I thought I haven't seen this. If already posted, please lock it up. Height could be holding Yao back Dallas Morning News Jan. 16, 2005 12:00 AM DALLAS - He towers over the competition. You'd be surprised how often that's not an advantage. It sounds ludicrous to suggest that being 7 feet 6 somehow handicaps Houston's Yao Ming. advertisement But size inflates expectations and lessens efficiency in certain areas. There was a time when teams lusted after the tallest player they could find to plant near the basket. Nothing else mattered. But that was before the game was played at Xbox speed. That was before athleticism and a slashing mentality moved the sport to the perimeter. John Wooden always said speed beats power. That never has been truer than in today's NBA. Those who wonder why Yao has not been a more dominant force in his third season with the Rockets should take that into consideration. "He would be much better served if he was 7-1 or 7-2, certainly," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Just the conditioning. "And think about trying to guard guys on the pick and roll. "These players are so good. Trying to keep them in front of you is hard enough when you're 7-foot." More and more teams, especially in the Western Conference, emphasize speed. It helps explain why Yao's fouls and turnovers are up from last season while his rebounding and blocked shots are down. Yao's average of 8.4 rebounds ranks 26th in the league. Seattle's Reggie Evans, the player immediately ahead of him, is 10 inches shorter. Evans benefits from being quicker to the ball and playing in a more wide-open system. "He's got to figure it out," Van Gundy said of his center. "He needs to rebound the ball better. "Those games we have been quicker to the ball, we've been able to hold our own. When we rebound, we win." Yao is a good offensive player, and his average of 18.4 points is up slightly from last season. But the idea that he should be able to establish his position deep and score at will is outdated. It doesn't matter how strong Yao becomes. If you are 7-6 with your back to the basket, a player 6 to 8 inches shorter can push you away from the basket because he can concentrate all of his power into the small of your back. It has to do with the center of gravity. "It is easier to get knocked off the block," Van Gundy said. "Also, the perception of the officials is different. "It's like the big kid in school who you want to make sure doesn't hurt anybody. "That's how the officials view it. "You can be physical with Yao, but not the other way around." There are other reasons Yao's performance has leveled off in the third season. The Rockets had better shooters on the perimeter last season to open up the middle. Yao could be more active defensively because he had Kelvin Cato (6-11) next to him at power forward instead of the undersized Juwan Howard. Van Gundy is not unhappy with Yao. He has made the subtle improvements in post technique and rebounding position that allow him to build a strong foundation. But subtle gets lost when you're 7-6. And subtle gets left behind if you're not fast enough to keep up. "We're going to have to find ways when we play teams to minimize their speed and accentuate the power of him," Van Gundy said. "We'll see how that works."
pretty insightful article, especially coming from a Dallas paper. It's not a coincidence that we have started winning after playing a faster, more perimeter-oriented game. Yao can still be a great player for us, but he needs to mold his game back into what it was during his rookie year. Jump shots, the pick and roll, the occasional seal off of smaller defenders for short, easy shots should be his game now. He can also be valuable just by being a load on the inside. Tmac got that wide open 3 because of Sura's penetration and Yao's presence sucking in the defense.
Interesting article. Yao being 7'1 or 7'2 would definately be better as far as quickness, but would he be able to even get his shots off if he was that height? I don't imagine Yao's vertical improving that much as a result of a few less inches in height, but I could be wrong.
Yep, I think that if there were more true "Centers" in this league, Yao would prosper more. Most teams tend to play big Power forwards as their centers. Also, the rule changes affect Yao as well as the game. If they were to bring back the "illegal defense" and take out zoning; this would help Yao to a certain degree. I don't think guys would front Yao as much if that were to happen. Yao just needs to find his "niche", or his go to play. Something that can set up the rest of his game. I say, he also needs to shoot the jumper a little more. Yao has proven he has the moves down under and has gotten so much stronger (also the refs referee him just horrible). He just needs to shoot the jumper a little more to rest a little from all that banging down low. Take Dirk for example, he knows he's 7' and nobody is going to block his shot, so he shoots with confidence. That sets up the rest of his game, but he can always go back to the jumper. Now, I am not saying Yao is as mobile or has the jumper like Dirk, but, nobody will block Yao's jumpshot. He needs to understand that. Once Yao learns his go to play and becomes the monster T-mac wants him to be everynight, let the rings pour in.
This article is totally bullcrap. Talking about height and center of gravity? Try ask a baby with low center of gravity to push yao around. Is this writer blind enough not to see Yao's trunk-like legs? Is this writer blind enough not to watch some games to figure it out that it is the BS calls that to some extent hold Yao back? If the two-handed pushing, grabbing, hacking, and holding on Yao were called fouls, Yao could easily put up big numbers to shut up all the naysayers.
well to be honest...i actually think the writer has a point. It has nothing to do with Yao not being good..and to be fair the officiating has been horrendous...but i do believe that smaller, but stronger and quicker players such as Brian Grant probably pose a very difficult problem for Yao because they can get underneath him and fight him off for position. The point made by the article is certainly a valid one...they just dont present any solutions to the problem.
