?

When Yao finally got the ball, when Brooks decided perhaps another 3-pointer wasn't in the team's best interest, he made seven of his next 10 shots, closing a respectable 7 of 12.

From the moment coach Rick Adelman arrived in Houston, Yao all too often has found himself in the high post, as if he were some sort of oversized Chris Webber.

Granted, Yao is a fine passer, has an effective mid-range jumper, and rolls well off the pick-and-roll, so perhaps he is a victim of his own skill set.

But on the block, he is a beast.

Perhaps that also results in Yao being the victim of his uniqueness.

For those who either weren't able to stay up late enough or don't possess NBA-TV, what you have missed in the post has been criminal. The abuse Yao has been forced to endure would have had Shaq going Shaqaliciously ballistic.

Instead, Adelman noted that perhaps if his big man didn't fight so fiercely for position, the officials would be more likely to sound their whistles against the defense's aggression.

Look, there is no doubt Adelman has gotten the Rockets to turn a corner that Jeff Van Gundy could not. But this is a moment when Yao needs Van Gundy's angry-man routine, venting about the injustice of it all.

To Adelman's credit, he has found a system that has not only worked, but seemingly is thriving in the absence of Tracy McGrady.

Still, the burning question for the offseason is not what the Rockets should do with T-Mac, but rather what to do with Artest.

Yes, Artest has displayed an offensive deftness that has rivaled his defensive daring. But that's not what the Rockets need.

They need him to feed the post. Instead, Artest dribbles, dribbles some more, sees this huge guy in the paint with his hand up, a too-small defender in front and a too-small defender behind, and nonetheless hoists a jumper.

Sometimes those shots go in, but they remain as much fool's gold as the jumpers converted by Atlanta's Joe Smith. They merely inspire additional foolishness.

Oh, a few Rockets get it.

"Getting Yao the ball in that position to score is huge for us," said guard Kyle Lowry, a midseason replacement for Rafer Alston. "It settles us down, gets us a little more confidence."

Do ya think?

After that same victory over Portland, Rockets forward Shane Battier chimed, "When Yao is scoring for us and gets a lot of touches, he's our foundation."

What a novel approach — playing through the highly skilled 7-6 guy.

Understand, the Rockets do that a lot, which is why they went into the final game of the season with a chance at the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

But they also don't always do it enough, which is why they finished as the No. 5 seed and found themselves without homecourt in any postseason round.

So much of the Rockets' identity has been squandered that Doug Collins noted during a recent TNT broadcast, "This Houston team is so balanced offensively. They have five, six or seven guys who on a given night might be their leading scorer."

In places like Atlanta or Dallas or Boston or Utah that's fine. They don't have the most imposing presence in the game today. Houston does (sorry Shaq and Dwight Howard).

Every Rockets story should begin, "Led by Yao Ming's (fill in the number) points…"

Understand, he not only opened the first round with that 9-of-9 performance in Portland, but once shot 13 of 14 in a playoff game in Dallas.

Then appreciate that Houston went 32-4 during the regular season when Yao scored 20 or more, as well as 7-0 when he scored 30 or more.

Allow that to marinate for moment: When Yao scores a lot, the Rockets almost always win.

Yet a player who had a 19-point quarter and a 27-point half this season still never scored more than 33 in a game.

As it is, the Rockets certainly still win a lot.

But there is Artest launching another jumper. And there is Brooks lining one up from the corner. And there is Adelman calling for Yao to set the high screen.

At home, in China, Yao is a national treasure.

In his adopted home, it's as if his team doesn't value the riches it possesses.

Q: Do you think the Magic, or anyone else, can honestly give the Cavs a run for their money in the Eastern Conference playoffs?
— Patrick, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

A: Well, clearly Detroit didn't, and didn't even seem to want to.

Based on the start of the Eastern Conference playoffs, it's as if everyone else is in survival mode.

Without Kevin Garnett, and Leon Powe for that matter, the Celtics have had their hands full with the Bulls.

Without the ability to easily close out games against the 76ers, the Magic has looked rather pedestrian, hardly like a team ready to spring an upset in the Eastern Conference finals. And Dwight Howard hardly is coming off as cool, calm, collected.

While it might not stand as an upset possibility, a second-round series against the Heat still could offer the most appetizing individual pairing of these playoffs in any round, with Dwyane Wade taking on LeBron. The two have rarely offered anything short of epic theater in their matchups.

Otherwise, it has been rather disappointing from a big-picture perspective, about how competitive the Boston and Orlando open-round series have been. Neither one has displayed an aura of dominance.

Instead of someone stepping up to pose a challenge to the Cavaliers, it’s as if Cleveland will wind up as the last contender standing in the Eastern Conference.

The toughest challenge for the Cavaliers also could be the only challenge for Cleveland — an NBA Finals matchup against Kobe and the Lakers.

After six months of the East serving up a clear top three during the regular season, there clearly is one team above everyone else.

Q: What has impressed you most so far in the playoffs?
— Anonymous

A: Honestly, the final day of the regular season.

Why? Because with Philadelphia going into Cleveland and winning on April 15, and with Chicago finding a way to lose that same night to visiting Toronto, it gave us Bulls-Celtics and 76ers-Magic in the first round.

Nobody expected the Celtics and Magic to be so tested in the first round, but it has provided the type of theater that the East has lacked for most of the season.

Heck, Celtics-Bulls might be the most competitive playoff series ever.

By contrast, little in the West has been nearly as compelling.

Individually, Chauncey Billups has proven that his leadership abilities translate both from the regular season to the playoffs, as well as from Detroit to Denver. This once again is his time of year, as the Hornets already have learned.

From a team perspective, give the Mavericks credit. Teetering at one point at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff pack, Dallas got hot at the right time and then got the rapidly aging and ailing Spurs at just the right time. What could have been a rotten result for the Mavericks turned into something far better.

Q: Do you think the Bobcats will try to pick up a key free agent to place around their young, rising stars? Maybe Rasheed Wallace or a similar player?
— Kurtis Mills, Keene, N.H.

A: Hmm, will Larry Brown try to make a dramatic personnel move in the offseason?

This is a trick question, right? Of course. Brown will attempt to trade his entire roster. It's what he does, who he is.

Free agency will play a significant part of the process, namely what the team does with Raymond Felton as a restricted free agent, a decision made more difficult based on how well he played alongside D.J. Augustin at times late in the season. At one point, it seemed as if Felton almost certainly would be gone. Now, that hardly is a given.

To a degree, Brown already has reshaped his roster, with the in-season additions of Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic.

One anticipated little move is the unloading of Nazr Mohammed, who became little more than an afterthought once Gana Diop was added.

As for your Rasheed question, I wouldn't overstate the Carolina lineage, especially if Wallace is looking for anything close to the money he earned on his last contract. The Bobcats simply don't have that type of cash.

Still, there's a hunch that the Bobcats again may look at unloading Gerald Wallace, something they considered at the start of last season. If that happens, it could free funds to be spent elsewhere.

At it is, Charlotte already is at $58 million against the cap for next season. So unless a few dollars go out, don’t expect approval from Bob Johnson to take on extra salary.

Next season might be more a case of molding than remodeling for Brown, even if it goes against his very nature.

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As far as I know, Winderman has covered the Heat as a beat writer for 20+ years. I guess he didn't really have to worry about Shaq or Zo getting frozen out of the offense.