i for one don't think yao deserves all the heat he is getting from the fans on this board. He play's how he is told to play. He is told to be big and play big. This probaly is how he is supposed to play given his height. But thats not yao. The yao that this BBS loved left when Rudy left. it was the no look passes the Shanghai shake and stuff like that that made yao fun to watch. We could tell he was headed towards greatness. He was like a young Sabonis that wasn't getting the ball enough. What is he now? B/C of JVG yao now struggles to make the outside jumpter a shot that he made on a gamely basis while Rudy was here. Creativity used to be a huge part of Yao's game now its no where to be seen. JVG fails to realize that yao isn't great at playing big . He is a big man that can play from any where inside the 3 point arch thats what made him special not the fact that he's 7'6. Now he is just a 7'6 giant with now little offensive skills acting big inside the key. I've watched a few tapes from Yao's rookie year. He's a completely differnt/better player. Its just sad to watch than and now. I want my old Yao back and thats not happening until JVG gets out of here. These guys styles do not match I hope Les will realize this soon b/c our Rockets will not reach the next level until the real Yao returns.
i remember last year's all star game... yao was making no look passes, alleyoops, fadeaways, jamming it in other players' grills...and he was having fun out there, he was smiling. Why? because he did not have to look over his shoulder because he knew Smeagol wasn't running up and down the sidelines barking at him. JVG 's fate will be the same as that of Gollum , he will never get his hands on the ring.
I somewhat agree. However, I think the biggest problem is that he is not enjoying playing. He seems to be hunkered down under the weight of expectations, and does not seem to know how to meet them. DD
to be a man u have to beat the man... if yao cant stand the expectations and pressure on him.... too bad!!!!
There are still lots of people on this board who think 7'6" should play strictly under the basket. They, like JVG, want to mold Yao into a player he is not really comfortable with. That again brings out the question whether a coach should adapt to his players strength, or mold them according to their fantasy. Yao struggled mightily at the beginning of his sophomore season and did not prosper until he is given the green light to shoot from 15-20 footer. Yao's jumper was fine in the Olympics and the preseason games. He lost it after hurting his left elbow and still has not got it back. I am not sure that he has totally lost it because he is still shooting 78% from the FT line. I think now it has more to do with psychological issue than with technical issue.
I miss the old, always smiling Yao too. uploading a video about Yao's first 2years, will come back and post the link soon
I think he is depressed because of Van Dumpy. Seriously, can anyone name one player that would actually "enjoy" playing for that r****d? I totally agree with the rocketfan83. Where is the Yao that could hit the outside jumper? Where is the Yao with the no look passes? Being 7'6 you do have to play inside. But having the capability of hitting an outside jumper is always a valuable asset. If we ran high post a few times a game what does it hurt? It would give opposing teams something else to think about. Yoa needs to do what Tmac did. Tell our (pains me just to say that) stupid ass coach to STFU and start running high post. Please Fire Gundy.
I don’t think Yao is a completely different player from his rookie season or that his skills have significantly regressed since then, I just think that after playing against Yao for 2 and a half years, teams have figured how to effectively stop Yao. They figured out all of his weaknesses and all of his tendencies and have exploited them. In his rookie season, Yao was this new center that nobody had ever faced before. Nobody knew how to guard him. I really do not think some of the things he used to do then, he would be able to do now, just because teams know how to defend him so much better now. A behind the back pass would almost assuredly result in a turnover. Some of the pretty post moves he used to be able to do would be defended much better and would either result in forcing Yao into a travel or a charge. Defenders know exactly when Yao is about to make his move and are able to position themselves perfectly to draw a charge. They know exactly when he’s about to bring the ball down and are ready to knock the ball away. They know exactly when he tends to pass the ball out of a double team and are ready to intercept the pass. Basically, defenses around the league all know every thing that Yao is about to do probably before Yao even knows it. I don’t know if you saw the first quarter of last night’s game, but Yao tried to do some of those fancy shmancy post moves that he used to do in his rookie season. He faked one way, he pivoted and tried to do a whole assortment of other post moves, and Chris Mihm didn’t budge. He just stood there with his hands up and he forced Yao into a travel and a terrible shot. In Yao’s rookie season, he might have been able to fool the defender with those moves, but not anymore. There are just some players where you know exactly what they’re going to do and there’s nothing you can do to stop them (Shaq, Hakeem, etc.) and then there are some players where it’s very easy to figure out what they’re going to do and it’s very easy to stop them afterwards. That’s Yao. He’s very easy to stop once you figure out what he’s going to do. It’s now up to Yao to make adjustments.