I totally agree with you. And Mr. Van Gundy is just making all that worse by harping on what Yao needs to work on. He oughta be saying how well Yao is playing and how he is being hampered by bad calls on the floor and that Yao doesn't need to change anything. (He can always work on Yao privately on Yao's weaknesses.) He oughta be emphasizing how the refs are not used to calling the game with a player of his height out there and how they have to learn how to call the fouls when he is being jerked around and all. Instead he takes up interview after interview dissecting Yao's game for the whole public and providing excuses for the refs to keep blowing the whistle on all sorts of r****ded plays that aren't fouls by Yao and to not blow the whistle against all the contact on Yao. This is the next thing that Van Gundy needs to work on to really become a great head coach. It looks like he has worked on loosening up the offense a bit and allowing the players to go at it when they are hot. Now, he needs to work on how to handle the media, fans, and the public so that it provides his team with an advantage and quit setting his team at a disadvantage by constantly blabbing about all the things that the team does wrong to all the media. All that stuff gets broke down on film for the players to digest and they have to listen to his constant barrage or critique during practice. He doesn't need to tell the whole world everything that is wrong with this team so all the coaches, opposing players, and referees can go at our weaknesses.
Yao does have problem with speed, that is his weakness. So you do not let him compete with athletic players. Can you build your team with all the fast, quick layers? No, you have to have a tall, bulky presence in the paint to intimidate other teams, especially when the presence has some skills. Now the bulky presence of the Rockets cannot intimidate other teams, but instead gets pushed, dragged, hacked. Is it Yao's fault being so tall?
I noticed in a nationally broadcasted game JVG immediately held his face with two hands when he saw Yao fall on the court in the paint. How can this motivate your players? Showing this on national TV?
As an interesting comparison. Ralph Sampson in his heyday had similar skills to Yao but also had the same problem with smaller stronger players. The Nuggets used to put Bill Hanzlik a utility forward about 8" shorter onto Sampson and he would cause him fits. Sampson complained about Hanzlik elbowing him in the butt to drive him off position.
I agree and remember it wasn't JVG coaching him during his rookie year. I'll give JVG his due for possibly turning this team around but I still think he's underutilizing Yao.
The article makes some good points. Remember this as well, since Yao is much taller, his lower back is higher to defenders as well. If you have two 7-footers against each other, the defensive player has to bend over to get good positioning with his forearm on the other's lower back. With Yao, the defender can stand more upright with his arm in his powerhouse (up closer to his chest) using both his arm's and shoulder's muscles more effectively and gaining better leverage thus almost under-cutting Yao's legs. This is why Yao does better against bigger centers as in Shaq and the 'Big Z' in Cleveland because everything balances out like most big men matchups and he can then take advantage of his quickness (for his size) and his strength in his legs.
It doesn't embarass you when Yao inexplicably falls to the ground? Yes, occasionally he gets pulled down by the defender, but other times he just loses his balance. I even think that Yao sometimes falls on purpose to get a foul call. Do you think positive reinforcement from JVG would be a good thing in that situation?
The Rockets are playing at a faster pace: Ming is slow. He is struggling to keep up and his production is declining. But, the Rockets are winning and success stops for nobody.
Van r****d is full of crap and needs to be fire ASAP! I remembered when He first came here to Houston, he said would lock himself in the video room and tried to watch every game in Yao first season. He concluded that Yao got plenty of touches and shots and the guards were looking to pass him the ball. I don't know what game tapes he was watching but you and I the die hard Rox fans knew better. That was a total horse bleep statement. We watched painfully as Yao struggled to get deep position and often were ignored by the guards, Yao would go long streches in the game without being involving in anything, kind of hard to turn into The Invisible Man when you're a 7'6'' giant with skills. Now 2 years later nothing seems to change, we have a new cast of characters but the BS continues. Yao still getting about 11 or 12 shots per game despite shooting 52% FG and more often than I cared for he's still being ignored by the guards or PFs despite established deep positions. Yao is still the Invible Man for long stretches in game, I feel like Yao is the most important player on the team yet he is being handled by Van r****d extremely stupid. If Van r****d does not get Yao going every game, if he does not emphazise to the rest of the team how important and crucial it is to get Yao going night in and out, that means get him the ball and get it to him in a timely manner ot else your ass is gone. If Van r****d does not built the team around Yao, nothing he does from now on will matter because The Rox will never get a whiff of that championship trophy. TMac is an awsome player but can you built the team around him? TMac came here to play with Yao not the other way around. This article seems to be written by somebody who does not watch the Rox play night in and night out or simply does not know about Van r****d and his BS.
It embarrasses me and it embarrasses Yao himself. But you just do not add more embarrassment to Yao by showing your disappointment on your face on national TV.
What are Yao's feelings going to get hurt? Give me a break we are talking about MEN engaged in battle here not little boys with their mommies...
I would hope JVG uses negative reinforcement for this. Yao should not be falling down in a game. He makes TMac shake his head and wonder why he went to Houston.
