NBA Playoffs Game 3 Preview: Yao At Center Of Rockets' Adjustments

Two years ago, Tracy McGrady made headlines by telling the world the Rockets’ playoff success or failure was all on him.

Flash forward to today, and it’s all on Yao Ming, and the world knows it. So do the Blazers.

After losing Game 2 in Portland, the Rockets have quite a few adjustments to make before Game 3 on Friday night here at Toyota Center — and two of the biggest ones involve the Rockets’ prized center.

Of course, one of the most important changes for Yao is out of the Rockets’ hands.

Led by lead official Joey Crawford, the officiating in Tuesday’s Game 2 was so abhorrent, so awful at times that it seemed Rockets’ announcers were on the verge of laughing from the ineptitude. (Good thing the Rockets themselves didn’t, because Crawford has a history of ejecting players for laughing.)

Crawford is not expected to referee Game 3 in Houston, so that’s one less thing for head coach Rick Adelman to worry about. But aside from officiating gripes, the Rockets and Yao certainly have room for improvement.

I broke down my five biggest areas of concern, and for analysis, spoke with resident Rockets guru David Hardisty. If that name doesn’t sound familiar, you might better know him as “Clutch” — the founder of the legendary Rockets’ fan site clutchfans.net. Here’s our take on five of the most pressing issues entering this weekend’s games.

5.) Yao has gotten into foul trouble in each of the first two games,
notching his fourth foul mid-way through the third quarter. How does he
stay on the floor?

Dave Hardisty: One of Portland’s primary goals is to get
Yao in foul trouble — I think that’s Joel Przybilla’s only goal,
actually. They’re going to post Oden up on him to try to draw fouls as
well as have Roy throw his body into him on drives, and at times (as we
saw in Game 2), he’s going to be victim of a bad call or two. I don’t
think you’ll see him get horrendous calls at home, so I think as long
as he stays away from the “swipes” and keeps his post position and
hands up he’ll be fine.

4.) When Carl Landry was out for three
weeks, much was made of how his absence hurt the team and how he was
necessary for the playoffs. In two games against Portland, he has five
points. What happened – is Portland a bad matchup for him?

DH: This surprised me as I expected him to have a bigger impact, but I do
think defensively he’s a weaker option. Aldridge is a tough cover for
him and so is Travis Outlaw, but the Rockets need to find a way because
his offensive skillset can really help break the fronting defenses that
Nate McMillan will employ.

3.) With Dikembe Mutombo out for the
playoffs, should 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes continue to take Mutombo’s
minutes off the bench, as he did in Game 2? How big of a dropoff is
this against Portland’s size?

DH: I’d say Hayes will definitely
see increased minutes. It’s a night-and-day difference on defense —
you’re talking about a tree compared to a boulder. Hayes does a great
job of keeping big guys from getting good position and blankets them as
they make offensive moves, so I think he will do fine against an Oden
or Aldridge, but the Rockets won’t have the shotblocking presence when
Yao goes out. That will hurt against the likes of Brandon Roy, who has
been relentless in his drives to the hoop.

2.) Von Wafer nearly
saved the Rockets in Game 2, keeping them close with 21 points in 27
minutes. However, Adelman pulled him with five minutes remaining, and
the Rockets’ late-game offense went flat. Is it time to consider having
Wafer close out a game, if he’s hot?

DH: In this series I think
so. His Game 2 performance was very impressive — in the second quarter
alone he scored 12 points, but it was the way he and Kyle Lowry
attacked the basket that kept the game tight. Wafer touched the ball 12
times in the quarter and looked for his own offense nine times…seven of
those times he went strong to the rack. He’s got tunnel vision quite a
bit and can take too much upon himself, but he has the ability to bust
Portland’s Yao-centric defense.

1.) Despite the foul trouble,
Yao still played 31 minutes in Game 2 — and shot only six times. For
the team’s only superstar, that’s unacceptable. What are some keys to
beating Portland’s fronting schemes and getting him more shots?

DH: I really think the Rockets can keep Portland on its toes by showing
different looks with Yao, including having him set high screens or have
him operate with the ball out high, but the Rockets have suggested
behind the scenes that they’re just not as effective that way. If he’s
posting up and being fronted, the Rockets (and Yao) have to quickly
move the ball around and Yao has to do a better job sealing off his man
and reestablishing position. It’s also key for his teammates to
penetrate to the basket. With a shotblocker like Greg Oden or Joel
Przybilla out front of Yao, the lane shouldn’t be as heavily patrolled
by shotblockers. I think you’ll see the Rockets adjust here.

With
the series back in Houston, DuBose will be at Toyota Center for both Games
3 and 4 with full coverage for Hair Balls. For more immediate Rockets
talk, go to twitter.com/BenDuBose.