I'm sorry to piss people off by starting a thread that kind of disses Yao, but I have to agree with Robertson on most of this stuff... Yao NBA's Player of the Meek BY DALE ROBERTSON Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle WITH the New Year come resolutions in America, and the Rockets, at Jeff Van Gundy's behest, dutifully made theirs. They must have, right? They're undefeated in 2004 and darned near unscored upon. When Mo Taylor calls Houston "an elite defensive team," it isn't bragging. It's a fact. After holding Utah to the smallest total of any Rockets opponent in history over the weekend, the Rockets came within a point Monday night of forcing Golden State to set that franchise's record for scoring futility. And they did it, suffocating the Warriors 83-65, despite a tepid effort by the biggest man in the half-empty Toyota Center. Once again, Yao Ming mostly went missing, which is hard to do when you're 7-6. Yao's 10 points and 10 rebounds over 23 minutes might not sound horrible, but you had to be there -- and most of you weren't, leaving the Rockets with almost 9,000 unsold seats -- to see how hesitant he was and how awkwardly he played. He was in foul trouble from the get-go, which concerned Van Gundy enough to make him delay his press briefing to have a lengthy heart-to-heart with Yao after the game. When Yao returned to the locker room, he wore a cross between a scowl and a frown on his face. While Van Gundy said he hadn't administered any kind of scolding and owned up to having sympathy for Yao over the persistent toot-tooting by the referees, he hadn't offered him a shoulder to cry on, either. Not that Yao could have bent down that far. "My center is frustrated with the whistle he's getting or not getting," Van Gundy said. "So I share his frustration." But the coach has angst of his own. He isn't pleased with the timid turn Yao's game has taken of late. "Yao was averaging 10.2 rebounds after he got 20 against Detroit (Dec. 6)," Van Gundy said. "He's dropped all the way to nine. In the first 19 games, he led us in rebounds 12 times. Since then, it's only been three. That makes it four out of (the last) 13. We've got to find a way to get him back on the boards." His reticence wasn't a hindrance against the Warriors, losers of six straight. The Rockets won the rebound war 50-30, and Yao had more boards than anybody else. Golden State couldn't manage a single put-back point. Imagine what it would have been like had Yao been throwing his gigantic presence around as he should be capable of. The fear of fouling burdened him greatly, and Van Gundy promised to "look at every foul from the last 10 games and give him some information tomorrow" to see where the brunt of the blame lies. But he wouldn't let Yao completely off the hook. Far from it. "Yao's got to learn how to play with and without fouls," Van Gundy said. "His third one tonight (2:46 before halftime) was avoidable and should have been avoided. Some fouls, as I told him, are unavoidable, but there are too many (of his) that are clearly avoidable. "Also, he's just got to be decisive in the post. The best players I've ever had have been both coachable and stubborn. You've got to find the right mix. Too much stubbornness is a hindrance, but too much cooperation can be a hindrance to greatness as well." Van Gundy desperately wants Yao to get more assertive, even meaner. He wants him to bust defenders in the nose with his oversized elbows to thwart the double teams that will dog him in the NBA. "We've got to get him deeper in the post and back to the free-throw line," Van Gundy said. "When you pick up quick fouls and you don't play your normal rotation of minutes, you have to learn how to deal with that. I've learned to trust (Kelvin) Cato with fouls. I think he handles fouls well. Yao has to learn how to play with and without fouls. "Also, he's just got to be decisive in the post, and I want him to rebound the ball. I don't think he holds himself to a high enough standard rebounding-wise. The rebounding should be consistent every night, and he should always be able to get quality shots. His elevation is good, and he's good with his move. He's going to shoot a high percentage." Yao is shooting just under 52 percent on the season, meaning his 4-for-10 against the Warriors was an aberration. Had he played, say, 35 minutes, he'd have likely shot his norm or better. Van Gundy's basic mission then is a simple one: "Keep him on the court." "Defensively, teams are going to attack him in the pick-and-roll," the coach said. "Men of size, that's what happens to them. That's going to be a career-long process. "The hardest thing for Yao will be going from one thing to the next. Sprint back in transition. Guard a pick-and-roll. Rotate. Jump. Rebound. Outlet. Run. Catch. Dunk. When you see that, we'll have made progress." Yao probably doesn't know about New Year's resolutions. Of course, even if he does, it is not yet the Chinese New Year. Agree/Disagree?
Maybe Yao is seeing each foul as little bits of criticism aimed at him. The Utah game prior to the Golden State game was an illustration in ticky tack fouls. Van Gundy needs to call his buddy David Stern up and make sure the refs allow some leeway for Yao. They are banging on this guy hard. I think if the refs stop calling these garbage fouls on Yao, his aggressiveness will increase.
yeah hes a great efficient player but it does seem like he is not playing at the best of his abilities a lot of the time. watching ill think "gosh hes playing ok but he could play better". thats about what the average fan thinks i think. i wanna see him tear stuff up. the stat sheet should make me say "wow" every morning. but then again i suppose i just miss hakeem down low. we are so spoiled you know... gundy is good at playing coach. its almost surreal watching him do his thing having been used to rudy for so long.
