in itself is not a bad thing to have, but I think the hype was built up to the point where people are expecting some mystical player when they see Yao play. Is Yao a #1 dominant player? From his attitude on the court, that is a firm negative. Is that bad? No, I do not think everyone should be considering themselves as #1 players. 99% of the league consists of role-players. Look at David Robinson who was a sidekick to Duncan. It's just fortunate for him that Tim Duncan came along or else he would have never gotten his 2 championship rings. Is it shameful to be the #2 on a team with Tim Duncan as a #1? Ask David Robinson. I doubt he feels any shame with those championship rings. Actually, it is the inability to humble oneself that ultimately leads to failure to win a ring in the NBA. Look at Kobe. That fool thinks he can win a ring without Shaq. The guy is good, but he's no #1. Look at Steve. He thinks he's a #1, but it's obvious from the numerous reamings by Mike Bibby and Steve Nash that he is not one. Gary Payton and Karl Malone are two of the top 50 players in NBA history, and they have just now at their advanced age humbled themselves to play alongside Shaq. It might be too late. Look at Charles Barkley. I bet he would give up a lot just to play a year with Michael Jordan during his prime years, so that he could win a championship. In summary, Yao needs to look at himself and see what kind of player he thinks can be. If he thinks he can be a #1 player, he needs to show that he can be a #1 in his attitude on the court. If he knows that he is a #2 player, he should go somewhere else to get the rings. He's not getting it in Houston especially with this group of players including him. In my opinion, Yao is not a #1 and cannot handle the defensive attention a #1 player garners. He is best off going to a team in which he is a strong roleplayer to a #1 guy. Of all the players on the Rockets, I think he is the best complementary player that other teams would want to complete their team. Rockets should trade him. I think the Spurs would give Rasho Nesterovic, Bruce Bowen and draft picks.
Rockets is a steve's team. Even Cat think he is #2 behind Steve, and he doesn't like to pass to Yao in his heart. I noticed Steve was not a selfish player, he just didn't have the fundamentals in passing. Cat is more selfish on the court than anyone in rockets team. Yao was not even #1 in Chinese NT till last two years. He was #3 center behind Wang Zhizhi and Bateer 4 or 5 years ago. Now clearly he is #1 there. He starts dominating in the Asian's game.
Yao Ming is going nowhere and while I agree with you that he is nothing more than a role player capable of carrying a team on any given night but not every night, I still think he/we can still be successfull with the core group of players already on this team. To me I think what needs tweaking on this team is the roles the players are playing. It's obvious to me that the first change should be Francis relenquishing control of this team but to whom? For us to be successfull he needs to be the 23ppg 6rpg player that I know he can be and to be an off the ball defender. For that to happen Cuttino will have to move to the bench or be moved in favor of the floor general we require. The only other option is to trade Cato for the point gaurd we require and move Mo into the starting lineup. But if is Cato is moved for a point gaurd then we have to find another big body who can spell Yao for 15-25 minutes a night depending on which Yao shows up. That may be easier said than done though. That is why my first choice would be to move Cat and keep the Cato/Mo rotation at the power forward/backup center.
Your example using David Robinson has several weaknesses, namely David Robinson was a high impact player as soon as he entered the league. Look at his rookie numbers compared to Yao's. The problem with Robinson is he didn't have a good complentary cast to help him win rings...that and Michael Jordan. Yao doesn't have a good supporting cast either, but he also isn't nearly as dominating as David Robinson was. Maybe in 10 years you can use the same example of David Robinson when comparing him to Yao.
Cat has a bloated evaluation of his skills. Watch the 3 point contest, he might be the guy who comes in last.
I am tired of begging Yao to be more assertive on the court. Everyone watching knows he's capable to doing more than he's showing on the court. I also think it's not just him that he's not playing more assertive...it has to do with his teammates looking for him more and passing to him at the right time, trusting him. I think the chemistry isn't there yet.
I like the way the Mavs and Kings have built their franchises. They have preferred not to build around a particular player but to build around a specific style of play. Get players who play well that style, and it becomes much easier for the other parts to help out when one part is not doing well. When the cog, Chris Webber is out with an injury, Brad Miller came in and played well. Look at the Mavericks. Everyone on that team contributes in a similar manner to the team's success. What I don't like about the Rockets is the fractured ability of the group of players. Their abilities are just totally different. Steve Francis is just totally different than Mark Jackson. The parts are just not interchangeable. This is why I think the team looks like chaotic at times rather than a smoothly-working machine. I've said before that the team must get guys who fit with Van Gundy's style of coaching. The guy who sticks out the most has been Steve. Am I wrong? The answer is no.
I agree that David Robinson has proved much more than Yao. However, I am not exaggerating when I say that Yao could be a very good roleplayer who pushes a team to a championship. Of course, there are guys who are better than Yao, but I'm talking about guys who are actually available on the market in two years. You can count on one hand the number of free agents in the last 10 or so years that have the ability to actually affect a team's chances of winning a championship. Shaq is one. TMac is another. I can't think of another free agent. Yao's presence in the paint defensively is arguably the primary reason for the Rockets' defensive field goal percentage. That is why he is best off as a #2 to a dominant player who can score at will. Yao should do what is best for himself without any regards to the Rockets. He should go to a team that has a firm role for him as a very good secondary player.
