[Underdog]

Originally Posted by SeriousSummer

Yao does get triple-teamed about the same amount as Dirk. Nobody needs to cover T-Mac because he's out hurt. What other three guys?

This isn't because Dirk and Yao are the best scorers in the game. It's because Dirk and Yao are the best scoring big men in the game. Shaq (when he was still Shaq) got triple-teamed.

It's very difficult to triple-team perimeter players--too much room is left open close to the basket. You can, to some extent, triple team very dominant post players--if they aren't great passers and the pass out of the triple team leads to a lower percentage shot than the player would get otherwise (in the last decade this has been limited to Shaq & Yao--Duncan passes well enough to make even a double-team dicey--and he's had strong enough teammates to pass to).

Don Nelson showed his genius by realizing that the test whether to double- and triple-team didn't depend, necessarily, on how close to the basket the player was. Dirk at 15' shoots an incredibly high percentage one-on-one. What mattered was the player's mobility and passing ability. Unlike a Kobe or LeBron, Dirk at 7'0", while an excellent ball handler for his size, isn't mobile enough to beat double- or triple-teams off the dribble. At the same time, Dirk didn't pass the ball well, his teammates didn't space the floor well, and Dallas played two nonscorers much of the time (at center and [what laughingly was called] shooting guard).

So you could double- and triple-team Dirk, take him out of his game and not pay for it. Dirk is/was, for all intents and purposes the last two years a post player--he just played a very high post. The turn around jumper at the elbow is his post move.

Triple-teaming Garnett is a silly idea--I've never seen it in the 50 or more games I've watched Garnett play. First, he isn't that dominant a scorer, and second, he's always been a good passer. Even when he was surrounded by weak players, Garnett (even more so than Duncan) isn't a player it makes sense to double- or triple-team. He rarely scores in really high numbers. He has always been able to hurt you with the pass.

I agree with most of this...

Oh, and I was referring to the rare occasions that Yao & Tmac are actually on the court at the same time... And the "what other three guys?" - comedic gold...