This was a direct quote from Francis to Yao during the Lakers game. This should silence any and all remaining critics about Francis not wanting Yao to become dominant. I think he realizes that in order for the Rockets to reach the next level, Yao also needs to reach the next level. Francis has said similar statements in the chronicle before, but it's different to hear him actually say that to Yao in the midst of a game. All in all, this was a great game. What was the stat line - when the Rox score above 80, they are 14-4? As long as the team scores a decent amount, they can win. And As Doc Rivers said, I think the offense will come around, at least somewhat.
Yeah he said..YAO HEY YAO ASK FO DA BALL MO BOY! YOU CAN TAKE SHAQ! I loved that Wired segment..Stevie is my hero! He made big shots and big plays. Very nice. I am proud of him! He always shows up on national TV..especially with that putback dunk at the end of the 2nd quarter.. So Steve knows that Yao should get the ball now! JVG is getting to him! YAY! And he almost had a triple double today too..but watch next game..he is gonna be 0-10 with 7 turnovers and 1 assist.
When Yao airballed the shot at the end of the 1st half, I think he was gone at that point. I think the Rockets should play him conservatively when he is tired. Yao was great in the 1st quarter. Guy was hitting shots. He was setting picks all over the place helping the guards. Yao was the man in the 1st quarter, but he got winded fast.
This reminds of a quote Moses Malone made earlier this year when he offered to help Yao. He said the secret to a big man going to the next level was learning how to demand the ball. A guard can't just give the big man the ball because he never knows when the big man is comfortable on the floor. Yao doesn't ask for the ball enough, and I wish the Rockets would have taken Moses up on his offer to help Yao learn to call for the ball. I'm still ticked at the Rockets for completely ignoring that.
I think with the expectations, it's easy for us to forget that this is only Yao's second year in the league. That's not to say that guys can't dominate in their second year since there are a few who can and do, but they're the exception, and not the rule. Lebron's one of those exceptions, (really an exceptional exception). And I'm sure watching Lebron's entrance in the league influences our expectations for Yao. However, Yao's still young. He's got a bit of maturing to do yet, even if he's not pulling some of the antics our guards used to pull when they were second-years. It's going to take time for him to learn to be assertive and aggressive.
If Yao is not double teamed, he just can score even facing Shaq. So now the problem is how to break the double team. And tonight our PFs only need to face Medvedenko.
This reminds of a quote Moses Malone made earlier this year when he offered to help Yao. He said the secret to a big man going to the next level was learning how to demand the ball. A guard can't just give the big man the ball because he never knows when the big man is comfortable on the floor. Yao doesn't ask for the ball enough, and I wish the Rockets would have taken Moses up on his offer to help Yao learn to call for the ball. I'm still ticked at the Rockets for completely ignoring that.
Why even bother breaking the double team? If Yao is double-teamed then he's done his job. The threat of Yao scoring should be a weapon just as Yao scoring is a weapon. The Rockets won 2 championships in a row because Hakeem was double and triple teamed. He passed to the open man and if necessary, the ball rotated around the arc until someone was wide open. That last man would hit the open jumpshot. The same can be done with Yao, but our shooters' shots need to start falling. If Yao starts getting aggressive and takes shots when he's single-covered, the opposing team may have to double-team him. If he keeps passing the ball back out when he can instead take his man in single-coverage, then he's defeating the biggest advantage he has - size.
well said snowman.. very well said... I relli enjoyed hearing francis throughout tonite.. the dude seems very positive, very upbeat, very supportive.. juss the kind of teammate i would want to have.. he seems like the kinda guy whos behind his teammates 110%... nothing like the self aggrandizing ogre many peeps here make him out to be
Speaking of Yao... I think just like it too Olajuwon many years to learn to pass, it could similarly take Yao many years to learn to dominate. He has the skills, and the size, he just needs to improve his endurance, get a little stronger, and change his mentality. And until he starts to dominate, our offense will never click as well as it is capable of clicking.
Well said snow-cat, theres no greater feeling than defeating the Fakers, the only thing that could have made this better was if Malone were on the court during the loss.
