what's Yao & the rockets record without Tmac now? 0-8? I remembered when Tmac was out last year that Yao couldn't carry the Rockets to wins either.
To make yourself feel better, compare Yao to centers like Rik Smits, Big Z, Divac or 37 years old Sabonis. Look, those guys were not too bad at all. Never, ever compare him to Shaq, Dream, David Robinson, etc. You will get crazy by doing that.
All the Yao doubters will go straight back to their holes hiding when the Rockets start winning. It has been like that in these long (or short) four years. Fans are fans, nothing seriously wrong with that.
Yao needs to grow a pair. He's suppose to be our guy w/o TMac and he is a no show the 2nd half of games. He missed so many easy shots, including that no brainer from Barry, unbelievable. His rebounding has been the most disappointing, or should I say lack of rebounding. Diop was manhandling Yao in the 4th quarter, I don't remember Yao even grabbing a single board in the 4th. No Excuses!! With TMac out, Yao needs to step up. It's sad to see this veteran team having the rely on a rookie to make things happen.
Allright guys, Just finished watching a taped version of the game tonight. From the tone on the BBS right after the game, I figured I was going to watch a game where Yao stunk it up. I was surprised then when that was not the case. Except for that one missed layup, I thought Yao was pretty effective tonight. I thought Swift's attempt at a 3??? was the actual turning point of the game. I got no problems with Yao this year.
Yao was running out of gas toward the end of the game, looking like he's running on fumes, actually. He's 7'6 and carries a lot of weight. As a center, you have to bang against the toughest opponents in the paint, lots of times, double teams, fighting for postion and everything, not to mention running around to chase the guards(never observed shaq doing that). You add all of that up and you have a better understanding how much energy the guy have to expend. Yao is playing very well this year, but the energy thing is definitely a concern. Jeff Van Gundy has to realise that to fully utilize Yao's ability, he has to design a game plan that helps Yao conserves energy, such as reduce unnecessary positioning and fruitless running. Perhaps he can tell yao to fake postion himself just to cheat the opponent and things like that. I'm no expert in this area, but I'm pretty sure that's the cause of all the problems. On a side note, it's never a short way to grow into a leader. Yao has never played the role before. Just cut him some slack and give him some time.
How much more time are we gonna give him? It's his 4th year now AND he just came off a summer of rest. If he still can't stay in the game without being so exhausted this early in the season, then what's it going to be like later in the season?
And we are 11 games into the season without our best player. Yao has never played the #1 option or the only option on the team. When SF was here, SF kept that role to himself. Then Tmac got here and he took over that role. In the past few games, Yao has been the only player defense need to focus on. If I am playing Rox, I will keep doing that until Rox guards shoot consistently. Then, let's see how Yao fares.
I mean the time to getting used to carrying all the load as a leader. But that will end because T-mac will come back soon.
Give up on hating Yao! No one can carry the Rockets so far with a cast of Wesley, DA and Swift. Especially when your opponents are elite teams like Pitsons, Pacers or Mavericks, the chance will be very slim even you have one star in TD or KG. Yao has been a real force on both end of the floor for most of the time and he is just overly used and that is why he collapsed in the last several minutes in these games, obviously he is out of gas after 35 minutes on fighting for position on every offense and chasing the guards, returning for blocking and then reaching for rebound on every defend. No player plays ever the way JVG plays him now. Moreover, the rules in NBA are against Centers nowadays and more and more favorable to penetrating guards. Great centers in the league are extinct today for a reason! So don't ever bother to compare Yao with anyone in the history. Even Shaq had a hard time to play well now, not only due to his age.
Right on. There's another thread titled "Yao is exposed". Yao is indeed exposed in this game, in another sense. Yao started smoking hot but was largely ineffective in the second half, a recurring theme over these years. Yao spending too much energy won't prolong his effectiveness, rather it shortens it. The way of utilizing Yao is wrong. To "shaqnize" Yao - making him a post up robot -exposes Yao's weakness in stamina. To "guardize" Yao - making him a defender running around the court - exposes Yao's weakness in stamina and foot speed. To pretend Yao as the all around defender - being responsible for inside and outside defense, exposes Yao's tendancy to pick up silly fouls. Yao is exposed that he's not Shaq on offense, and not Scottie Pippen on defense. Right now it's the same dang'ol story over and over. It's like in every four games Yao goes through a repeated pattern. Game 1 - Yao can't shoot, Yao's fault. Game 2 - Yao can shoot, but is foul prone and partially screwed by the refs. Game 3 - Yao can shoot, but the team doesn't pass him the ball. Game 4 - Yao can shoot, but gets winded in the second half and fades into oblivion. And sometimes the pattern takes turns to happen in one game. That's my oppinion why Yao's is frustrating to watch. The system needs to create easy looks and points for Yao as well as T-Mac by masking their weaknesses and exploit all their strengths. Some tweaks won't hurt: 1. To save Yao's energy and fouls by reducing his excessive role on defense. 2. To save Yao's energy by mixing up the plays. Let him pass or shoot, pick and pop, instead of fighting for position down low every time. 3. To maximize Yao's impact with a flexible system that revolves around him regardless of opposing tactics. The opposing coaches put shorter guys on Yao and get away with it. Geez, Avery Johnson even put M. Daniels on Yao. All because they knew the Rockets can't beat fronting and JVG is too stubborn to loose the chain on Yao. Let the 7'6" gunner shoot over guys like Daniels. Yao needs to be blamed for his cluelessness on defense after three years in the league, on the other side, he's also a victim of this crappy system. So what if Yao can get rid of foul trouble, he still can't maximize his impact by overspending his energy. I'm tired of watching Yao gets 15 points in the first half and ends up with 20 when the game is over. Ok, it's time to end my post game babbling.
I'm actually more frustrated with his defense than his offensive. Especially since VG's system is centered around a grind it out defensive system. This means every possession is important and very rebound is important.
I think Yao is clueless on defense as he doesn't know when to just let things go. He should realize that he would never be a great defender in rebounds, blocks, individual and team defense. He's a good rebounder, good shot blocker, good individual defender and subpar team defender. He has nimble feet, yet slow foot speed due to high center of gravity. He has soft and weak hands good for shooting bad for rebounding. He should realize that his great potential lie on the offensive end, and the only way to maximize it is to stop challenging everything on defense, stay on the court and diversify his attacks.
I know u r a chinese and probably a YOF, don't worry, i am too. BUT STOP FINDING EXCUSES FOR YAO! i dont care what causes his slowness and lack of energy. He is paid 17m/year, he simply has to play to that value. If not, you and i will have to admit that he is really overrated.
First of all, 75/5=15 not 17. Check your math. If someone can earn me 100m every year, I would never have problem to pay him 17 or 20m any year I may be able to sign him. What? He can still put on 19/9/2 every night? That is a steal! best contract any GMs will dream of for sure.
