Chronic: Misconceptions, Part I: "Yao needs to get tougher'

it depends on what u mean by tough. i think he's mentally tough and can take criticism. he just can do it physically in terms of overpowering players for position and things like that.

 

Yao is undeniably a great player, and you are correct when you say it's a myth that he isn't tough.

HOWEVER, he could stand to be more aggressive. He has improved leaps and bounds in that area since he came in the league, so I think it's safe to assume he will continue.

 

I think it's all based around Yao's stamina/energy. When he's not winded, he's aggressive and also goes after more rebounds. When he's tired, he tends to get lazy and doesn't move his feet much making him settle for those fadeaways. He also gets stripped a lot. I think Yao gives in too much into his fatigue and doesnt get that surge of energy unless you make him mad and piss him off.

 

I won't say it's completely unbiased. But it's honest and factual.
Plus, there's finally someone coming out to balance the recent overwhelming criticism on Yao.

 

Yao's not weak, just painfully slow.

 

Yao is as soft as my pillow.

 

it's funny how quickly people forget. yao is just fine. he developed a mean/agressive side and he's not even really that slow. or not slow enough to be a liability. too many people are focusing on the post-injury/playoff yao. don't forget this guy was on another level as an offensive presence the first part of this season and the second half of last.

the "you can't f#$king stop me yao" needs to get tougher and more aggressive? really? i don't f#$king think so.

if summertime and a little rest brings that guy back then the rockets are truely not that far off. no team has an answer for that yao, certainly not mehmet okur.

whenever someone says jvg can't coach offense, i think about how super-exciting the 04-05 team was. whenever someone says yao is soft, i think we're where you for the last year. give him a chance to fully recover.

 

If that Yao showed up every night, it wouldn't be an issue. Just like if the 13 in 35 cold blooded McGrady showed up every night (or at least the entire 4th quarter), it wouldn't be an issue.

I don't think it's that Yao needs to get tougher -- he needs to get meaner.

Maybe it was just because he was slowed by injury that he lost his early-mid season swagger, but it's enough of an issue that we don't know if injury was the problem or if it's consistency of mentality.

 

no, no, no, no. that yao showed up every night or extremely close to every night. it was nearly a year of consistenly great offense. i'm just referencing that game because it's easy to point out. yao's stretch of dominance was too long for me to think he didn't turn a corner from the timid man he was at first. the guy i watched in the playoffs was physically not the same person which is why we didn't see the same performance. for me, the point of concern is no longer his mentality, i just hope he can fully recover the speed he had.

 

I'll grant you this - Yao and Shaq do have one thing in common. They only mouth off to players they can dominate easily. I just saw Yao abused by smaller men on both sides of the court for 7 games straight, when it mattered the most. I dont know about next season, but right now, he's extra 'charmin' soft. No, mmake that butter soft. Melts when it gets too hot ...


I feel better now.

 

Some of your Lakers' pride just leaked onto the floor.....

As painful as it was to watch the Rockets lose, at least I know there's one team in the West the Rockets are in better shape than.

 

I think this is an under-reported fact and often overlooked in terms of Yao not being "quick" enough during the playoffs.

 

Hey, Feigen! I know you're reading this. Good column (or blog entry, or whatever it is they call it now). You took on a widely shared complaint (including by me) and made some very good points against it, complete with insider info, or at least insider insight. Keep it up. And we'll keep feeding you grist to rebut.

 

I am sorry, but did you just compare Yao to the legendary Shaquille O'Neal? Oh, you mean the 35 year old Shaq, right?

Two players none of you homers should ever, EVER compare Yao to until he earns his stripes: Shaq and Duncan.

Everyone else, have at it...

 

i've been saying it since day one...yao is much more aggressive than what people give him credit for....

unlike.....

one unnamed player still in playoffs he actually gives his full effort on defense and does not shy why from getting dunked on, Yao at least tries to contest or alter the shot even though the man is about dunk on him.

a number of other centers he actually helps off PnR plays, and tries to stay with guard instead of letting him drive to basket or shoot an open jump shot.

most of his points come inside the paint and 65% of those plays come from him attacking the rim.

He can create his own offense and score points regardless of the pace of the game, he can over 30 in low scoring defense oriented game and he can score over 30 in fast paced shoot-out (misconception about Yao).

 

I love Yao, I think he is a very fine human being. I think he has great size and skills. I did see him play aggressively for a stretch of games this season. I was thrilled. But in the playoffs, creampuff city. My female toy poodle shows more aggression. Conditioning? Nerves? Intimidation? Who knows, but, the fact is, he played very soft, much like he has played the majority of this career. And that is not a myth.

If I were his size, nobody would be in the lane with me. I would use my giant butt to put them anywhere I wanted them to go. Nobody would ever, ever dunk on me. No one would dare get near me while I am rebounding, and everybody "pays" for fouling me, called or not called. That's called heart, will, aggression, toughness, determination, fire, intensity, desire, focus, competitiveness.......the missing element in Yao's game, the distance between Yao and greatness.

 

The problem is what does it mean to be aggressive. Obviously Yao is taking a lot of abuse down in the post and keeps on playing. Yao obviously works very hard. Those are playing tough and aggressive but what I think most people are complaining about is Yao's willingness / ability to attack the basket and fight for position. We've seen Yao get good position before but too often it seems like shorter players push Yao out of position and especially in the Utah series Yao will resort to fadeaway jumpers rather than trying to go to the basket.

Also at 7'-6" while Yao has a nice shot it seems odd to me while he would need to fade away. Going for a hook over the opponent or at least leaning forward into the shot would seem like a better way to maximize his height.

 

Good point. Yao always seems to perform well against traditional "bigs" like Duncan or Shaq. It's the smaller guys who focus on pushing him out with elbows, etc. that seem to give him trouble.

Bigs like Shaq seem to play differently (or even more lax?) versus him. It's the smaller guys whose focus is on pushing him out of the key that seem to pose the most difficulty.

 

We did see his toughness before, but not in this series. Although it is playoff, it is next level now, he still needs to learn from it. Anyway Yao isn't a natural leader, he needs somebody to kick his ass.