When Shaq and Yao both on the ground

Really? Nice.

Yao did well but let's be honest, he's not yet to the Shaq level. There are a lot of areas in his game that need improvement. It is not about how good he is (although quite good now) but how good he will be.

 

Interesting!

 

21 points for Shaq when Yao is on the floor, I think?

 

I think Yao did a great job. What makes me more proud about Yao is not about his numbers but it's about how he wasn't afraid of facing Shaq. This is what seperates the pretenders from the real deals. Moses and Hakeem was asked during the game and they both were impressed with how Yao didn't back down from Shaq.

 

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20955~1119202,00.html

Yao, that hurts
Houston center shows he can trouble Shaq; Lakers fall in overtime

By Howard Beck
Staff Writer


HOUSTON -- Yao Ming has not revolutionized the game of basketball, or torn asunder the NBA landscape, or disproved Einstein's theory of relativity or otherwise disrupted the space-time continuum.

There is time, yet, for all of that.

On Friday, all he did was give Shaquille O'Neal something to think about, maybe even something to worry about, and no one has done that for a long, long, long time.

The league still no doubt belongs to O'Neal, and might still for several years. But Yao is coming, and with a frightening acceleration. That much is now clear.

Yao and O'Neal at last went head to head -- actually Shaq's head to Yao's chin -- in a much-anticipated and, indeed, historic meeting at Compaq Center. Very little went as expected.

O'Neal, expected to dominate, instead struggled to score against the 7-foot-5 rookie for most of the evening. And in the end, little Steve Francis stole the spotlight from the giants, scoring 44 points to lead the Rockets to a 108-104 overtime victory over the Lakers.

The defeat ended the Lakers' season-best winning streak at five games, and dropped them three games below .500.

O'Neal finished with 31 points -- 16 when Yao was in the game -- and 13 rebounds. Yao's numbers were modest, 10 points and 10 rebounds. But he also rejected O'Neal's first three shots of the game, four in all, and a message had been sent -- understood in any language.

"He's a great player. He's going to become better," said O'Neal, who seldom offers such praise to another big man. "I've been known to step up to every challenge, and it's another challenge that I have to face, and it's another challenge that he has to face."

For months, O'Neal spoke of elbows to the nose and forearms to the chest and all other manner of physical intimidation. But he had difficulty backing down Yao, who weighs close to 300 pounds, and looked ill at ease after the early blocks.

O'Neal scored just 13 points through the first three quarters -- and nine of them came against Kelvin Cato.

"I think it just took him awhile to adjust to his size," Kobe Bryant said. "I think once he got adjusted to his size, it was back to the 'boom-boom' again."

O'Neal didn't dunk on Yao until the overtime period, when he threw down two right-handed jams with quick moves to the baseline.

That got the Lakers going, but the momentum quickly dissipated, and with some controversy.

The Rockets led by a point with 1:11 to play when O'Neal was called for a flagrant foul against Francis. Coach Phil Jackson followed referee Monty McCutcheon halfway down the court, yelling the entire way, and drew a technical foul.

The Rockets made all three free throws to make it 102-98, and the Lakers never got closer than two points again.

"It was unfortunate the referee took the game, made it that type of a game," Jackson said. "Especially what I said to him, wasn't offensive. I asked him why he would make a call like that at that time of the game. ... I'm sure on replay he'll have second thoughts about it."

O'Neal blamed officials for the loss.

"All I did was jump in the air on 'Franchise,' and he came in a sports car and he hit a wall. That's what happens when you hit a wall," he said.

Bryant scored 22 points but was 5 for 21 from the field and missed a free throw with 18.8 seconds left in regulation that could have prevented overtime. Instead, Francis hit a 3-pointer over Derek Fisher to create a 92-92 tie.

Yao and O'Neal could not have been more gracious to one another. Yao invited O'Neal over for dinner Thursday, but O'Neal was out with family and missed the call. Before tipoff, he sought out Yao on the sideline to offer his hand and a few words in his ear. He patted him on the back to start the second half.

"I had to respect him every second," Yao said. "If I didn't, he would get under the basket and we would be in a lot of trouble. It wore me out."

But perhaps in the process, Yao planted the seeds of a new rivalry, one O'Neal hasn't had since the last crop of great centers -- Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Alonzo Mourning -- began to fade in the late 1990s.

Bryant isn't so sure.

"Maybe one day," he said. "Maybe one day."

 

Definitely one day, little Kobe.

 

Wow, this thread needs to be bumped. BRILLIANT observation, those numbers are incredible. That means they pretty much played to a draw, and we won the game.

I can't wait for next year. This is going to be a brilliant rivalry. I think next year, we can send single coverage on Shaq, and then attack Kobe with Francis and Mobley, while defending him with Posey.

If Francis, Mobley and Ming is equal to Shaq and Kobe, then our supporting cast is infinitely better.

