NEW Yao Ming Pics from Hong Kong!!!

#50, right? Yeah he looked strong and Yao couldn't get very deep position vs him. He (or maybe another center, I am not very sure) even won the tip vs Yao in half time. He looked to have some trouble guarding Bateer though. On offense, he had 2-3 good low-post moving to the basket hook shots over Yao. I think both he and Yao got 4 pts in the 1st quarter but I don't know how many pts he got later then (cause no stats shown in the game).

I am very impressed with the Australian team's offensive scheme. They drive and kick a lot and move the ball really well. A lot better than China's IMO.

 

Chinese NT tighten up their defensive in 4th qtr (may be Yao wake up a little bit), which caused Australian team nearly 3 24-second violation.......

OR Australian team was told not to shoot in 4th qtr. Their low post game totally disappeared.

KH

 

Yeah #50, his name is MArk Bradtke, he has had a couple of short stints in the NBA but ended up riding the pine so cam home, he is quite old now, over 30 now, probably closer to 35, nevertheless the strong big player in the Australian National League and best rebounder, his size and strength make most other centres in the national league look like kids.

He is very strong, but still Yao should be able to get some decent position against him. Will be good practice for Yao.

Unless they have changed their offense (which i doubt seeing they have run the same offense for decades) then there offense is the SHuffle offense, which starts in 4 out 1 in with the centres at the high post ball side, the ball is passed acrossed the guards then down to weakside forward the guard who orginally starts cuts off the centre and posts up near the ball, the centre and other guard now go down and set a double staggered screen for the now weakside forward, if you repeat it 5 times, then each player moves thru each position, they know it very well, especially whent he have veterans like Gaze, Copeland and Bradtke.

 

Mark Bradtke (#50) is a very good player. He is the Center for the Australian national team and was once in the NBA. He was very homesick in Philadelphia so came home and dominated our league. Former Chicago Bull Luc Longley said Bradtke was a far better player then him but didnt get to show off his full potential to the Basketball world. His a great defender and can hurt you in offence. The team he plays for is a very unselfish team, so Bradtke cannot dominate as much as he could and should. He is now 35 and still playing decent basketball. I wouldnt be to harsh on Yao he played on a very solid opponent who is also much stronger and smarter. Yao will learn, and hopefully someday be dominating players more frequently.

Here are Mark Bradtke's stats from last season in the Australian League:
ppg: 23.8
reb: 13.2
assists: 3.1
blocks: 1.3
FG: 51%
___________________________________________________

By the way that 38 year old with grey hair is the best Australian Basketballer ever. His name is Andrew Gaze (#10) and is 38 years old. He is still one of the worlds greatest pure shooters and one of the best of all time. He holds the record for most points per game in olympics basketball history, and has attended the most olympics participating in basketball. He has one 7 Australian league MVP's, in one season averaged an amazing 44 ppg 8 rebounds and 5 assists, shooting 53% as a shooting guard. The link below has his stats from every year plaed in the Australian league. He had short stints with Washington and won a championship ring with San Antonio in 1999. He is a very loyal man to his club and got homesick way to easy coming out of college. He played for Seton Hall making the NCAA final, losing to Michigan in the final i think. He averaged 18 ppg in college and would have been drafted if he didnt pull out of the draft.

His Career Stats:
http://ba1.basketball.net.au/nbl/players/melbourne/gaze.html

*The team China played are just one club in the Australian league, China need alot of impriving as a team.

 

Yes Andrew Gaze was really good. He moved without the ball well from the baseline (Reggie Miller-like). His 3-pt shooting was awesome in the 1st half but he seemed to show his age and slowed down a lot in the 2nd half.

My seat was just directly behind the basket (really good seat). So I saw it very clearly.

 

see what happens when Yao hangs with commmunistic Ivan Drago trainers. They juice him up! stay away from that stuff Yao.. dont let em treat you like a machine..you dont need an edge.. go chop some wood instead.

 

Newgirl
Are you a journalist? Did you just travel to HK for this game?

 

Having lived in Melbourne for the past 16 years and watching the Tigers for the past 12 at least, one thing i can tell you is that the team has barely changed in the times i have been watching them in the NBL. Andrew Gaze and his back court team mate Lenard Copeland were awesome 8 yeas ago when the team couldnt be beat. They added Bradtke about 6 years ago and did pretty well.
The only problem they are older and a lot slower, there was a time when the Tigers were the Lakers of the NBL, but that time has past. There coach is gaze's father and still runs the same plays he has for 30 years give the ball to his son and let him shoot it. Which isnt a bad thing coz he does have a sweet shot.

Last year the tigers had a .500 record in a league that has been stripped of most of its good players by the European leagues. So why did a team made up of three former NBA players not win the league. Sure Gaze was injured fo 5 matches in a 30 game season, but the real reason they arent good.

They have now added Darryl MacDonald one of the greatest imports in NBL history(now a naturalised Australian) but they arent a great team.

Yao must have had some serious rust to remove or it might be that he is just getting used to the extra pounds he is carrying (very good to see though) but he should have demolished the tigers and put up at least 30 and 15. The only thing that could have saved those stats was limited minutes I havent seen how many he played. I dont believe he should have played in that game as it wasnt a proper international and the only reason that the tigers are there is to find a Yao of their own.

 

Im sure Tigers really set out to guard Ming tightly, it seemed like it on the clips i saw on channel 10 tonight. Bout 3 guys were always around him, and i think Bradtke would of just drag him further from the ring as possible... Ming will learn and hopefully improve in game 2.

 

I don't get it. How could he POSSIBLY miss 5 dunks if he went 7-11 from the field?

 

Shots in which he was fouled?

 

We needed Yao to get bigger and stronger in his upper body, especially his wrist and hand strength. HE LOOKS SWOLL! Good. Once he hits training camp his body will begin to burn off any excess fat. His neck, arms, shoulders, all look bigger....He is beginning to fill out which is great news for Rocket fans.

 

I don't know if someone will read this. Yao do the dunk in PRACTICE. Not in the game. In the game, Yao wears Chinese National Team jersey.

 

yeah sure clips on 10 and SBS had heaps of highlights

bradtke (boo for leaving adelaide) was certainly working hard to force him out of the patient before he caught the ball

 

the real reason is they DON'T play ANY Defense, plus Bradtke was injured most of the year

 

They will play the 2nd game tonight in Fujian. But I don't think any of our sports channels will broadcast the game since they all focus on Real Madrid over here ATM.

 

The only line I saw showed 7-16.

 

Yao 26pts Chinese NT 96-77 Melbourne Tigers

 

cool, thats a much better performance to feel good about. thank you.

if any of you guys can give more detailed stats or observations about Yao in this game it will be much apperciated.