Screw All That Analysis! Here Is The Biggest "Duh" Ever!

The shooters will knock down their shots if the looks are good enough. That all hinges on the play of Yao and Tmac. The guys have been shooting better as their focus increases with the approaching playoffs. If Yao cannot draw enough defense, our lack of penetrators will hurt us, because guys will be taking heavily contested 3's.

I really think Yao is gonna play well. Lately he has had that twinkle in his eye, and he has been killin teams out there.

 

I agree.

It starts at the core of this team. It starts with Yao.

Yao 'Freakin' Ming!!!

 

I was thinking the exact same thing last night. Yao is gonna be the biggest factor in this playoff series. He's gonna have to really step up his level of intensity. I know Mutombo will lead by example. I just hope Yao follows.

 

I think someone just beated you 86 years last week.

 

Nice calling out Yao Ming, Almu.

Don't be surprise if Yao Ming is dominating somewhere along the lines of 20/10/2, the Rockets is going all the way to the finals.

 

20/10/2 is in Yao's range. He's like 18.5/8.5/2 for the season right?
Say Yao gets his 20, Tmac gets his 30-35, we still need about 45-55 to beat the Dallas team. It's more than just Yao has to step up. We need to score and we need to stop them. We gotta protect the ball, and grab the boards. To me that's the key.

 

I've been thinking about this the whole time. It's going to come down to Yao Ming. When he is doing his job, it opens up shots for everyone else.

We really need our 2 stars to shine this series, its starts w/ them, and it opens things up for everyone else. Wesley, James, Padgett, and Barry all get set up by Yao and TMac, they're open shots are going to come from the attention they get downlow.

With that being said: GO ROCKETS!! ITS ON!!

 

Someone said in another thread that Yao Ming is easily the 3rd best player in this series. I couldn't disagree more. On any given night, Michael Finley is better, Jerry Stackhouse is better, Jason Terry is better, Van Horn is better, Daniels is better, Josh Howard is better, hell even Dikembe Mutombo is better. Yao can be the best player in this league, or as we saw a few times against Memphis last year, look absolutely pathetic. It's no secret that I've been very disappointed by Yao this year. Too often, the tallest player in the NBA has been coming up way too short. I absolutely agree with the premise of this thread - but to an even larger scale. The long term success of this franchise depends on this guy. 'Grady will get you 40 a game. I think he'll average 35-40 a game in this series. But it's the big guy that can change the entire complexity of the Western Conference.

 

Yes, on any given night, those guys can be better than Yao. But that in no way undermines the assertion that Yao is the 3rd best player in the series.

Put most simply: could Terry, Van Horn, Daniels, Howard, or Mutombo average 18 and 9 and 2 over 82 games for a team with 50 wins? The answer's easy: no.

(Terry, of course, plays a position where rebounding is less important...but he doesn't manage that many assists, either, relatively speaking)

 

Exactly, plus, Yao changes the game so much when he's out there regardless of his stats, you can't say the same about the other perimeter players from dallas.

 

I don't think any one will get more than 35 against Dal , they have defense now; meanwhile, if we allow them to score more 90, we will certainly loss.

If we don't focus on defense, we will be killed in first round.

 

[ YODA ]

Much wisdom I sense in you. Or wisecrack perhaps, hmm? Found the point you have I'd say.

[ / YODA ]

 

Almu. I disagree a little. On defense, Yao definitely has to step up. He needs to be an intimidator but he can't get into foul trouble. But on offense, I think that the question is whether the Rockets three-point shooters (Sura, Wesley, James, Barry, Padgett) are hot. T-mac is going to get his. Yao is going to get his (it may be 18 it may be 24). But the Rockets need to hit 35% of their three-point shots to go far in the playoffs.

 

You don't think there is a correlation between Yao's play in the middle and the quality of looks the perimeter players get? If Yao dominates, draws 2-3 defenders, and our guys miss wide open looks, that's the works. But if Yao doesn't show up, doesn't draw multiple defenders for most of the series, then our role players will be completely nullified. None of them create on their own. I agree that they need to shoot well for us to win, but unless Yao steps up, the good shooting is a pipedream.

 

No, I think that Yao is going to get the coverage no matter how he is playing. If he is hitting his shots, the other team is going to double team. If he is missing his shots, it's likely that it is because the other team is double teaming him and they're not going to move away from something that's working.

The Rockets are going to have to hit three pointers to win.

 

Haven: I disagree. It's not a definitive conclusion that Yao is the 3rd best player in this series. He should be. While Yao is capable of being the best player on the court, he is also very capable of being completely taken out of a game. Michael Finley put up better stats during Dallas previous years and he very well could be the 3rd best player in this series if health holds up. If Yao plays like he's capable of playing, we can go to the Western Conference playoffs. But more often than not, he does not. This isn't intended to bash Yao, but I think you're giving Yao way too much credit for this season. There have been many nights when we've beaten top contenders (ie: Heat game) when Yao has completely sucked ass. This team this year has been T-Mac and great role players (Yao being the best of them). It's not Yao and T-Mac. If it was, we'de have won 60+. I agree though with the premise of the thread, that Yao is our most important player in terms of what we COULD do if he sacked up in the playoffs.

 

I agree that the matchup against Dampier is one of the keys to this series.He has improved Dallas's team,and makes them a bigger threat in the postseason.Even so,
Yao and Motumbo should give us everything we need inside.It is TMac who needs to carry us this year.
Strange as it may seem,I believe the loss of Howard might just be the toughest thing for this team to overcome...and I was calling him an easily replaceable part.Even so,TMac,and Yao might just get it done this year.

 

so, yao only has a desire for 'excellence' but has no desire for 'dominance'?

that is a pretty bold psychoanalysis statement.

 

While any of these players has the capacity to put up more points on any given night, none of them has the capacity to have more of an impact in a seven game series than Yao.