 

I was hoping someone would point out the points made when playing against each other. I hope more people bring out the facts.

 

I also noticed how much better Yao played Shaq physically than most people. We took Yao out and Shaq was killing Cato, and Cato normally holds his own physically against anybody. It shows me that Yao indeed is pretty strong in his lower body and probably one of the the best 5 or so guys I would want to throw at Shaq.

 

where did you get these stats? even though they're "just stats," that's awesome if they're correct. can anyone verify?

actually, i have the game on tape and i'm about to watch it again, so maybe i can verify then...

 

just check play one bye one

when yaodefence shaq one bye one (or soft double)

shaq dunk 4 times ,one is offence foul (the ball is above the rim)
(2 elbows on yao's chop..dunk on yao)

hit 2 hook shot or fadaway shoot

1 layup
2free throw
=16 pts

the rest is being blocked by yao five times

being blocked by posey or griff

offence fool

miss several shoot

shaq 7/20 (maybe 19) vs yao

shaq 5/6 with cato
that is all.....................

 

http://scores.nba.com/games/20030117/LALHOU/PlayByPlayPrint.html

(11:47) [LAL] O'Neal Layup Shot: Missed Block: Ming (1 BLK)
(11:36) [HOU 2-0] Ming Hook Shot: Made (2 PTS) Assist: Griffin (1 AST)
(10:48) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:0 Def:1)
(10:16) [HOU] Ming Turnaround Jump: Missed
(10:04) [LAL] O'Neal Layup Shot: Missed Block: Ming (2 BLK)
(9:57) [HOU 4-6] Ming Layup Shot: Made (4 PTS) Assist: Francis (1 AST)
(9:27) [HOU 6-8] Ming Turnaround Jump: Made (6 PTS) Assist: Francis (2 AST)
(9:07) [LAL] O'Neal Layup Shot: Missed Block: Ming (3 BLK)
(8:17) [HOU] Ming Fade Away: Missed
(7:11) [LAL] O'Neal Layup Shot: Missed Block: Posey (1 BLK)
(5:53) [LAL 13-17] O'Neal Slam Dunk Shot: Made (2 PTS) Assist: Bryant (2 AST)
(5:30) [HOU] Ming Jump Shot: Missed
(5:23) [HOU] Ming Foul: Personal (1 PF)
(5:12) [LAL 15-17] O'Neal Jump Shot: Made (4 PTS) Assist: Bryant (3 AST)
(3:36) [LAL 21-17] Horry Running Jump: Made (2 PTS) Assist: O'Neal (1 AST)
(3:01) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:0 Def:2)
(2:55) [LAL 23-17] Fisher Layup Shot: Made (4 PTS) Assist: O'Neal (2 AST)
(2:30) [LAL] O'Neal Free Throw 1 of 2 missed
(2:30) [HOU] Ming Substitution replaced by Cato
(2:30) [LAL 24-17] O'Neal Free Throw 2 of 2 (5 PTS)
(2:17) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:0 Def:3)
(2:02) [LAL 26-17] George Jump Shot: Made (2 PTS) Assist: O'Neal (3 AST)
(1:31) [LAL 28-17] O'Neal Slam Dunk Shot: Made (7 PTS) Assist: Bryant (4 AST)


2nd Period
(7:57) [LAL] Bryant Substitution replaced by O'Neal
(7:41) [LAL 34-28] O'Neal Turnaround Jump: Made (9 PTS) Assist: Shaw (1 AST)
(7:14) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:0 Def:4)
(7:04) [LAL] O'Neal Turnaround Jump: Missed
(6:16) [HOU] Cato Substitution replaced by Ming
(6:07) [HOU] Ming Jump Shot: Missed
(4:55) [HOU] Ming Turnaround Jump: Missed
(4:39) [LAL 38-32] O'Neal Hook Shot: Made (11 PTS)
(1:05) [HOU] Ming Substitution replaced by Cato



3rd Period
(10:50) [LAL] O'Neal Fade Away: Missed
(10:48) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:0 Def:1)
(9:02) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:0 Def:2)
(8:29) [HOU] Ming Fade Away: Missed
(8:16) [LAL 53-56] Fox Jump Shot: Made (10 PTS) Assist: O'Neal (4 AST)
(8:04) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:0 Def:5)
(7:56) [HOU] Ming Foul: Shooting (2 PF)
(7:56) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:0 Def:3)
(7:37) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:1 Def:3)
(7:07) [HOU] Ming Foul: Offensive (3 PF)
(7:07) [HOU] Ming Turnover: Foul (1 TO)
(6:38) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:1 Def:4)
(6:09) [HOU 59-56] Francis Jump Shot: Made (23 PTS) Assist: Ming (1 AST)
(5:43) [LAL] O'Neal Jump Shot: Missed Block: Ming (4 BLK)
(3:57) [LAL] O'Neal Foul: Offensive (1 PF)
(3:57) [LAL] O'Neal Turnover: Foul (1 TO)
(3:30) [LAL] Bryant Layup Shot: Missed Block: Ming (5 BLK)
(3:16) [HOU] Ming Turnaround Jump: Missed
(3:00) [LAL] O'Neal Fade Away: Missed
(2:19) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:1 Def:5)
(2:18) [LAL 62-66] O'Neal Follow Up Dunk: Made (13 PTS)
(2:02) [HOU] Ming Substitution replaced by Cato

