What happened to all of Yao's foul problems? Is he not committing them, or has he earned the respect of the officials?
I think a combination of both. Yao has definately cut down on dumb fouls, such as reaching at guards. The refs also do not seem to be watching only him anymore.
Both, He is being far more aggressive, but on defense he is taking better angles, and picking his spots. I think a lot of it is Yao has just realized what he can and can not do....he is playing much more confidently and that is helping a ton. He is making fast, quick decisions on both ends of the floor and it has helped a ton. If he keeps playing like this, he will be a monster. 26.2 ppg and 12 rebounds a game in the last 5 games..WOW ! WOW YAO ! DD
He's being less aggressive on defense. Not trying to block every shot around the post. less help defense to cover up PF's lack of defense.
Yao seemingly hasn't had a tick-tack foul called against him since he came back. Two of his blocks in the Denver game (against Melo and Miller), in the past would have gone against Yao. There was a bit of body contact and that was exactly the kinds of negligible **** that used to be called against Yao. Take all of that crap out, and Yao is an absolute force.
Yeah, it's because he's letting stuff go early. He's totally staying away from the dribble penetrators in the first half so he can get into the locker room with 1 or 0 fouls. Then he starts stepping it up defensively in the 3rd and letting it all hang out in the 4th. That way he gets the benefit of some of that contact because he hasn't established the rep with the refs that he is reaching early in the game. It is more important for Yao to be on the floor than for him to block every shot in the paint.
