I remember we (including me) had tons of criticism about Yao's stamina, complaining that Yao was not clutch in the 4th quarter. Last season he made some progress, but still we saw him easily exhausted in the last minutes. But this season is a completely different story. He is so fresh in the 4th quarter and can close the game strong. Who should get the credit besides Yao himself? I name the followings: Yao's personal trainer Anthony Falsone Coach A Yao's family. If Yao can play consistently like this, he would be the most clutch big man in the league considering his 88% FT.
i would say that his body is really reaching its prime at this moment, plus he worked hard in the summer too, so he is in shape.
Definitely the style of play. I got tired just watching him fighting for post position, reposting and chasing those guards playing defense under JVG. Yao is definitely playing more efficiently and conserving energy under Adelman.
He is FULLY healthy, no nagging injury or making a comeback after major injury. A healthy Yao is a BAD news to the entire league. You Rox fans should cut him some slack about stamina, he does have drawback with his size, but his stamina is truly excellent for guy his size.
I think its the defense. I don't see him chasing the small guards all over the floor and as a result, he isn't in foul trouble either. That is the biggest surprise for me so far. The last two games, he has had like 1 or 2 fouls going into the 4th quarter.
Yao is clutch!!! Wow he is dominating fully at this point. 13 of 15 from the field?!!!, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks 4 assists.
It's thanks to adelman cause he's not a moron like jvg who had yao chasing guards on defense, which tired him out quicker.
Yao still has that nagging shoulder injury that may need surgery at the end of the season. He also has a minor elbow injury.
I think the reason he can play that many minutes is cuz he doesn't bang inside all the time like JVG ask him to...i mean that's going to take a lot of energy from grinding inside. So instead u see Yao do a lot of shots and occasionally bang inside...i dunno..maybe Yao's taking his level of stamina to another level because of training.
Of course it's because of RA's coaching. Two bad ways exhausting YAO are: 1, Fighting for post position. Last year you can see how many times YAO uses his body and elbow to fight for a low post position. That makes the big guy exhausted very early. Under RA's system, YAO does not need attack the bucket in such a stubborn way. He can layup, turnaround jumper, dunk or drawing the shooting fouls. YAO is a good big center with the soft touch. He saves engery under RA's system so his fg% is incredible this year. 2, YAO does not need to chase the PG as he did last year. So he not only saves energy but also avoid cheap fouls by doing that. I clear remembered YAO often got 1-2 cheap fouls per game by chasing the PG last year. That's definitely not the smart way to use a big center.
the only reason is: it's early in the season. nobody can log in 40 mins a night and still be fresh at the end, not Kobe, not AI. I dont care how Yao is not banging inside, he cant keep doing this everynight.
Everybody's tired by the end of the season, so what's your point? Would you rather have us bench Yao and lose games, or play Yao and win games and get better seeding for the playoffs?