That article was a good read. What is there to disagree about? Robertson hit that head on, great quotes by JVG to make the article credible. Fouls and fatigue have been my worry for Yao. He has so much potential. Everynow and then, not ver often, we see how HUGE he can be. Such as his first game against the Mavs last season. And his game against the Pistons this season. Once again it revolves around consistincy, just as it does for the entire team. I want to see Yao dominate.
The agree/disagree part was just a disclaimer for me to use in not getting flamed by a bunch of offended YOFs. Yao's play has been frustrating me too, but only because I know he can do much, much better.
The article is on point and well-timed. If Yao doesn't become more high-energy, assertive, and demanding, he could disappear during crunch time and be relegated to a role player instead of the next dominant center. JVG will not hesitate to pull a Larry Smith and sit Yao on the bench if he doesn't trust him.
What the hell is wrong in Houston? Someone must not be doing their job right. The team is more or less on track, result-wise, has some exciting players - and they cannot put butts in the seats? Who is responsible for this?
A definite disappointment in Yao's 2nd year after a good first yr's performance. I was surprised that he did not have too many foul troubles in his rookie year. Suddenly, he was plague by fouls in 2nd year. The refereeing seems to be tighter this year. Also saw a few more offensive fouls called on Shaq this year. Yao is still a very efficent player but is now more of a role player. Another adjustment to overcome
As the biggest YOF here, I'm going to have to.....................agree with the article. It's true that Yao's play has been sort of mediocore lately, but I think a lot of that has the fact to do with that he still doesn't feel like it's his team, like China, and is still hesitant to take over games. I think it will come in time.....or trading Francis like the suns traded Meburry would speed up the process. I also am annoyed by all the fouls he gets called for and how the refs never call any in his favour. Too many times Yao will go through a long time without getting any fouls called on him, then will get 2 called on him in 2 consecutive plays. I don't like his frustration fouls which are avoidable. Those are the ones where he misses a rebound, normally a defensive one, then ends up fouling the guy out of frustration. Those are totally avoidable and he needs to stop doing that.
JVG is being too hard on Yao I say that b/c Yao is commanding double teams this season which, for a guy who is only in his 2nd year and has yet to find his "place" under a new coach, is not easy to deal with. The problem is not one of aggression, IMHO, the key issue is that of being "decisive." Yao has to be quicker in his decision-making all around... from rebounding, positioning, to post moves. Right now, it's as if he's thinking on the court TOO much. There is definitely more things Yao can do to get more effective, not least of which is learning how to use his massive frame better. Yao, for all his size, does NOT box out very well. If he can learn how to get a body on people, then watch out!! He'll be a rebounding machine. Yao should be instructed in the things he CAN get away with like: 1. locking arms with opposing centers 2. palming the ball 3. hop in the paint 4. leg curl to cut off the defender. Some of you may think these moves are illegal, but in fact, they are all LEGAL. Yao can easily add these things into his repetoire to boost his effectiveness. The best way to break old habits is to learn new ones to take the place of old. While I personally hate the fadeaway jumper, it's apparent that Ewing has helped add that shot to Yao's repetoire. JVG shows lots of gusto in confronting Yao on this and not babying him. I think challenging Yao is a good way to make him work harder to alleviate the frustration. theSAGE
i completely agree with the article. yao needs to be aggresive and look to dominate games. it seems he is sometimes content with just doing enough to have a decent game.
No kidding. The team is 19-14, good enough for 3rd place in our division right now, and not far off from the leaders. We have a new arena and a pretty good team. I wish more people will go to the games, I can't since I am out of the country but I will when I return to Houston.
Article right on - Yao simply has to learn the NBA ropes.......spoken, unspoken, legal and illegal. Part of it goes against his cultural grain (passive). He's smart and as soon as he figures it out - LOOK OUT!! In the meantime......... DAMN, JVG KNOWS AND CAN TEACH DEFENSE and Rox are getting the message. Best I've ever seen night in night out. D R
this is the NBA when his aggressiveness increases they will stop calling those type of fouls backwards .. but it *is* the NBA Rocket River
Local companies own big blocks of seating in the lower bowl that they either give to people or try to sell to their employees at a "discount." Those seats are taken for the whole year. They are also in the prime midcourt area - meaning that I could never buy a ticket there. So, employees don't always show up, etc., and regular people can't buy the tickets...get the picture?
I think the article is right on the money and I am glad it was written. Great quotes from JVG in there. I agree with just about all of the points in the article. It is well timed too as Yao is about to face Detroit and the Knicks back to back on the road and BOTH of those games will be tough and games in which Yao is going to have to step up his play to hold off Ben Wallace, Kurt Thomas and Mutombo.
