20 of the next 31 games are at home. in home games Yao is getting G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 5 5 34.6 .542 .000 .804 1.8 7.4 9.2 1.8 .40 1.00 25.4 of the 11 road games, 5 are against the East (None of which are Miami, Detroit, or Indiana) and 1 against NO. Come January the 29th, I would expect the Rockets to pick up some momentum heading into a fairly pedestrian February schedule. Then we will see what our team is made of, as they will then battle some tough teams with the vast majority of the games all on the road. As for Yaos stats, come January 29th, i could very well see him as 53% FG 81% FT 10 RPG 23 PPG.
thats a good news that we are finally home after all those road trips, but remember we still need time to play as a cohesive unit. i just hope we win every single game so the team gets some confident.
Yao will have a real surge and get on a new plateau once he figures out how not to get into foul trouble, and gets his shooting touch back, and starts to play with poise (rather than frustration).
Yao plays very well at home, but it is not nearly enough. We need Yao to play consistent no matter where we are.
Actually, it will be better learning experience for Yao at road games. Learn how to play against the crowd and the refs
Needing to play well on the road is important, but don't discount the benefit of having a string of good games at home. If Yao can gain some confidence at home and get into a grove, then it can very well carry over into the road trip. Seems to me that Yao is very much of a rhythm and streaky player. If he can get on a roll then he can be nearly unstoppable. But if his rhythm gets broken up or he gets into foul trouble, then he seems to get into a funk and disappears. Also, keep in mind that if Yao starts having a long stretch of big performances, then that will affect officiating. The refs are people and they have human biases. If Yao starts blowing up, then the officials will naturally take notice. They know who's playing well and who isn't. And if Yao shows that he's starting to emerge as a great player day in and day out, then he might start receiving the benefit of the doubt on foul calls.
Van Grumpy needs to let Yao take more outside shots and 3-pters. Why does Z and Dirk get to shoot 3's and Yao don't?!?!?
Yao has made a couple of set shot jumpers the past couple of games. He made the only one he attempted in the Kings game. I think it would benefit TMac a great deal when he becomes the playmaker with Yao on the floor. Brad Miller was a significant factor in the Kings game with his ability to his the outside jumper.