I don't want to turn this into Yao vs. Steve but doesn't that statement really depend on your own personal perspective while watching the games? The same could be said for Yao's style not fitting with EVERY other player on this team. I agree Steve is not the point gaurd for this team or any team for that matter, I wish I were wrong but I don't feel that I am. However Steve is still THE MOST TALENTED PLAYER ON THE ROSTER BAR NONE he just does not have the ability to run the team, get everyone there points and still get his while doing it and HE MUST get his for us to be successfull.
I think it's obvious his the guards, especially Cuttino, loathe to pass to Yao, but Yao does not make a big deal about it. That's roleplayer mentality. Like I said, that not's bad, but he's best being a roleplayer on another team that can actually win a championship because any team led by Steve Francis has as much chance of winning a championship as hell freezing over.
Your ignorance baffles me, did you even watch basketball before your saviour came into the league? The fact of the matter is this team needs both Yao and Steve clicking together to be successfull.
that's just frustrating. I wrote a huge piece of chunk, and it's all gone. All I wanted to say was I agreed that a team has to have an identity and system. The rockets' problem is that their game plan often changes with the opponents. When the Memphis ran, they just ran with them, despite Ming's inability to catch up a run-and-gun game. Another thing I would like to mention is consistency. Not the rockets', but our fans' consistency. I really feel sorry for Ming, when he got selected No. 1, tons of people jumped on the wagon and became his fans, when he disappointed, lots of people just wrote him off; when he scored 37 points, those people almost call him God; when he got pushed around and blocked, they call him the biggest sissy in the history. Well, let's have some faith and support them consistantly, if we would like to call ourselves fans. By the way, I always believe only confident people can and will admit their own mistakes and shortcomings, and only if you are confident you can be successful. Therefore, I believe Ming can improve and will improve.
I say that from a perspective of someone who has seen Van Gundy teams play in the East and watching Steve play the last 4 years under Rudy T. Can you honestly say that Steve Francis' is a JVG-type of point guard? Look at the Kings with Bibby. Bibby is a pretty good representation of Adelman's style on the court. Look at the Mavericks. Nash is a pretty good representation of Don Nelson's style on the court. I think Yao fits more, but I think the expectations placed upon him by Van Gundy have soured the relationship. I think Van Gundy expected a dominant center. Yao is not that. Talent does not always equal best player. Does anyone really think Bibby is more athletic than Francis? Does anyone think Nash can outjump Francis? However, it is pounded in the head of Rocket fans every game against the Mavs and the Kings that the point guard position is a position where the mental ability and composure are of greatest demand. Steve Francis is the guy making $11 million a year. He's paid to be the man. He is the guy the Rockets have who is supposed to force his will upon his counterpart on the court. Forget the Eastern Conference. That's a garbage conference. Look at the Western Conference. The team is going to get crunched for 8 games against the Mavs and Kings. They've lost 4 out of 4 times against the Sonics and Grizzlies. Look at the 2 Jazz games. If Raul Lopez had not got injured in the 2nd game, the Jazz would have won that game too. Where is Steve Francis in all these games? He's getting outplayed. How can anyone be expected to lead a team to a championship when he is consistently getting outplayed and outsmarted by guys at his position who are supposedly are much less talented? How many times did Michael Jordan get outplayed by his counterpart on the court? How many times has Shaq been outplayed by the opposing center? How bout Duncan? I've already said Yao is not that kind of player, but there are delusions that Steve is that kind of player when he is constantly getting worked at his position. Even the AND1 guy Rafer Alston got the best of Steve the other night. Is that a guy who is expected to take the Rockets to a championship? Fans will be disappointed if you do.
I think it's way too early to assume Yao has role player mentality. The fact is Yao does not have the neccessary support the other players provide on a regular basis. It's obvious Yao needs a good passing point guard to succeed and it's also obvious that Yao does not have it right now. Just look at this quote, "something good to eat falling out of sky, I wish I have many eyes so I can catch them all." (Yao's quote about getting some good passes from Mark Jackson), Yao sounds so deprived of good passes. Since Mark Jackson said "it's so easy to pass to such a big target, with the kind of skills that Yao has..." That defeats the argument that Yao is too soft to catch the ball or get position or whatever, that game just shows what a good passing point guard can do for Rox, especially to Yao. Therefore, we should not assume Yao playing passive sometimes it's because he's contend to be a role player. It's just that Yao is not the kind of guy complains much while he's really self-criticial of his own mistakes. I'm not ready to say Yao's a role player until the Rox gets the neccessary pieces to fit him. The ugly truth is, Rockets are probably the most disfunctional team in the NBA. JVG did not figure out how to mesh the guys' talents and how best to use them.
Ignorance is following this team thinking it is a cohesive unit playing like everyone likes each other on the court. Heck....even Eddie Griffin said that this team is cliquish. That's coming from a guy who actually played with these guys. Then there is the article about Cuttino wanting to be a star. Why would a guy wanting to be a star want to play the role of subservient post entry passer? I've said Yao is not the man, but it really doesn't help when the guards look like they have totally neglected the skills of post entry passing just to make sure they do not have to pass into the post even on occassion.
Yao, a role player's mentality? You must be kidding. Remember when he refused to study how Divac defended Shaq before the Yao-Shaq I against the will of Rudy and Bill Duffy? Yao is cocky like hell, thats why some Chinese don't like him. As a matter of fact, a few days ago, when he first made a comment on possible being voted as the starter the second time for ASG, he said he deserved it.
the guy is only in his second year; ill give him one more year and judge him by then. We all seen he can be aggresive, but he just needs some consitinecny
You want us to trade Yao for Bruce Bowen and Nestorovic plus some extremely low impact draft picks? I had a gut feeling and I was right, you aren't a Rockets fan at all.