4th Period
(10:57) [LAL 71-73] O'Neal Turnaround Hook Shot: Made (15 PTS)
(9:34) [LAL] O'Neal Turnaround Jump: Missed
(8:52) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:1 Def:6)
(8:35) [LAL 77-77] O'Neal Turnaround Jump: Made (17 PTS) Assist: Rush (1 AST)
(8:18) [HOU] Cato Substitution replaced by Ming
(6:41) [LAL 81-79] O'Neal Turnaround Jump: Made (19 PTS)
(6:25) [LAL] O'Neal Foul: Shooting (2 PF)
(6:11) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:1 Def:5)
(5:48) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:1 Def:6)
(5:43) [HOU 83-81] Mobley Driving Layup: Made (19 PTS) Assist: Ming (2 AST)
(5:16) [LAL] O'Neal Hook Shot: Missed
(4:55) [HOU] Ming Turnaround Jump: Missed
(4:39) [LAL 83-83] O'Neal Reverse Layup: Made (21 PTS) Assist: Horry (5 AST)
(4:18) [HOU 85-83] Ming Layup Shot: Made (8 PTS) Assist: Francis (9 AST)
(3:50) [LAL] O'Neal Layup Shot: Missed Block: Ming (6 BLK)
(3:12) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:2 Def:6)
(2:34) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:2 Def:7)
(1:57) [HOU] Ming Turnaround Jump: Missed
(1:56) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:2 Def:8)
(1:26) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:1 Def:7)
(0:18) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:1 Def:8)
(0:13) [HOU 92-92] Francis Jump Shot: Made (38 PTS) Assist: Ming (3 AST)
(0:00) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:3 Def:8)


1st Overtime
(4:45) [LAL] O'Neal Running Jump: Missed
(4:26) [LAL] O'Neal Foul: Shooting (3 PF)
(4:06) [LAL 94-94] O'Neal Slam Dunk Shot: Made (23 PTS)
(3:40) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:3 Def:9)
(3:17) [LAL 96-94] O'Neal Running Hook Shot: Made (25 PTS)
(2:31) [LAL] O'Neal Turnaround Jump: Missed
(2:30) [HOU] Ming Rebound (Off:1 Def:9)
(1:27) [LAL 98-99] O'Neal Slam Dunk Shot: Made (27 PTS) Assist: Fox (2 AST)
(1:11) [LAL] O'Neal Foul: Flagrant Type 1 (4 PF)
(0:47) [LAL] O'Neal Rebound (Off:4 Def:9)
(0:44) [LAL] O'Neal Turnover: Lost Ball (2 TO) Steal: Francis (2 ST)
(0:33) [HOU] Ming Foul: Shooting (4 PF)
(0:10) [HOU 104-100] Ming Slam Dunk Shot: Made (10 PTS) Assist: Francis (11 AST
(0:09) [HOU] Ming Foul: Personal (5 PF)
(0:09) [LAL 101-104] O'Neal Free Throw 1 of 2 (28 PTS)
(0:09) [LAL 102-104] O'Neal Free Throw 2 of 2 (29 PTS)
(0:08) [HOU] Ming Substitution replaced by Cato
(0:07) [LAL 103-106] O'Neal Free Throw 1 of 2 (30 PTS)
(0:07) [LAL 104-106] O'Neal Free Throw 2 of 2 (31 PTS)




I didn't double check as i just use their overall stats minus cato time's stats. The head to head statistics should be:

Shaq 21pts 10reb 3ast 0blk
Yao 10pts 10reb 3ast 6blk

I think shaq really dominated yao at overtime (8pts vs 2 pts head to head)

 

why could not edit the post again?
What a "low post" day!

 

why could not edit the post again?
What a "low post threat" day!

 

I really hope that Yao notice how Shaq man-handles his opponents. When Shaq goes to dunk..........the guy DUNKS. There is no lay up. I hope Yao use this as an encouragement.

 

16 pts by Shaq on Yao is about right. You guys forgot about the FT when other players foul Shaq even if Cato is defending him (and there were quite a few of those when Cato was playing).

 

Yao's defense is actually not bad all season. I read it somewhere that no other centers have led their teams in scoring in Yao's 27 starts until Shaq. But that probably said more about the lack of centers in this league.

 

Little Kobe had zero dunks last night because of Yao's inside presence. In fact, except for Shaq, Horry was the only one who had a dunk.

Tha's what I call intimidation.