11 game winning streak is great. There were a few close calls, but our players have all stepped up (even Novak) during this stretch. However, I still feel that if we're gonna win it all this year or ever, Yao needs to become DOMINANT! I don't feel he's quite there yet. I see that he still have some troubles in defense since teams score a few layups on us when he's in the paint (of course the refs don't help at all). He doesn't have the best hands to handle many fast and bounce passes. And of course, the one thing that pisses me off the most, HE GETS SHUT DOWN BY MEHMET OKUR!!!!! There's no doubt he's the most talented big man in the game, but being dominant means teams don't have a developed defensive gameplan to stop you consistently. He struggles against smaller and quick teams that front him. He also struggles against opposing centers that play strong and push him out of the paint before he gets into his post position. Just an opinion. Yao's game is great, his numbers back it up. But if he ups it to a new level, we can start a dynasty. I hope he hasn't reached his peak.
i noticed yao has gained a few pounds lately, and he hasn't lost a step, his stamina has improved as well, defense has never been his liability as people claimed, just his turnovers, which has also been reduced due to landry/scola, overall i like what Yao is doing so far.
According to the refs. performance this game, Yao will be fouled out in the first half if he dominated the game as you mentioned.
As I watch the way Shaq and Dwight Howard getting reffed these days, it's obvious that the NBA will just never allow big men to dominate the game anymore like the old days. It used to be that the highest percentage plays are ran through the big guys down low. Now they're ran by PGs P&R and penetration. Don't even need to finish, just draw contact.
Offense: keep the ball moving! that's what RA is doing to the team to free YAO from double or triple or front! Defence: the key is agile and team defensive! As Landry and Scola step up, now they have the ability of one on one defence at 4, Landry took a well defence on West last night!
Yao is dominating, just not with dunks or anything. He dominates that paint area with his hook shots and fadeaways. He also gets rebounds and some key assists. You don't have to be a beast to dominate.
I think if his core or lower body was stronger,he would be better. Getting stronger in the lower body would give him more quickness,explosion and power. His base would be better and those smaller guys wouldn't be able to push him off his spot.
I watched Yao start to complain to the refs about a foul which is totally useless and makes him look like a whiney crybaby and Adleman pulls him aside and tells him to stop. I think if Rick Adleman is successful in stopping this whiney complaining to the refs and makes him have the demeaner of Garnett and Duncan than Yao will be pimping on the court.
Here's the 3 top things I think he can improve on. 1. better court awareness. When he has the ball, guys are too often able to sneak up on him from his blind spot. His deafness probably plays a role because sometimes he is taken completely by surprise. his teammates and the front few rows of fans (if they ever bothered to make noise) could help with this. simply shouting 'heads up' or 'behind' should be enough to avoid this. 2. shotblocking technique. He has had a propensity to try to step directly in front of driving players in an attempt to cut them off instead of letting them just start their shooting motion and then blocking it or strongly contesting it. I think the cutting off the driver technique is a remnant of JVG because Yao did it a ton during the JVG era, and it led to a lot of fouls where he concentrated too much on getting position instead of blocking. The reason why I don't like the technique is because he commits fully to the driving guard too early, who can then easily pass to Yao's man for a dunk. If Yao lays in the weeds effectively, he can stop both guys. Unfortunately it doesnt work as well against guys who have good floaters, i.e. Paul. 3. offensive creativity/improvisation. How many times do we see him go to the same predictable move, only to see him get blocked from behind by a SF? Court awareness also plays into this. Sometimes he's complacent that his shots are unblockable when they really aren't. Okur talked about how predictable Yao was during the playoffs last year. I know it's hard to do complicated moves and fakes while guys are digging down from every direction, but he needs to mix it up more.
his knee injury was the killer. that really limited his ability offensively n defensely in the playoff of last yr. hopefully he is healthy for the rest of season, i think we ll see him dominating, not just against okur.
I couldn't figure out how Okur was stopping him last year. Then came that "Yao is predictable" quote. I really do hope that it was just his knee limiting his movements, but we're going to need more than last year's playoffs Yao to advance this year. Yes, T-Mac needs to step up too.
I think YAO has dominated the game.He can get the key points and encourage teammates. and He even give more than 3ass per game. what can you expect more. come on
I think he should get himself cloned and then we can have Yao and Copy of Yao, always having a fresh one in the game at all times. Also at times, we could put both in there so no one can ever score in the paint, and they would not be able to prevent both from posting up. Truthfully, Yao has played well. I want to see him work on shooting the ball off-balance. I know that is hard for him, but if he can do that, he would be so much more effective. The predictable moves can be annoying, but he cannot often spin off his man and go straight the basket like Hakeem. That isn't his game. but more annoying is he still takes too many dribbles at times. On Defense, I agree he shows himself a bit too early. If he could show himself a bit later and really go for the ball, he would be better defensively and a lot of those "changed/altered shots" would probably become blocks. I don't think he gets enough credit for his altered shots as he should, and would love for him to get more blocks and the credit he deserves.