Maybe steve will change but this was just one game. I was impressed with him tonight. My favorite thing he did was on the play that Payton got the technical. When he drove on payton he gave him an elbow in the chest! Maybe that is a sign that he is getting tougher and is ready to get down and dirty with the best players in the NBA! I have not been to happy with steve lately but tonight I was rooting for him to have a good game and to show some leadership, and he did!!
Remember Steve did warn the refs that he was going to be as physical as the Lakers were being. Guess he cashed that check!
What the hell is Francis saying that for? I watched the whole game last night, 1st quarter to 3rd quarter, Francis ignore not only Yao but all the teammates, he got to be the hero and drive into 2 defenders even though Yao set a nice pick and rarely gets a kick out by Francis. Did you catch Cat waiving to Francis for the ball, SF did not even acknowledge him and decided to dove right into 2 defenders and lost the ball. rox will not win if not for their brilliant 4th quarter defense.
Yao was more aggressive last night. He needs to take that jumper more as he has proven he has the range and that can open up the lanes more. the pick and roll was rocking. I would still love to see more passing after the roll moving to the basket. the thing that concerns me a bit is that in the 3rd quarter we seemed to go away from what got us the lead in the first half. Consistency is the most important thing we are looking for right now. overall, it was a good performance. Lakers seemed a bit off, but our defensive was awesome!!!!!! I do not think the Lakers expected this type of defensive pressure from us. This threw them. the thing I love most if that we challenge every single shot, unlike years past where we barely put up a hand or just barely made an effort to run at a player...this has been the differnece this year--pure effort!
That was the last play of the first half with both Yao and Shaq on the bench. Mobley was poorly spaced (too close) and was guarded by Kobe. Francis did not drive. He missed a 3 over Fisher and then dunked Padgett's missed put back to end the half. If your going to bash someone, at least get the details right.
rvpals I don't think last night is a good example of Steve not playing good smart ball. Steve was very good last night and a very good team player. I saw the play where Cat was calling for the ball and I thought Steve should have passed the ball to him because Cat was open but there is not a player alive that doesn't decide to keep the rock himself from time to time. Hey there is plenty to fault Steve for this season or during his career but last night is not one of them. Steve’s decision making last night was good for the majority of the game and he only turned the ball over twice. I believe the majority of the turnovers were created by MoT, Cato and Yao. Steve was still a little slow delivering the ball last night at times buy his passes were not bad and as off target as they tend to be. Two things I would like to see....well maybe three. 1. I want the Rockets to continue letting JJ bring the ball up the court. I think that was a huge change that really helped cut down our turnovers. JJ got the ball across the line much quicker than Steve usually does plus Steve did not have the added mental pressure of someone pressing him across the line so when JJ passed him the ball he was mentally prepared to run our half court offense. 2. Continue using a healthy dose of the pick and role. I don't think I have ever seen the Rockets use it as much as they did in the 1st half. 3. Keep the turnovers down. Last night was brilliant. Only 3 wasted offensive possessions last night in the 1st half. No wonder we scored 57 points before the break. Even if we had not shot a high percentage of shots we would have likely scored more than we are used to before the break. We will see as the season goes on if last nights game was just another teaser from Steve or if he has really turned a corner as an NBA point guard.
You're right. Can you honestly say you're happy about Francis's passing if you really care about the team? I love Francis' energy and fire but not passing to your teammates is just fundamentally wrong. If you watch both games on the double header on ABC, just compare the Kings and Mavs and the Rockets, which team you like more if you're not bias? Isn't easy shot from good passing much better than trying to score almost all the time? By the way, I'm happy for the win but not too thrilled about the way they win. I love Rox's defense a lot. Francis is not a good PG.
I think they should capitalize on Yao's abillity to hit the 18-20'. When Yao gets tired he tends to hang around the perimeter more often and when he does so there is usually no defender on him. When he is up there and recieves the ball he tends to just stand there and wait for one of our guards to come and take the ball via hand off. I think he should shoot it more often from deep.
