Last year we didnt want to talk about Yao's weaknesses because we all wanted to give him a chance to prove himself. Then there was that great win against LA against Shaq, and the All Star Game, etc. But this year we need to talk about Yao's weaknesses precisely because he has great potential and is a long term investment. I think Yao's endurance will improve and his skyhook will be unstoppable. Right now, what I want to know is: Can Yao be conditioned to jump higher? Can we increase his wingspan? Maybe stretch his arms more or change his diet? Basically what we got right now is a 7'5" center who can't jump well or reach for the ball. That negates some of his height advantage. Watching Yao tipping and watching the ball bounce around is agonizing. Sometimes he just watches the ball bounce around, like he's hoping someone else will get it. Sometimes he seems to duck from a ball like he is afraid to get hit by it. Anyone seen this? Yao's attitude is also a weakness. Yao doesn't seem to want to give 110%. Yao doesn't seem to want to do anything that inspires the rest of the team. Cato knows when a dunk is needed. Francis tries to be a leader and he gets emotional. I don't think Francis will always make a good leader, because he is a selfish player. But at least Steve wants to be a leader. Yao doesn't want to try to be a leader. Yao doesn't want to stand out and make a difference. Yao's attitude could be the biggest weakness of all. Physically he stands up, but mentally he is sitting down.
I agree with your statements about Yao's attitude problem. He is being Mr. Nice Guy out there while his opponents keep pushing him around and hacking him every chance they can. He needs to emulate what Shaq does when he's near the basket and throw it down with authority. Take a few backboards down and break a few fingers on the rim if they try to block it if you have to. He's 7'6" and trying to do reverse layups? and against Stick-man? That is just totally unacceptable. Just my 0.02
Yao after the game said he was frustrated that he felt he was surrounded all night long. Van Gundy was very precise about how frustration affected his players. I agree that Yao needs to be mentally stronger to stick up to the challenge. Mentally, Yao has been shaky. I remember seeing him last season against Shawn Bradley and the Mavs, he scored 30 points and grabbed 15 boards, made the Dallas big fella a stiff. Tonight's game, Yao was not the same Yao from last year's matchup. He seemed to be afraid of Shawn Bradley. He's neither had the guts to push Bradley nor to get the Dallas big man in foul. Many times he just threw the ball back to his teammates instead of using his big body to punish the Mavs defenders (I remember Magic Johnson had also pointed out about Yao not using his size advantage during a TNT appearance last season). Patrick Ewing doesn't seem to be doing a good job. Yao's got to be more aggressive, attack more often. It has something to do with many his crappy Chinese culture of being "nice" to people. In the NBA, he should realize there's no such word in the dictionary, and that on the contrary should show absolutely no mercy to anybody. Yao has the freethrow touch in which Shaq can only be dreaming about. However, Yao only goes to the charity stripe couple times a game, while Shaq goes at least a dozen times though shooting at about 50% at the line. Again, Yao's not taking advantage of his skills. Somebody ought to be screaming at Yao about his weakness and the need to make adjustment.
I actually think Yao did much better in this game in terms of determination than any other game i seen beside the Shaq Yao duel. So his attitude is getting better. I want him to change to i am DA MAN that kind of attitude and he did kind of show it today. He just didn't get much opportunity to play cuz ROckets hardly run any play through him today. And then of course there are couple turnovers and not able to handle the ball ..ect.. But his determination is good from what i seen. He grabbed offensive rebounds and try to dunk it but was fouled...that's what i like to see. ...underneath the basket and being aggressive. He definitely need to handle the ball better. If he would have caught a couple of those passes, he would have sure dunked them. He definitely need to practice catching the ball... He always seem to lose it. I think what i seen out of this game is very promising...it's just that they need to pass him more in the post.
you got it! For Yao, the barrier is not on the court, but in his mind. The question is who's going to be the ice-breaker. Perhaps, it takes time for him to manage stress and accumulate POWER. I am ugently expecting to see his "explosion" !
It is extremely racist and ignorant for you to say that "his crappy Chinese culture of being nice to people." If you had seen the games that Yao played in the Asian Championships you would have realized that he played fiercely, dunked whenever he could, taunted his opponents on many plays. The problem is that Francis does not pass him the ball often enough so how he is going to get fouled and shoot free throws? If anything, it is Francis own culture of selfishness and foolishness.