Can I get an AMEN brother for this Post. Yao has regressed as a player this season for one reason and one reason only, Jeff Van Dummy. You read all of these posts about how Yao sucks or stupid threads saying "listen Yao only fans it's not that we hate your beloved Yao it's just that we think he sucks" and they are all simply ridiculous, stupid, and wrong. Last year Yao played some great games. Last year people on this board were oohing and aahing about his future. Everyone loved the Yao matchups against Shaq and said that he would be better than Shaq soon even all of the sports announcers were retracting old judgements on Yao and proclaiming him as the best center outside of Shaq. Barkley had to kiss Kenny's a$$ because of Yao. Yao came back from a great offseason in the Olympics as a much improved player. And now is considered crap by many on this board. They want to start Mutombo over him. They want to trade him for a power forward and a draft choice. This is simply ridiculous. Especially when the problem isn’t Yao at all, it is JVG. All of the confidence that Rudy T had worked hard to instill in Yao has been destroyed by JVG. His eagerness to pass and create has been destroyed by JVG. His passion to win not for himself but for the team has been destroyed by JVG. Yao plays for a team of new faces. He knows any new friendships he develops can be traded in a second. His watched his buddies Francis and Nachbar go by the wayside. Cato and Cat are gone, all the coaching staff was dumped. Yes this is the NBA and you can’t stand pat are you will fall behind. But the handling of players as human beings has been atrocious. Even JVG’s favorite boy, Jim Jackson was treated like a piece of meat when being traded. After all JVG claimed JJ meant to the team you think Jeff Van Dummy would have been man enough to go up to JJ and say listen JJ I hate to do it but we got to make this trade. But no he orders CD to do his dirty work. JVG treats his players outside of TMAC like robotic slaves who if they don’t perform up to standard will be disposed of as garbage scum. The dumping of Tyron Lue caught Yao completely by surprise and effected him emotionally. Yao was starting to wonder when his turn would be. But did JVG go up to him and try to talk to him. No… It was the trainer who had to explain to Yao, don’t worry we aren’t going to trade you. We are just trying to get the right pieces to build a team. Well you better worry Yao because if JVG could get Amare for you he would do it in a heartbeat. Yao will never become the player he could be with the coaching and handling of Jeff Van Gundy and in JVG’s own words, “he has changed about as much as he is going to. So Yao get use to more of the same and here's to hoping you can find some solace in knowing you were fortunate to have experienced better days.
Yao is done, and if Yao doesn't do something about it he'll fall in the cracks like the other giants in the NBA history.
I agreed with you and Rocketfan83. Just look at Brad Miller, who is not nearly as talented as Yao and he's doing pretty good.
If Yao is not proactive about his career and always reactive, he will be another guy who passed through the NBA who had high expectations but was never able to meet them.
Nothing personal but I disagree emphatically. Yao is hard to stop that's why he commands double teams almost always. So what if everyone knows what he is going to do, it just doesn't matter Yao is talented enough to score over anyone. No one person can guard Yao one on one not even Shaq. The truth is not that everyone knows what Yao is going to do but rather that Yao doesn't even know what he is going to do. He just doesn't enough experience down low yet. He doesn't understand that he is at least as valuable a player to this team as TMAC. He is not being coached properly to say okay Yao make these your signature moves with these others as alternatives when the first or stopped. Yao doesn't need to become less of the focal point he needs to become more. Yao Ming needs more touches, needs to be told to shoot no matter what and needs this done continuously. As Doc Rocket wisely said. Dump it in to Yao and then Dump it into Yao and after that Dump it in to Yao and then after that FIRE JEFF VAN GUNDY!!!!
I agree. It's hard to play with fire and energy when unhappy or fatigued. Van Gundy has partially solved the fatigue problem, but introduced the unhappy problem to many players.
Chris Mihm didn’t seem to have much trouble stopping him one-on-one. Teams double Yao because it’s been proven time and time again that Yao gets very easily flustered and turns the ball over frequently. He’ll get the ball stripped, he’ll travel, he’ll commit an offensive foul, he’ll throw the ball away. He does not deal with double teams well. That is what teams have learned from playing against Yao the past 2 and a half seasons and that is what teams are using to confuse him. It’s very simple. The NBA has been able to adjust to Yao much better than Yao has been able to adjust to the NBA. He has not been able to adjust to the speed of the NBA or all of the defensive schemes thrown at him.
