When Yao got the ball on the low block and drove in under the basket, only to be pushed out of bounds by Robinson, I had this wonderful vision in my head of Olajuwon's amazing up-and-under move... the one that poster-ized the Spurs... I bet Robinson did too... hence the foul. oh, the memories... Soon Yao will be making all the opposing centers look bad.
YOU ARE BANDWAGON AS THEY GET!!! Let's see...50 games into the season, here's what YOU will say... "Yao Ming had 21 points last night against *name your team* and 15 rebounds! I always knew he was the best pick!" See, you run where the success is. You'll be a Stoudamare hater when he hits his rookie wall. Then, you'll jump back on his bandwagon when he scores 20. Back and forth you go.
give him a break, ming looked as expected out there. 2 days of practive translates to practically nothing and it showed a little. often times he seemed a bit lost on both sides of the ball but with one game and approximately 5 practices before the regular season, he has some time. defensively he was a clear presence. even though he blocked just the one shot, he was on their mind when they came in. definitely not a bad day but a good start.
Thanks DoD... Going back to the original topic of the thread, I soon noticed that SA played Ming somewhat straight up, rather than sending the house to slow Ming down. It'll be interesting to see what kind of defenses opposing teams will throw at Ming. They will more than likely test Ming's ability to pass out of double/triple teams, as well as his ability to make a quick move, before the double team arrives. If Ming consistently can hit the turnaround J (apparently his bread and butter), then double teams are pretty useless on a player who fading away from the bucket. I was thinking that with our supposed motion offense, that we would utilizing Ming at the top of the key more, to give him a shoot or pass option. However, he was mainly settled into the post. I'd like to see Ming at the elbow, or the top of the key, with guys cutting backdoor.
I do think Ming needs to improve his upper body, but everyone knows that already. The problem I have is when he does try to play physical, he gets called for the foul. I understand that Rookies don't receive the respect of veterans, but the damn refs tonight were horrible.
Did you see that pic that windandsea posted in another thread where The Mermaid was trying to push Ming off the blocks. Robinson had his hands up Ming's armpits, but you could tell that Ming had rooted his feet into the ground and he wasn't about to get moved easily. If he ever develops his upper body, he's going to be dangerous. I mean, the guy will be 7'6", weigh about 310 lbs, be able to post up down low, take it outside and hit jumpshots, pass the ball, and block shots.
I was expecting to see more high post stuff from Ming, too...but then again he only played 13 minutes. I really hope that he gets double teamed a lot, because it SEEMS like he's a pretty good passer (although it is far too early to make ANY kind of judgments). My favorite play that I don't think anyone has mentioned was when Hawkins threw the inbounds pass up high to the 3 pt. line to Ming. Ming grabbed it with one hand and immediately threw it right back to him...Hawkins just wasn't ready for it. Very impressive instinctive play for a rookie.
Yao must: Defensively: Attack the rebound and go after the ball with both hands. Move his feet and position himself for the block. Offensively: The defensive player will let him make the 1st turnaround jumper. The 2nd time he does that, they'll block just like Robinson. He must make the quick turnaround the first time. After he gets their respect, he should pump fake then drive to the basket.
For 2 days, I think it is an IMPRESSIVE DEBUT!!. The guy just got off the plane a couple of days ago, practiced barely, and now he is facing one of the top teams in the NBA. You are giving Ming no credit at all.
Let's not contort views here. Committing a foul does not signify toughness. 90% of people would say that Cato is lazy, or that Mo is really lax defensively, but basing it on fouls, it'd be otherwise. Anyhow kidrock, the first thing I noticed is that he's tall. hehe. When Yao walked into the game, the game changed. The Spurs guards looked absolutely confused. Even Robinson looked shell-shocked and lost that first pass. I'd be curious to compare FG with Yao in and out, and inside activity in both cases. It was clear to me exactly what was the case-he got into Houston 3 days ago, and hasn't developed chemistry with his teammates. That was to be expected. A couple of rebounding miscommunications, passes, etc. He doesn't look weak like Preying Mantis, but he ended up on the floor 3-4 times...for a 7-6er, that's just asking for trouble. I thought a couple of the fouls were rookie calls. When he develops a rep I think those offensive fouls might dissapear. That turnaround on Robinson was sweet. I think the SA defense of some double teams and some single coverage was to test Yao, keep the rookie off balance.
Great points... It seemed like Yao was waiting for the ball to come to him, rather than vice versa. He might have been able to get away with it in China, because he was so much bigger and as athletic as his peers. But, in the NBA the 7 footers will attack the glass with reckless abandon. Ming must turn on his aggresion on the boards.
People are stuck on this "he needs to build up his upper body", but other big men around the league can't even move the guy. You noticed nobody has posted "Man Duncan and Robinson just pushed Ming off the block" or "Man Ming couldn't move Robinson, he was forced on the outside". Robinson couldn't move the man. Yao could have done what he felt like doing, he just needs to learn the NBA. All I have to say, when Ming is out there, our perimeter players are going to have a field day, and our post guys are going to go bonkers. When Ming is out there it's like Shaq just walked on the floor, 2 or 3 guys just rush the guy. Once this team gets on the same page they're going to destroy some teams. Not beat teams, DESTROY teams.
Did you see the other picture from windandsea of Yao running back down the court with Robinson staring at him? His body language is priceless. I wish I'd seen the game... listened on the radio. What were your impressions of Yao and of the others who are on the bubble?
Just got back from the game guys. Yao DID look decent for a guy who has been here only a few days. He was moving pretty well and showed some agression. He did get a block on Barkley who thought it was a good idea to drive on him. Most of the Spurs worked around him and changed their original intentions. He did get blocked by DRob and that was a bummer. What really disappointed me was when he first came in the game,the SA reaction was to boo him. Then everytime his touches ended up with a miss,a hard foul,or especially DRob's block and the dunk that was perceived to be on Yao,the crowd was cheering and jeering. I wonder if it's gonna be like that everywhere else. I just don't get why so many people want him to fail. It wasn't just booing the opponent or razzing the #1 pick. It was true delight in watching his mistakes. The brightest spot of the night had to be Eddie. That guy was all over the place. That block on Duncan from behind again was sweet. It's scary how much better he seems already.
Don't be so critical after seeing Ming's first preseason game....especially the guy that said we should have taken Stoudamire. Yao played the way I expected him to play. Some of you expect this guy to just all of a sudden dominate the NBA and do everything perfect...in his first few minutes of action. Give the guy some room......
Apparently reading comprehension eludes most of you who have posted in this thread. The intent of this thread WAS NOT to start a Yao sucks campaign, and the ensuing arguments that would result from such an asanine statement. This thread was intended for people to actually talk X's and O's, and discuss how they think other teams will defend Yao. 95% of what has been said in this thread deviates from the original topic. With the way this thread is going, I fully expect someone to randomly discuss what CD is in their CD player, or something just as random...
thank you. ming will get stronger simply by following the strenght coaches and being in the league. the man will never look like kevin willis and he has no need for it. if you looked at his legs compared to robinson's they were easily twice as big. what's more important than that to holding position? the awkwardness we saw was not a result of him being weak, it was inexperience with the offense and his new teammates.
