AJC.COM: The Future is Yao

For Rockets, future is Yao

By JEFFREY DENBERG
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

Houston -- Yao, as in wow.

The Hawks get two shots this season at 7-foot-5 Yao Ming, Houston's big fellow. The first test comes tonight in the Compaq Center. They see the Rockets again in three weeks.

The Hawks have dropped four straight, and they have Allen Iverson and Philadelphia at Philips Arena Saturday night. This is not merely a difficult stretch, but it could be ruinous for a team that is showing signs of a fragile psyche.

The emergence of Yao is untimely for Atlanta. The NBA's top overall draft pick is posting numbers that are definitely respectable for a rookie center from a foreign land -- 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, .599 shooting, .765 from the free throw line -- and he is staring to show that he can be dominant.

"He's going to be a load to handle," Hawks center Theo Ratliff said.

"I love to watch Yao Ming play," ESPN analyst Bill Walton said recently. "When I watch Yao Ming play, I'm reminded of Magic Johnson. He makes plays like Garry Kasparov, like Bobby Fischer. You sit there and say, 'No way he thought of that. That had to be luck.' [Larry] Bird was that way, too, always so far ahead of everyone else mentally.

"As Yao Ming develops into more of an NBA player . . . he has the potential, the capability, of changing the future of basketball.

"He is light years ahead, minutes ahead, hours ahead of the play that's actually going on. The anticipation, the analysis, the figuring out of what's going to happen next. This is an unbelievable talent we are so lucky to have.

"It's harder today. The game is different. Michael Jordan changed the game completely. It wasn't his fault. But the game is played off the dribble, for yourself. Not that Michael was a selfish player, but everybody thought the way he played basketball was to dribble and bail out his team at the shot clock. Now, it's one guy dribbling, nine guys standing, watching that guy get his own shot.

"If you play with Yao Ming, it's like playing with [Arvydas] Sabonis, like playing with Vlade Divac, you have to learn to move, learn to expect and anticipate that you'll get the ball in perfect position."

This is not good news for the Hawks. Their rough stretch to the end of the calendar year includes Indiana, San Antonio and a rematch with Washington before a game with Miami. Things could get worse before they improve.

 

It's called "have no life".