Did any of you guys see that picture on the rockets.com website of Yao being tackled by two Celtics players while going for a rebound? Literally, Lafrentz is bear hugging Yao's left arm while some other Celtic is shoving Yao in the back. How much you wanna bet that an over-the-back foul was called on Yao during that play? Seriously, the officiating against our big man is disgusting. And nothing will change.
It is getting ridiculous. Knock on Yao was that he is not going to get the calls because he is not agressive. Now that he is being agressive, he is called for offensive fouls. Most of the offensive fouls have been when the defender either flops, or Yao is so big that when he turns his shoulder and bumps into his man to make a move, it looks awkward to the ref and they call an offensive foul. The worst one that irks me...... IT SAYS IN THE RULE BOOK THAT IF A PLAYER POSTS UP AND THE DEFENDER PUTS 2 HANDS ON THE BACK OF PLAYER TO ROOT HIM OFF OF HIS POSITION, ITS AN AUTOMATIC ******NG FOUL!!!! Call that crap when people use this tactic to move Yao off of his position. This is NEVER EVER called and it is always used against Yao. Just because Yao is 7-6 does not mean he is exempt from this protection. Seriously, NBA officiating is marred in politics. I wish they would just call it based on rules consistently instead of makinf **** up as they go. And I wish Gundy would have the balls to speak up about it. Start earning your paycheck...get some technicals.
Just downloaded and watched the highlights clip vs Heat by rockets2k. At 6-7 second mark, you can clearly see Zo pushed yao hard at the back with two hands.... no foul was called. UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is something the fans should be aware of and hell should break loose in the toybox when they see this happening with no call. A two hands shout should do something.
While I agree the officiating sucks...as it always has on Yao...putting two hands on the back when posting up]/b] is legal. The rule says you can't dislodge the player but you can put your hands on them. You cannot put your hands on a permimeter player at all, however. That being said, Yao gets dislodged all the time and it's rarely called. The call that drives me crazy is the offensive fouls he often picks up. He makes a run-of-the-mill post up move and slightly bumbs his defender but because of his height, he bumbs them in their upper chest so the defender flops. argggg. That drives me up a wall.
Amen as well. It is getting hard to watch the games without screaming at the TV. As JVG said last year, Yao is the worst officiated player in the league.
Yep, I saw it too on rockets.com right after the game. Some time into the season, JVG needs to send a video to the league officials including David Stern and Stu Jackson about unfair officiating on Yao. It doesn't take a video guru a lot of time to produce that. It should highlight the differences in handling these situations by referees when it comes to Yao and other big men. We are not asking for any special treatment, but fairness and consistence. Too bad Shaq is not playing these days, otherwise the "comparative" analysis would be very effective. JVG doesn't have to do it provocatively, but the messages of the complaint should be clear and unwavering.
I believe last year it was mentioned in an article that the Rockets send a video to the league after every game.
Yao needs to learn how to flop forward...when he feels them pushing from behind, he should fall forward...and flail his arms. DD
I'd rather he "accidently" swung his elbows. Maybe then the tactic would be deemed a little too "risky". The refs never seem to buy it when Yao falls down or flails about.
It is much less effective or even pointless to do that, IMO. If I were Stu Jackson, I could find all the excuses in the world to fend off your complaints. For every tape sent, it's only about one game. Referees are humans, which translates, they are allowed occasional missed calls or bad calls in their judgement. What JVG and his staff need to do is to find a pattern, along with cold hard statistics, to demonstrate unrefutably that Yao is unfairly officiated. It takes more than one game tape. JVG's staff will have to watch lots of videos where other big men in the NBA are officiated, and compile a long list of such which shows in comparable situations Yao is whistled one way (unfavorably) while the other big men are judged in their favors. Better yet, they can probably find out whether certain referees have perchant of screwing Yao only. When these time-tested facts are established, JVG and Co. should also make them publicly available so others can watch and judge for themselves.
I agree. Those refs tonight were unbelievably morons. If this continues.. I'll boycott watching other NBA games.
Putting it out openly would put JVG and the organization into trouble again. I think it's a great idea to let the statistic talk; however, it should be done by outsider, say, Team Yao finance some research or statistic group (secretly) to conduct the research, and put together a detailed report, including charts, tables, and videoclips etc etc. Then they should start to cricle it around BBSs, fan boards, get the attention of media. Once it lands on TV, reporters will start to ask Stern and Co. tough questions, then, only maybe then, it risks NBA's image and revenue, they will request for the videos and address that. Of course, it could be a pipe dream forever. Call me imaginary of conspiracy, I had the feelings that the refs are subcnsciously and intentionally hard on Yao.
Yeah, you are probably right about the possible repercussion the Rockets organization may face when the said video is deliberately put out by them. But hey, it never hurts if it is unintentionally leaked into the press ...
They should pull a "Mark Cuban" play the replays of Yao being pushed in the back by varius players over and over again. It could replace the 13 in 33 videos of the spur's game. and continue to do it until the refs pay attention. Heck I would pay a little extra for my tickets to help pay the fine.
I wish some Rox fans have the guts to carry a sign saying "NBA officiating sux! Stern is a racist!" to the Rox game. I guess it is too much to expect our gentle houston-based fans to chant "referee sucks" during a game.
The sad thing is that Cuban, however a clown he is, is probably the owner cares about winning most. You have to admire him for that. Other owners, Les for one, as long as they are making good money, will avoid conflict with Stern at all cost, fans frustions being the cheapest.
