Let's see if I can explain this. Yao doesn't seem to have an intense focus on the basket when he shoots. I remember Hakeem would just be totally zoned in on the basket when shooting. Is this just because Dream had much more finesse in his shot? Yao can shoot but his shot just seems so robotic. He doesn't seem to hyperfocus on the basket as much. When his shot is off, it is really off. It's weird. Could he improve this? Anyone know what I mean?
I think different players have different styles. Yao's has a good form when shooting and makes it look easy but its probably a process of having that form drilled into him so it is very automatic / robotic. When Yao's shot is off he maintains the same automatic form but other factors like fatigue or minor mechanical things keep it from going in. Yao probably feels and has conditioned himself to shoot the same way even in a slump that it would be difficult for him to change.
yaos shot does look kinda robotic/ forumulaic...but thats not really a bad thing because most coaches will tell you that the most importanht thing for a shot is consistency. yao's motion is always the same, and it's effective, so even if it looks robotic or detached, you can bet your ass that it is both drilled and focused. as for bad shooting nights, dude is shooting 54 percent, and that bad nights happen to all shooters, so im not that worried.
I think it has something to do with muscle memory. when you physically hurt, there's a tendency aso that your shots can be off.
That's what I was thinking. He's a great shooter. I don't think we need to worry about it. The talking heads have been criticizing Yao recently for a significant drop-off in scoring on the second game of back-to-backs. It happened again last night. It is just fatigue, and good defense by Garnett and company. If he doesn't focus intently, it's because he's that good of a shooter.
i don't think yao needs to imporve on his shooting any. his fg% and PPG average speak for themselves.
To send Yao to Nicks and get back F3 and Cato may be a good idea to get rid of him. Or some other more athletic players.
This must have been brought on by last night's uncharacteristically awful shooting by Yao, right? He had an off night. It happens. Yao just doesn't look like Dream when he does things. He's not a robot. He does express emotion. He was a lot more reserved in the past, then he is now. If Yao would simply bulge his eyes out of their sockets, scream at 120 decibels, jump up and down (I know expecting him to jump very high is rediculous, but he could make the effort), pump his fists, slap a teammate on the butt, run over and kiss a Power Dancer, and run the length of our bench, high-fiving everyone after making a shot, all while getting back on defense, you'd be happy!
I remember when Minny played the Lakers in the WCFs a few years ago. Very very late in one game at LA, KG went to the line and had an intense look on his face that could have killed someone. He missed both FTs. Kobe got fouled on the next possession and made both. The Lakers won the game. An "intense focus on the basket" as judged by looking at a players face has nothing to do with how successful he is as a shooter.
Am I the only one who didn't think Yao's shot was "really off" last night? They just weren't falling. He did take a couple of shots from a longer range than usual, which was due to the T-Wolves' defense, but other than that he looked just fine to me. Even if you are a 60% shooter, you will still shoot <40% some nights simply because of statistical deviation. No shot is automatic for any player except dunking really (and even that isn't 100%). Some of those unlucky bad shooting nights will lead to a loss. Even the best teams in history didn't win every game. That doesn't mean Yao is "off" or that he needs to defer to the other players more the next game or even in the same game. It just bugs me when people say stuff like, "Yao has been missing all night, he needs to pass more."
I don't get it. The guy is quick and has enough hops to be a great rebounder and shot-blocker, even now. But you ask him to dunk the ball after an offensive rebound, and it's like he goes into slow motion. He almost has to bend down to where his ass touches the ground to jump back up, giving the defense the chance to knock the ball out or foul him. It's almost like Deke only has one jump in him per trip down the court. If he jumps to get the rebound, forget about the putback.
