the Art of going away from the Star + the importance of Rafer Alston

[Matchman]

is there a team in the nba that constantly goes away from their star?

i mean Yao Ming, the best center in the nba, is getting ing 9 touches playing almost 40 minutes. granted the spurs played some stifling defense and constant ran double teams on yao, but yao should be getting at least 20 shots per game.

actually, the above problem stems from the absence of Rafer Alston. Yes hes shooting 20 percent and yes he cant drive worth a , but he is the only person on the roster that can get TMac some easy shots and get the ball down low to Yao with more than 10 seconds on the clock. and he is an underestimated defender that wont get burn by George ing Hill

[Roxsfan]

I do agree the offense runs much smoother with Rafer starting and Brooks coming in looking for his shot as a back up.
Also, Shane battier needs to get his ass back in the game already.
Morey needs to sign mutombo ing yester ingday.
TMAC needs to sit and get healthy while you start wafer.
trade ing luther--he sucks
and battier starts and bring artest off the bench.
Rafer and everyone else needs to keep their ing cool even though the refs ed up by not calling a foul in perfect David Stern fashion--stern is a ing pussy asshole b/c he allows these inconsistent, flop- calling, bet placing, u want to fight Tim Duncan?, bull officials, fine your ass if you say anything bad about my goons-- stern.......

btw, as the season rolls on--fewer y.ming touches will ensure fewer injuries to ming and help guarantee his presence in the postseason.

[Tmac&Luther]

trade ing luther--he sucks

Okay, I want everybody to think long and hard about this question.......

Has anybody ever seen a NBA "GAURD" who had worse handles or passing ability than Luther Head, because I honestly can't think of any?

The guy is a walking turnover......I cringe everytime I see him run with the ball or dribble with the ball. If he isn't catching and shooting, he's making me piss myself out of fright.

The guy doesn't play all season (pretty much) and the moment he comes into the game Pop already knows to pressure his ass without seeing any video of Luther this year (which was brilliant coaching by Pop....he really is a great coach) This tells me that Head is so horribly bad at taking care of the ball that the M.O. is out on him league wide and coaches everywhere know he's nothing but a T.O. machine. Which inturn leads me to believe that Houston is going to be stuck with his sorry ass, because he has no trade value. I mean what team wants a undersized SG who.......

Isn't really athletic
Can't drive
Can't create his own shot
Can't dribble in traffic
Can't pass
Can't handle the ball
Can't inbound the ball
and
Can't take care of the ball when pressured

The only thing that Luther Head can do is spot up and shoot. How the did this guy even get draft.....in the 1st ing round on top of that. Luther needs to send a couple of his game checks to Deron Williams in a thank you card, because that has to be the reason why he got drafted. Luther Head IS NOT a NBA player........he just isn't. There are poor souls in the Dleague or on some mix tour that could run circles around Head. After Head's contract is up I bet he just disappears and fades away into obscurity and is never heard from again.

[Indazone]

Luther Head is a spot up shooter. He thrived under Van Gundy. Sucks under Adleman. He got to go. Other than that. Aaron Brooks with 3 dimes last night. Sorry but that is not a point guard.

[JamStone]

Maybe Yao isn't the best center in the NBA. The best center in the league would demand the ball more and take over, and if he wasn't getting enough touches, he'd force his will be taking over the offensive glass. Yao had 2 offensive rebounds in those 40 minutes. The best center in the league would take over defensively to force his teammates to take notice of his intensity and make them get him involved on offense. Yao had 6 defensive rebounds and zero blocks in those 40 minutes.

Maybe Yao isn't as good as you think he is.

[gaKNOW!blee]

yao is the best center? i hadnt heard dwight howard retired.

[Roxsfan]

^^We are better with him than without, and he is better than D.Howard--who can only dunk, can't hit FTs and has no hook shot, face up shot, so rebound and dunk--thats it. Can't depend on him in crunch time b/c he can't hit FTs.

I could give a about Yao's touches and Yao's stats--I know what Yao can do, and the more he lays low--the fewer his touches especially down low--the more he is guaranteed to be healthy in the postseason.