Hey guys, I have been thinking a lot about Yao's performance in the coming season. Witnessing Yao's explosion late last season, most people here expect him to pick up what left last April, to be a 26/13 or even 30/15 guy. I personally just don't think that will happen. Yao exploded when Tmac was out and the entire offensive load was on him, when he got a looooot of touches. I don't see that he's gonna get the same amount of touches this season, he might get a lot in several games, but for most games, Tmac, Snyder, Alston, Novak, Wells (I don't even count Battier as he is really a low-tone guy) are gonna share the oppotunities to score with Yao. I actually expect a drop in his pts/rbs but an increase in the assists. Not because he is timid, sloppy, as some claimed after the Heats game, (I do admit he is still rusty,) but pure for the team needs. The important fact is that Yao will be a key role in most of the offense as he can shoot down low or draw the double team and pass to the open. Why try so hard to beat a double team when you spot an open Novak at the 3 point line? After all, the key is to win, not to put up beautiful #s. I would be satisfied with a seasonal avg 20/11/5 from Yao but 24/12/5 at postseason. Thoughts?
I think both Yao and Tmac's points per game will drop, but Yao's rebounding and Tmac's assist numbers will go up. They have better teamates, and will defer more often, IMHO. Nothing to worry about as long as the team is winning....which it should do, quite frequently this year. WOOT ! DD
Yao will probably not average even 2.5 assists. I personally think his passing is the most overrated aspect of his game. I don't think he handles double teams very well.
I might take him a little while but he will get back into a groove and will be able to dominate later on in the season/playoffs. I'm not worried.
Actually, I'd rather TMac and Yao see a drop in their counting stats (including minutes) while raising their efficiency-- increase FG%, less TO, etc. That will mean less wear and tear on these two during the long regular season and that the rest of the team has stepped up in quality of play. No sense killing your stars in the regular season if the rest of the team is good enough to hold their own while giving the stars adequate rest.
van gundy wants yao to be a scoring machine. that sounds like yao will keep scoring and scoring. I don't imagine his scorign going down at all.
the whole point of a good team is to not have to rely on any one guy to carry you all game every game. yao dominated last year because he needed to score on every possesion for the rockets to keep the game close. this season, if they just play team basketball and go to our go-to-guys in times of need then who cares about stats, we'll win a lot!
There is no way Yao's numbers will drop. He's going to get about 20 touches and play more minutes, I cannot believe people predicting his and T-Mac's season based on preseason.
Misleading thread title. Before I read the opening post, I thought it would be one of those "Yao is a bust" or "Yao is unproven" kind of threads that plagued this board in the past. Well in fact the OP made some very legitimate comments forecasting Yao's numbers in the upcoming season, in light of our current roster, and I agree for the most part. The main problem I have is the "5" part in either "20/11/5" or "24/12/5" stats line. I am pretty sure the OP is talking about Yao's assist number here, not the blocks. As some savy posters pointed out somewhere else, even if our offense is heavily geared around Yao, more often than not, the shot that makes the basket would be the 2nd or 3rd one around the perimeter after Yao passes out the ball when he's being doubled. That means it will not be registered in Yao's assist column. In other words, unless Yao is made to be a point-center, it's very unlikely Yao will average more than 4 assists in a season. I think most of us will be very satisfied with 3.5. Last, since I griped about the thread title in the very beginning, a more appropriate I'd recommend would be "All right, stop your hype about Yao's stats."
I agree, I think they will have a much more balanced attack this year. I think many of the role players coul average 9-11 points this year
Actually if Yao and Tmac's numbers are slightly lower it may be a good sign that the role players are contributing and the team is more well rounded. We don't need a replay of last year where we lived and died on Yao and Tmac's play (or lack thereof). Of course we could be surprised and the Rox emerge as THE team in the west if Yao and Tmac's numbers maintain or even slightly increase while getting good numbers out of the rest of the team.
Kobe and Shaq successfully put up simultaneous great seasons. There's no reason Yao and T-Mac can't do it too.
If Yao's numbers are going to drop, this team is going nowhere. This league is getting more into tough-minded, consistent and dangerous stars then ever. Every team needs a star like this to succeed. It pulls many triggers, from hype arround the team that upbuilds ego of a team to calls in favour. This team needs a respected, hyped superstar come playoff time! If he fails to progress this year, or better said if Rockets fail to make him be the man, they won't be taken seriously, no matter how many W's they get.. They need to have a MVP candidate this year.
Here's the thing now. T-mac understands that he is now second fiddle. Yao Ming is arguably the most dominant player in the game. Who compares? Reason now is that he isn't particularly afraid of the double team. Triple team him? Yeah right. Then you got Novak, a better shooting Alston, Mcgrady, Battier waiting on the outside. Judging from what I saw last night, we have the depth and the options now that if T-mac doesnt have a good night, Snyder or Battier or Wells or Novak will. And they will all take advantage of Yao opening up shots for them. He feeds Battier awesome. He kicks it out to Snyder, Novak and Alston well. We're going to be good this year folks. Real good. I want Yao to average 28/13/6. League MVP.
I don't think STACKED team means anything, since everyone is talking about it. Only teams with MVP candidates make it somewhere..