Yao's being picked on a little too much, I think. Is he soft? Yeah. But he's a lot less soft than he was last year. And people are expecting a complete game transformation in weeks, rather than years. It's silly. I think that before Francis received as much criticism as Yao currently does... he was in his 3rd year or so. Don't get me wrong - people pointed out his flaws all the time. But I don't think there was the same level of condemnation - and much less "giving up" on him. Sir Jackie Chiles: Houston sports fans are a bit lame. They're not the worst, and when their teams are consistently winning... they come out. But Houston isn't one of those cities that consistently supports a team.
I'll tell you a BIG part of it: Houston as a CITY has a split personality. There is the 'inside the loop' mentality of people who would never, ever, under any circumstances, consider moving 'out in the boonies', which to them means any location outside of Loop 610. These are the hooty-tooty people, the 'wealthier' citizens (so they think), the ones who are most politically and civically-minded and active people of Houston. These are the people who are the wheelers and dealers, the insiders, the ones who get to ultimately make decisions such as 'Let's put the new NBA Arena *DOWNTOWN*, so it will be convenient for all the people we know and acknowledge to exist. Thus, if you are an 'inside-the-loop'-er, then you have a pretty easy time of getting to the arena whenever you want to, you are happy to pony up for the season-tickets just like Tad and Biff did, but you are not all that thrilled with the idea of mingling with the riff-raff. So your seats are as likely as not to be empty on any given night, and when you DO deign to attend a game, you sneer condescendingly at those people behind you who are yelling and showing their enthusiasm, while you sit on your hands, and appear to be offended by anyone in the arena who is not behaving exactly as you are. This is the type of person who put the arena where it is. In trying to make it convenient for 'everyone' (a thinly disguised veil over the real reason - 'We don't like to go *gasp* outside the loop!'), they made it convenient to no one. The problem is, there are simply not enough of those folks to actually fill the arena night-in and night-out, and they are not the types to make for a rowdy environment when they DO bother to attend. The other personality type is the 'real' Houstonian - those people with 9-5 jobs, kids, bills, and a loathing for sitting in traffic one minute more than absolutely necessary. (FACT: according to Census data, in approximately 2 more years, the exact population center of the City of Houston will be shifted all the way to I-10 at HWY6) This is why Toyota Center is not filled up nightly. By the time the average 'fan' gets home from work after fighting with I-10, it's already between 6 and 6:30 pm. Never mind dealing with ANY familial responsibilities - making sure the kids' homework gets done, blahblahblah etc, if you left your house in the mini-van RIGHT THEN, the moment you get home, with the family all loaded up and ready to go, you MIGHT be BACK on I-10 by 6:45, to sit in traffic for ANOTHER hour, at least, after you have just sat in it for at least an hour on the way home, all so you can MAYBE make it to the arena by tip-off, pay to park, find a spot, drag the clan along behind you, make your way through the throng to pick up your tickets, wander through the fancy new building looking for your seats, and by this time you have been scrambling since 5 pm to get there at all (because this is the BIG NIGHT you are taking the Fam out to see the Rockets play) and you still have missed half of the first quarter, meanwhile fans on tv and across the country are looking and snidely criticizing the city because we don't seem to be willing to support the team... finally find the seats, get everyone settled, wife says 'Go buy food for everyone.' So you, the only real fan in the family, get back up, go to the ATM and mortgage your house so you can have money for the concessions, buy everything for everyone, finally make it BACK to your seat, discovering you have just missed the Rockets having another big first quarter, and are now back in time to see them hit their typical 2nd-quarter doldrums and fall behind at the end of the half.. catch your breath, take all the kids to the restrooms, buy ice cream and souvenirs, manage to actually be in your seat for the start of the second half.. watch as the Rockets forget that the main point of the game is to put the round leather ball into the round metal hoop, watch as your favorite team embarasses itself with another offensive offensive performance.. trying not to count the dollars you have just spent, knowing that you will not even be able to stay for the entire game, because you have to get the kids home and in bed because they have school tomorrow .. As you are driving away from the arena, 4 minutes left in the game, you listen to the remainder on the radio, and they either scrape out a win with defense, or lose an embarassing last-second-shot game.. either way it's not been a terribly satisfying night, because you didn't really get to see it, the drunk rednecks screaming obscenities all game were horrifying your wife and kids, you spent a small fortune for the entire privelege.. and in the ensuing hour-long drive home, you cannot HELP but ask yourself: 'Was this worth it?' Judging by the empty seats in our fancy-schmancy new arena, the answer for most has clearly been HAIL NO. And it's not likely to change. The one and only cure for this malaise is for the team to be a WINNER, and I mean a BIG winner, not just a slightly- above-average winner like we have been having this year. I mean a real winner, a team that you know, as a fan, you are going to see top-notch basketball being played EVERY NIGHT. Right now with this team, you never know what you are going to see on the floor on any given night. And for such uncertainty, I know that I for one am not willing to risk such punishment for such a sorry payoff.
