I think all you have to do is go back to the year Yao was drafted and was a rookie. Look at all the so called experts and analysts saying that if he even averages 17 points and 8 rebounds a game he'd be a success. Look at al the analysts saying no way he can compete, he's another Shawn Bradley, etc. NOW look at those same analyst expectations. 17 points and 8 rebounds is an "off" game. The fact that he can consistently get you 24-28 points and 9-12 rebounds is overlooked. All his faults are examined and broken down. The expectations went from "if he's just decent, the Rockets will be lucky" to much bigger expectations. Where are all the analysts saying..darn, he's an all-star and one of the top producing players in the league...way to go Rockets! And if I hear one more time that he's "too robotic" I'm going to flip. I'll take a 7'6" scoring robot that can rebound, pass, and shoot any day.
Read the second sentence of my post...LOL you crack me up..im only talking about Yao being able to put the ball on the floor and create some kind of shot for himself...the only "putting the ball on the floor move" Yao has is the turn around one dribble baseline dunk..other than that he cant put the ball on floor...what i was trying to say is that duncan/hakeem could SOMEWHAT put the ball on the floor to create some kind of shot for themselves.
I am very pissed off by seeing that over and over again. Simply because he missed one after another....I do believe the reason he did that is RA asked him to do or might say something to him like 'when you got a open shot at 15 ft away, you can shoot'? Seriously, I do not really recall the baseline fadeaway from Yao is that far? is that?
agreed. but let's put aside the "what-if's", let's look forward. here is another question i've wanted to ask people - will we win a ring (or 2) with yao as the centerpiece? my own answer is - "i'm not sure".
Tmac asserts his will on the game in the playoffs...something Yao has not been able to do. I mean just take a look at his averages...those are some jaw dropping numbers IMO.
Poor Yao, we all expect too high from him. While in fact, Rockets is not a team completely built around him. When there was a baby Yao, he was a third choice behind Stevie and Marbury, then there was Mcgrady before him with the price of our first three starters. With two stars in a team, then you can't wish to have other good players around you. Look at the last two playoffs, why could Dallas and Utah double play and front Yao like crazy? Look at our Hayes, our Rafer, we could not be angry,but just sigh,just think of their salary. Which team do you think Hayes can be the starter expect Rockets? So we can't blame too much on Yao. He needs the right men to help him. I admit Mcgrady is the most talented in our team, but I.m a little worried about his injury,back, arm, leg, then what else? Even if when there was a healthy Mcgrady, he didn't play defense willingly, and he didn't choose the right way to close a game,especially at the cruntch time. It still hurts me today when I thought of the sixth game with Utah, got stealed and they shot, and then ... YOu see, before this season, Mcgrady is the only player in our team who can penetrate and take the ball to the hook,but he chose too many jump shooting, especially when our players haven't got the right place, then we lose our rebounds at the same time. So I can only say, when there was Steve. we were the first rounder,then today we're still struggling to be in the playoff. I don't see any difference between them.
his stats are LEGENDARY (if you purely look at stats). if you're just a general fan and enjoy looking at stats, then you would say tmac is one of the greatest players EVER. outside of jordan, i don't think anyone IN THE HISTORY of the league average those #s across the board (29ppg, 7rpg, 6apg). but stats don't mean jack in a team sports if you lose. his team has. therefore, he's not in that "legendary" stratosphere, which he can get to if he has team success.
i think so, too. the baseline shot has been his shot since he's a rookie; but from other spots with the same range, he needs to gather himself a little bit before the ball leaves his hands; otherwise he'll miss. i hope he will get used to that open jump shot at the top of the key and not rush it. in adelman's system, he will get that shot once in a while.
Every time he puts the ball on the floor its an automatic turnover. oh, is it??? how about the turn around hook shot? yeah, no doubt about that.
I agree with this one. Don't know why. I think in Yao's first couple of years, he can hit some 15ft+ shots pretty well. But this year he hardly make any when left wide open from outside. He needs find his touch back in games. He definitly has the touch in practice.
On the court ,what he does is not only offense and defense ,but run like running race palyer,and fight like a rassling player mixed with 2 more opponents Any other players like him?
No argument here, the guy does everything on the court in the playoffs. He just freaking needs to go deep in the playoffs like two years in a row to fix his rep. (Hell even one year will do a lot of damage control) Do you remember in the Dallas series when he was freaking going crazy (30 7 and 7) and everyone was calling him "Jordanesque"? The guy can bring it when he is healthy and with Yao starting to dominate again like he did before his leg injury I really see this team clicking on all cylinders in the playoffs...you got people saying that we need to break up Yao and Tmac, but they don't realise that this duo WILL WORK...Yao is still growing and learning..and I know for a fact that his past experiences in the playoffs will allow him to truly be dominant this year in the playoffs. (I mean the guy is just too smart not to)
yao has the range from the 3pt line. i believe that is a fact. and i recall reading from somewhere that adelman gives him the green light to shoot from anywhere, incl. the 3's if he has to.
Okay automatic was the wrong word to use..but you have to admit the second opponents see Yao dribble they come running at him like a fat kid when he sees candy. The thing about Yao is that he is very intelligent and plays within his skills so he doesn't put the ball on the floor as much as he used to before.
What do you think about this idea that "make the distance from the ball to the rim as short as possible" ? No one's mid-range shoot is always reliant, especially you meet a good defender. In addition, the mid-range work belongs to PF!
One can shoot at the 3pt line, but whether he is good at that? Not we remembered that Yao shoot well fro 15ft away. That is not his battle zone unless he develops.
Yao has great touch as a big man. Heck, his first couple seasons, he relied on his jumper too often. He's lost it a little bit. He only takes a couple per game and can't find his range. I think if he was asked to take more 15-17 footers, they'd start falling again. I don't think you want him too, however. You want him taking his shots from as close in as possible.
tmac was jordanesque in that series. in 02-03, he was still compared to kobe to see who was the best and the majority still chose kobe. but during that playoff series, 99% of the media called tmac the best player in the league bar none at that time (i think even from the 2nd half of 04-05). that's how good he was. hopefully he can get healthy enough to provide us with that magic for the playoffs this year. if he can do that, we can go far b/c why? yao ming. if we had THIS yao ming in 04-05, i have ZERO doubt we would have beaten the mavs in 4 or 5. yao was just not an all-star back then. all i want is for our 2 stars to play at their peak SIMULTANEOUSLY in the playoffs. if they do that, with the current role players, we'll do A LOT of damage.
