Houston Chronicle: Big Man Needs His Touches & Fouls leave Yao in frustration

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1554554

Aug. 30, 2002, 12:27AM

Fouls leave Yao in frustration
-Germans still praise Rockets' pick
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS -- When the long, frustrating game finally ended, Yao Ming left his seat on the China bench, but barely moved. He wandered around the court for a few moments as if there had to be something he could do, some way to burn the energy, lift the frustration of the previous two hours.

Even an hour and 20 minutes after Germany had reduced him to a relatively minor role player in an 88-76 win Thursday to open the World Championships, Yao could not hide the frustration of the game he spent watching -- even during most of his 17 minutes on the court.

"My main problem was I fouled too much," Yao said, the dissatisfaction and disappointment still obvious beneath a deep scowl. "I have to use my body more and not my hands on both ends of the court."

He also might want to hook up with an $85 million point guard that can -- among other things -- get the ball within 30 feet of the basket before the shot clock goes off.

But until Yao can get with Steve Francis and the Rockets in mid-October, he remains a skilled and intriguing talent stuck in the middle of a team too undermanned to use him.

In the eight foul-filled minutes in which Yao was on the court in the first half, he touched the ball just four times as part of China's offense. Those that came to see the first player taken in the NBA Draft, including a five-member Rockets contingent -- barely got to see him play. (He and even the USA team that routed Algeria 110-60 in the next game could only draw 8,576 to the RCA Dome.)

But in what has become his norm after three games in North America this month, Yao quickly pointed to his weaknesses, rather than his teammates' inability to run an offense even against modest defensive pressure.

He was not entirely effecting false modesty. His first two fouls were for unnecessary slaps at German center Patrick Femerling, the first when Femerling easily backed Yao under the basket in the first minute. His fourth foul came when he tried a low-percentage rush in front of Dirk Nowitzki to draw a charge.

Yao had 16 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. He showed the quick turnaround baseline jumper that at 7-foot-5 could be relatively unstoppable if he can get that position. He threw down one powerful slam over Femerling. But for most of the night, he was not as much of a force as his backup, Mengke Bateer of the Nuggets, who had 23 points.

None of his troubles, however, could slow the growing chorus of praise.

"He's a really good player," said Nowitzki, who had 30 points. "We tried to front him. We tried to take him out of his game. We tried to double him. He still scored 16 points. He should have a nice career in this league. He just has to get used to playing more physical in the NBA. And then I think he's going to be a good player.

"In China he's so big, he could do things with his length. Over here, he has to learn to use his body. But as soon as he picks it up, I think he's going to be a force under the basket."

Asked how he would compare Yao to his 7-foot-6 Mavericks teammate Shawn Bradley (who was to play for Germany, but was excluded in an entirely mutual decision), Nowitzki smiled and paused while working to find a way to duck the question.

"Like I said, he's a very good player," Nowitzki said.

But even the far more obscure German players who will never face Yao in an NBA game were quick to commend him.

"Maybe I'm fat so I can push people," Femerling said. "He's (21) years old so you have to cut him slack. He has great potential. He's very athletic. He's tall. He can catch the ball. He can work with his hands. Of course he has to learn something. At (21) years old, you're not a perfect player."

After the first day of the tournament, Yao remained one of the most interesting.

The lone upset was Puerto Rico's 78-75 win over Turkey, featuring Kings forward Hedo Turkoglu and former Rockets first-round pick Mirsad Turksan.

Germany showed enough to offer more of a challenge to the U.S. tonight than Algeria could Thursday. The U.S. team, led by Paul Pierce with 22 points in 18 minutes, rolled to first-half leads of 16-4 and 40-15.

The primary challenger to the U.S. team, defending World Champion Yugoslavia, was nearly as impressive, whipping Angola 113-63, with eight players scoring in double figures.

But even in 17 frustrating minutes, Yao remained his usual center of attention.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1554562

Aug. 30, 2002, 12:13AM

Big man needs his touches
By FRAN BLINEBURY
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
INDIANAPOLIS -- You would think with a population of 1.3 billion from which to choose, China would find somebody who could pass the ball to such a large and inviting target. Yao Ming, of course, is hard to miss. But his teammates on the Chinese national team did.

Point guard Shioiang Guo fell almost flat on his face on the first possession of the game, resulting in a turnover.

