I voted yes. Did you see his 1-on-1 post moves last night vs. NY? Drop step. 360. Head fakes. Pump fakes. Body bumps. Up & in's. I dare any other team to play Yao 1-on-1. PLEASE!!!
This a basically an unanswerable question. How do we know? If you are a Ewing hater, like myself , you'll vote no. If you like him, then you'll vote yes.
Ewing might contributed some, but Yao's good games mainly came when JVG decided to utilize his skill instead of forcing him to be a player he is clearly not. We all knew Yao had all the skills when he was drafted, and he has demonstrated that last season, and so far this season. His problem is his consistency and stamina. He was in a slump when he was forced to play a physical post game, which he is clearly not the type of player for that, but he has been playing very good when JVG decided to change his approach, tailor the team style to better utilize Yao instead of the other way around. --daoshi
Yao is a great player with or without Ewing. Yao's problem besides his obvious lack of physical last season, and even somewhat this season, has always been his mental approach to the game. From what you read in the media it sounds more like JVG is doing more to change this than anyone else
I voted yes... but I think it might be more accurate to say that yeah... it's got something to do with it. However he doesn't improve unless he makes the effort and obviously he is. I think he is really going to get into it when he realizes he can dominate EVERY game. He truly has that ability in him. I think having Patrick as a mentor to Yao has been great for Yao... Ewing is obviously a laid back guy and I bet Yao can relate to that better cause he seems pretty laid back himself. I think Mark Jackson is going to be the same for wilks... I think that kid has potential...
If Patrick wasn't helping, he wouldn't be there. I saw some footage recently, can't remember where, but it was concerning Yao's struggles, and showed Patrick giving Yao some tips while Yao was on the bench with him. Yao was shaking his head frustrated about his game, and they were going over technique..........can't hurt.
Yao constantly sits on the bench next to Ewing, and they're always shown talking. I doubt they're discussing politics. I'm not saying Ewing is more responsible for Yao's recent surge than Yao is. I'm just saying he's got to be factored in.
Yao and Ewing are constantly talking on the sidelines after timeouts or when Yao goes to the bench. It's not a one way conversation. Yao ask questions, Ewing answers back...it's a great relationship. Yao has picked up some nice techniques that I've seen from Ewing in the past. Yao's post moves are much more solid. Yao is holding the ball better and able to go up for the shot without it getting knocked out of his hands. That's great post technique that Ewing used to do. He was great at getting contact and then still hitting the shot. Yao did not do this before Ewing came here. So, I say that Ewing has done a lot of good things for Yao.
Yao has shown improvements especially in stamina and aggressiveness this year, but he also stops making amazing passes and "Shanghai shakes" he did last year. I'm not sure if both cases can be attributed to Ewing.
No Ewing hater here b/c he sits with the good guys...for now. Still can't use to seening him on our side. Oh well if you can't beat them join them.
During the Knicks game on ESPN2 they had a Ewing/Yao coaching segment during the halftime show... i saw the ad for it but missed the segment. ANyone else catch it? If so, what did they talk about?
having a guy that has fought the wars like ewing has, not too mention he was one of the smartest centers ever. I hated as much as any player deserves too be hated fo the UH beating but he is on our side now
I don't want to defend or attack Ewing and I don't really know whether he's responsible or not. But I do know that there were plenty of people who regularly blamed Ewing for not helping Yao out. If his lack of improvement before was due to Ewing then in order for that group to remain consistent surely Ewing is responsible for his good play as of late.
I couldnt agree more. Member that hakeem shake he did against the Pacers? I havent seen him do moves like that this season.
