I seldom post but after watching todays game as with other games in Yao's Houston career I've realized it's not Yao's fault. Yao Ming is 7' 6'' 310 lbs and I'll be the first to admit I expected the second coming of Shaquille O'neal. I've also learned to expect less of Yao because of his culture and size. I now realize my expectations for Yao are unreal. Yao will never be Hakeem or Shaq. Due to his height and weight he will never be quick enough to be a go to guy in the post. Yao barely leaves the ground when he jumps and when he does he either gets blocked or fouls an opponent. Also, comes desire and aggresiveness to compete. I dont and wont deny his desire but to compete at an NBA level he must be aggresive. I know we've heard this time and time again but as much as I've tried to deny it and even defend him I have come to the realization that Yao will NEVER be aggressive. With that said he is merely a decoy and role player. Tracy McGrady is the superstar. We can only hope Tracy can carry a team and lead us to a championship. I hope I'm wrong and Yao will all of a sudden become agressive, but after seeing him play for three years and noticing his body language, always walking with his head down it seems like he has very low self confidence. I will never know what Yao goes through but I remember him saying he would rather win a gold medal for China before an NBA championship. That tells you where his heart is. I kinda admire that. Remember I love Yao Ming and still think he is the second best center in the league, but the way the NBA is leaning, the center position will become obsolete and replaced with quickness. It's not Yao's fault our expectations are to blame. Yao is just ...Yao.
Put down the pipe. With a soft Yao in the middle and no other star, Tmac can only lead the time in and out of playoff. He's not that good.
No. i atleast expected him to turnout better then this. or atleast so Inconsistent. overall his numbers except his Rebounding are good, but his Overall play is soft. he dosent box out, too many pump fakes he falls for and has zero Understanding of tough defensive. it's not my fault he cant rebound for peanuts. it's YAO'S FAULT. YOU WANT THE MAX, EARN IT BIG FELLA.
I'm tired of this argument about 2nd best center. Charlie Pullilo said it best when he said big men should be compared with big men no matter which frontcourt position they play. I don't even know if Yao is a top 10 big man now.
I dont get it. It's not Yao's fault, because ... Yao is just Yao. Enlighten me if you will, what kind of fault are we talking about?
Well, he better learn to be aggressive. He can be nice when he is not on the basketball court and give everybody hugs; but when the ball goes up, he should turn into a monster.
Unfortunately Rox has to commit max money on him. If they don't, other teams will. Just like Cavs know Big Z is soft and probably doesn't deserve max money, but they have to give him the contract or other team will. The center position in the NBA is so pathetic. The gap between Shaq and Yao , big Z is huge but Yao and Big Z are arguably second and third best center. Why don't I have a 7 foot 2 body! Otherwise I can own that big money too.
By the way, this its not Yao's fault is getting real old. I am not going to hate him this time, he has some good games in the last 11 games, he is entitled to 1 bad game. I just didn't like that fact that a role player took it to him, and scored the winning basket and it LOOKED like he didn't take it personal. He might of, it just didnt't look like it. If he is competive at all, he should take that too heart.
Yallmen: It's not Yaos fault that America expects more of a 7'6'' 310lb center. He is what he is. Be it soft , culture or nonaggresive. He is what his is and may never exceed our expectations. Thats what I mean.
Why overpay him if that will lead the team to nowhere? If he can't play like a max player, trade him rather than overpay him.
THIS THREAD IS STUPID, I dont think anyone watches the &%$^$ games. I have watched the last 12 or more, but at least 12 and yes, he is slow, a little fumbly and quick winded but that is it. We are a great defensive team, Yao's height and presence in the lane is what makes us great, not JVG not Wesley. He is 7'6 of intimidation EVERY game. Offensively, how can we crucify him when no one will pass him the damn ball. Tonight, he was involved early, blocks, Offensive rebounds, you name it. If this was Garnett or Duncan, their coach would go about getting him involved on the offensive end. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN tonight. Its not even the fact that he wasnt "getting positioning" I see Yao on the O end and if you have watched basketball in the past then you should see what I see, that he is one of the most gifted offensive players to ever play the game. Yet, he doesnt get the ball or the game plan AT ALL molded around his skill. Give him 18 shots and see what happens.
If Yao is just being yao then this tall prick doesn't deserve and Shouldn't get MAX Contract!!!!! Period!!!!! I'm sick of all the games this year he treats every other as his first NBA game, enough is enough giving this guy Max is suicide, another MO, maloney, EG all wrapped in one boneheaded contract that will bury this franchise for the coming years. The only way I see Yao ever dominating a basketball league is if he goes back to our country and plays with the YMCA scrubs. And if that ever happens I wouldn't bet against one of younger guys in the CBA dunking over his 7'6 chicken feather frame.
I say it is mostly Yao's fault. This what I posted in the game thread. Yao's problem is 90% his own making 1) 1 or 2 too many unnecessaary fouls by trying too hard, learn to let it go 2) 4 or 5 too many picks which do nothing for the team or him 3) He is naively putting the team and teamates above himself, which is only true when talking about it 4) He plays too many games and therefore can't get out of that world, watch and lean from your teammates, especially Howard
Im not going to make any more excuses for Yao. He's played like total crap the last couple games. Should we blame the losses all on him? No, but he better step his game up because our next 4 games are brutal and we just threw away 2 wins.
I used to think that way but if YOU have watched the games at the beginning of the year thats all we did was try to force feed it to Yao. That didnt work either. Also Yao is not in Tim Duncan or Garnetts category when it comes to desire. Dont take it personal.
How much is Yao going to ask for? Is he going to realize that he is not as good as the hype? Yao needs to watch NBA Fastbreak sometimes. There's some cold-blooded commentary on there that he needs to hear. Yao should get $8 million per year with the incremental increases allowed in the collective bargaining agreement.