A short time later, when Yao set up in position in the low post, Hu Weidong sent a bounce pass through the lane that never had a chance of getting through so many defenders' arms.

Yao's luggage was lost on the flight from Denver to Indianapolis, leaving us to wonder where a guy who stands 7-5 gets a replacement wardrobe on the run. Not to mention a capable assist man.

Passes went errantly high, wildly wide and every place but into the hands of the player who should have been the focus of the offense.

It wasn't Germany's 88-76 opening-round win that was surprising, but that China arrived at the World Championships seemingly without a will or a way to take advantage of what should have been their biggest weapon. Imagine ignoring a giraffe standing in the middle of your living room. That's essentially what China did.

So the five-man contingent from the Rockets, led by coach Rudy Tomjanovich, was left to ponder and project, speculate and look forward to the day when they finally become more than just innocent and silent bystanders.

The Rockets could grin when Yao made a crisp turn on the right baseline to deposit a 10-foot jumper. They could nod contentedly when Germany's Misan Nikagbatse tried an up-and-under move in the lane and had it swatted down authoritatively by Yao. They could barely keep the grins from running right off their faces when Yao did a pivot to the right of the basket, darted across the baseline and sank a reverse layup on the other side.

This is the work in progress and with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists in 17 foul-plagued minutes, what the No. 1 pick in the draft showed was glimpses of what could be in the future rather than highlight reels for the present.

What you see now is remarkable agility and athleticism for a man Yao's size, combined with a demeanor that will likely suit him well along the bumpy road of his first few NBA seasons.

Established NBA veterans will test Yao. The Germans threw a defensive blanket over him.

Shaquille O'Neal already has said he wants to plant an elbow in Yao's nose and see how he reacts. The Germans sent two, three and sometimes four defenders in a picket fence around him, sometimes fronting him, frequently just pushing and hammering away from behind, and it did nothing to bring out a display of temper or frustration.

"Hakeem (Olajuwon) would have been in a couple of fights by now if they treated him that way," said Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson. "(Patrick) Ewing and Shaq, all of them."

In that way, the NBA might be an easier place for Yao's game to blossom. NBA referees generally frown upon rabbit punching and outright grabbing.

What the Rockets will want to see from Yao is the development of a basic move on offense, something he can rely on and force opposing defenses to stop. Olajuwon had his jump hook in the lane and his "Dream Shake" jumper on the baseline.

Ralph Sampson never had a bread-and-butter play, which made him less predictable on offense, but also less reliable for his own team.

"You need something you can milk the defense with," Tomjanovich said. "Make them come out and stop you, which then opens up another avenue."

To do that, of course, requires getting Yao the ball and that fundamental bit of the game found Team China considerably lacking.

Midway through the second quarter, Du Feng drove and missed a layup, but Yao was there to snatch the offensive rebound and slammed it home.

He took just eight shots and had only four touches out of the offense in the entire first half.

Yao is sure of himself in the way that he moves around the court and runs from end to end as if much smaller. He will, however, have to learn how to play defense and when. Yao went for a head-fake from German center Patrick Femerling in the opening minutes and drew his first foul. A short time later, he watched Femerling grab a defensive rebound, then tried to swipe the ball right in front of a referee and was called for his second foul. He tried to draw a charge away from the hoop in the third quarter and drew his fourth foul.

It figures that the Rockets, with Steve Francis at the point, will have an easier time getting the ball to Yao. What the coaching staff wants to work on with his new teammates is making the right kind of pass, up high where he can go to work immediately, not down low where he'll lose position.

The supposition is that Yao, even at the start, should be able to get himself involved offensively by feeding off the slashing Rockets guards, taking open passes when they're covered up, simply cleaning up with offensive rebounds and put-back hoops when they miss shots.

Like so many international players, Yao was frequently lost on defense in the transition game, losing track of his man, which resulted in several dunks and layups that were inexcusable.

The crowd at the RCA Dome buzzed when Nikagbatse drove in for a big dunk and chinned himself on the rim in the last five minutes. But at that point Yao had four fouls and didn't really make an effort to contest the shot.

"It's a little frustrating to sit here and watch like this," Tomjanovich said. "I don't really know what China is trying to do with their team or with Yao. I'm just excited about the thought of working with him. I think we'll do some different things."

Even get him the ball.