The Houston based reporter from Basketball Pioneer Wang Meng did this interview with Jeff Van Gundy prior to the match with Minnesota Timberwolves. The interview subject topic was a very direct one: What kind of a role Jeff Van Gundy had played in Yao Ming's progress. From JVG's response, we could understand Yao Ming better as a professional basketball player.
Thanks for the read! We're all getting an amazing rush from seeing Yao taking that next step up in his career. The way he is playing now is exactly what we'd hoped for when he was drafted. It's what we've become accustomed to seeing from our long history of stellar centers in this league. The great leap forward Yao has taken this season is the most exciting thing I've seen here in a long time. Getting Tracy and seeing just how great a player he is has to be in the same ball park, but we love our great centers here. Maybe we've become jaded a bit, but we expected greatness from Yao (most of us), and by god, he's finally reached that level, and is only going to get better. I'm stoked!
Now, give up all your hopes of Yao shooting 3 pointers. And in this article, he was really happy for his 20/10 line. http://basketball.goalchina.net/news/86742.html
Give up Yao shooting 18 footers also. I always said as long as JVG is the coach, Yao is going to be a low post player, only outside shot JVG wants to see Yao shoot is from the FT line.
Yea, very interesting read. Well, to JVG's credit Yao already had a mid-range game when he got here. But at 7'6" Yao didn't have any real low-post moves. Once Yao perfects his low post game and the Rockets know they can rely on Yao's post game, then and only then do you want to expand his game back out. It is better to build Yao from the inside-out. It hurts short term cause you take away what Yao is good at. But long term, Yao will be a beast...as we are starting to see. Yao might make a 15 footer being guarded 1-on-1. But if Yao catches the ball under the rim, he needs to be triple teamed leaving others open for a 3. Or if Yao can still make the shot, he'll likely get fouled and get a 3 point play. So what would you rather have? 2 points. Or 3-point shot or a 3-point play getting guys into foul trouble. The BEST part about Yao's low post dominance is it allows the Rockets to control the "flow" of the game. A simple 15-footer is pretty benign. But the simple threat of Yao's posting up warps everything that happens on the court in our favor.
What?!? JVG won't let Yao shoot mid range shots and three pointers? Fire his ass! Yao could have been the next Rik Smits if not for Van Gundy!
I don't want Yao shooting threes, but i have to admit I love the time he sunk that trey in Golden State to seal the victory for us. The look on Jason Richardson's face was freakin' classic.
You should check with Tom Thibodeau. Read it numerous time in those Chinese reporters' articles on sina.com. The guy and his staff must have lost hundreds of dollars to Yao Ming for betting on whether Yao Ming could make 3-pointers during team's shoot-out practice. Yao Ming has that range but as the above interview showed he was not allowed to shoot 3-pointers by Jeff Van Gundy during matches.
I was skeptical of the ability to transform Yao into a low post beast. Boy how wrong I was about that. I have to give JVG his credit for not giving up on developing Yao's low-post game as well as credit to Yao for having the desire to improve in this aspect of the game. I would love to see Yao open up though and be able to mix his arsenal of low-post as well as mid & long range jumpers just to add diversity in dealing with defenses. Actually what I miss most is the TMac-Yao p&r! I haven't seen it much at all this year.
ME TOO! I sometimes go back and watch some of the dallas footage and just see how unstoppable that play was with those two. Man hopefully these next few days will help Tracy's back. I would go as far to say sit him against the spurs. Chances are we wont be the spurs even with him. we havent beaten them in SA for what like 6 years or something? if sacrificing one game now means winning more in the long run I am all for it.
Yao's not allowed to shoot 3s in any match and/or under no circumstance? If this is not an epitome of JVG's rigid coaching dogma, I don't know what is. And how ironic to JVG's claim that he is not out to *change* Yao. BTW, nice job pryuen.
I've seen it. Here is how the pick'n'roll goes --- Yao sets the pick, and then you see Tmac rolling on the floor holding his back...
Funny how many people so desperately wanted Yao to be a high post center and now that he is dominating in the low post, no one is complaining. People have ZERO patience. Good thing the coaches and players have more patience than the fans. Fans would've had him out at the freethrow line shooting jumpers and developing into an average big man.
Do you guys want to read the other side of the story, from Yao Ming, i.e. how he felt whether Jeff Van Gundy had helped to change him ??? A sequel from Wang Meng on this article. A pretty long but interesting one. If you guys like it, I'll work on its translation. Stay Tuned.