Dude, this is the NBA, not the kind of lousy games he used to play in Asia. Yao is just not trying hard enough. He's lacking the killer instinct which is something needed badly for NBA games. He needs to stop whining like a baby about people putting albows on him. He has to work twices as hard and stop being a nice guy. He needs to use his size and not become intimidated each time someone pushes him. He's just becoming as guilty as Stevie.
Well, he was not whining at all, he was just petitioning for a foul call when he was elbowed. The Asian games might not be of as high a level, but I am talking about the attitude here. He showed a lot of passion and killer instinct as evident from those Asian games. Have you seen any of those games? Here, he is being held back by the selfish and inept point guards.
It all has to do with this culture thing of his. In China when he played with his teammates of the Shanghai Sharks, he would yell & scream at them for the ball. Here in the U.S., he just becomes the total opposite of who he was back in China. He don't remember seeing him yelling at his Rockets teammates for the ball. I also think the guy should take(or to risk for) a hard foul (eg, return a push) as signal to his opponets he's not as soft as a baby doll in which anybody can push easily. The Chinese culture is just too freaking old fashion in which people only know how to be nice & tolerance. If anyone knows a little history about China, one should know that the Chinese never had the guts to speak or fight against the West, ever since they lost to the British during the Opium War.
I agree with djunior for the first time ever. Its yaos fault. It wasnt Kenny Smiths responsiblity to make sure Hakeem got foul shots. Hakeem just got it,got doubled,then drove to the rim with AUTHORITY SOMETHING YAO JUST DOESNT DO EVER !!!!!!!! Watch Amare tomarrow ,if you want to see a man play. Ming is the next Sabonis. Sabonis was a slow mechanical robot. Oh,and its not Steves responsiblity for Yao to get foul shots. Yao needs to quit living with mommy and start being a man and get punished down low so the refs will call it. He doesnt want to absorb contact and instead passes the ball out. Thats way he doesnt get enough foul shots Mr. Yao only fans.
I think "Satire" is the word to be used here. Amare is a lot more aggressive than Yao. However, he generally lacks the accuracy of Yao from both the field and the charity stripe. Yao takes the vice versa of Amare.
The Chinese lost the opium war because the British had better weapons. It has nothing to do with Chinese culture. The current generation of Chinese is very sensible and aggressive.
China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, rich in history and tradition. While the last hundred years has not been China's finest hour, we could learn much about civility from China. Let's stay on the topic of BASKETBALL.
Does anyone else think all of this talk about Yao needing to be more assertive is messing with his head? I think it could be. Just let him play. He is not Shaq, he seems to be more like Kareem. I think in time he will use his skills to abuse defenders, whereas Shaq uses brute strength. He does need to call for the ball more, and the offense should be run through him, and he should dunk it when he can, but I say let him play. He has only been in the league for barely over a season and as he matures he'll learn to use his skills against his opponents weaknesses.
Do you think it is his jumping ability or reaction speed? He always loses jump balls to the opponent center? I just think he reacts very slowly to ball movement, which is why he can't grab a rebound in a group.
Sometimes Yao has just got to simply lower that shoulder and ram it straight into the defenders chest. He’s got to develop the mentality of wanting to punish whoever’s guarding him. And at the same time while he plows through the defender, he also has to manage to stay in control. I’m tired of seeing him making a strong move only to end up stumbling to the ground like some clumsy drunk, throwing up a wild shot, or losing control of the ball.
damn i get ssoooooooo DAMN frustrated when yao dosnt use his hight in the game god it makes me so mad Only if he knew what he could do with what he has som1 please tell him so i can calm down a little
I agree with most of the posts here - Yao does seem worried about hurting other players and etc. Cuz I was jumping mad at some of the shots he took when he was close enough to SLAM it home he took a little jump shot! I was cursing why didnt he slam the ball in the hole and shove it in their face. He needs to be abused more and more by other teams then maybe one day he will wake up and realize okay I gotta start showing them who's the boss! He doesnt seem to jump for rebounds like he owns the paint. Someone NEEDS to piss Yao off before games and maybe he will show the same FIRE he had in the Asian Championship! Any volunteers?
