Except when he does. The last 2 minutes of a game the ball should be in penetrating/creating players hands. Or play inside out if you have time but Yao is too slow and does not have a go-to move ala Dream. He is clutch but the team still needs to surround him with complimentary pieces. DD
Stop trying to prove something which is contradictary to what people saw every night. Just let Ron close the game, ok?
Yao already hit a game winner this season. Until Tracy forgot to play defense and Roy threw one in from half court. Another reason the discount to whole clutch term. Now that shot by Yao isn't clutch because it isn't the game winner. people here definitely seem to have forgotten already. If yao hits a shot to put the team up by 1 and then the other team doesn't score again for the final 2:30 minutes, and the Rockets end up winning by five...is that clutch? Some say yes, some say no. I think the best way to define it is by saying that as the game gets closer to the end, you start to define clutchness. I think the entire 4th quarter does and should count. There have been plenty of dominant teams that have toyed with their opponents regularly for 3 quarters before putting them away in the 4th...hence the 4th quarter is the important, clutch quarter. I think the final six minutes count even more, the final 3 minutes even more, the final 1 minute even more, the final possession even more, etc., etc. At the end, being clutch is about winning. A lot of people might call Duncan clutch, but at the end of the day he has had as many instances of unclutch plays as clutch play - but the team, overall, wins more, so the clutch moments are remembered and more defining. As mentioned, Yao has had some clutch plays throughout his career, including down to the wire. But on the whole, the Rockets season generally ends with disappointment more than hope or excitement, so in Yao's case, the missed rebound or turnover is more often remembered.
He's averaging 3.1 or so TO's for an entire game this season. That means he averages less than one a quarter. Are you suggesting he coughs it up 3 times a game in the last five minutes?
Yao's the guy you want to have holding the ball in the last few minutes of the game. 1) High fg%. 2) Money from the low post. 3) If he's doubled he can kick it out to Big Shot Bob I mean Von Wafer/Aaron Brooks and let them take a perimeter shot or drive. Actually I have huge amounts of confidence in Scola/Landry/Battier when it comes to knocking down a game winner, especially if Yao's attracting everybody's attention. Not only can they go to the basket (Battier's underrated and probably needs to drive more) but they can all drain the jumper. 4) High ft%.
Here are Yao's approximate stats, per 36 minutes, for each quarter through 1/19 (calculated from here): Code: | per 36 minutes .......... [B]qtr mpg +/- pts reb ast tov blk ts% ast% fga fta[/B] 1 9.7 +9.4 22.0 11.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 .63 .54 15.3 4.8 2 6.7 +4.2 21.7 11.9 2.7 4.3 1.6 .61 .48 14.6 7.0 3 9.8 +1.9 18.3 9.5 1.5 3.7 1.1 .59 .73 12.8 6.2 4 6.8 +4.9 25.3 10.5 1.6 4.2 2.1 .64 .51 14.8 11.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- tot 33.3 +5.2 21.6 10.3 2.0 3.4 1.8 .62 .58 14.4 6.9 ts% is true shooting%, and ast% is percentage of made field goals that were assisted. There are some very sharp differences between 1st and 2nd period, and between 3rd and 4th period. Yao tends to get more free throws in the second quarter of each half. Given the dip in ast%, it's apparent that the Rockets run more post ups through him in the 2nd and 4th quarters as well. As one would expect, turnovers also increase in that span. I also included +/- (per 36 minutes), and the Rockets in general seem to play at their best with Yao in the first quarter. But I'm sure that varies quite a lot game to game. And whatever complaints fans may have about Yao not getting calls, he takes a ton of free throws in the 4th quarter.
But you also have to look at it from another angle. Would Horry get all those opportunities to make clutch shots if it weren't for Shaq or Kobe or Duncan drawing all those double teams? If it were golf or tennis or any individual sport it's easier to categorize someone as clutch because their success is not based on the other 4 people around him, which in horry's case, happens quite frequently.
Sure I think Horry would still be a clutch player even without Shaq, Kobe, or Duncan. You think Jordan doesn't get double teamed? You think Kobe doesn't get double teamed? Lebron?
That's true. Looking solely at the boxscore and judge a player whether he's clutch or not from his rebounds, TO and points is misleading. If every player plays with a "Team First" mentality, every player is clutch. IT TAKES FIVE for a team to win the championship. If the team can't win any playoff series with only one player with fascinating figures it is still a failure.
I really don't know why people continue to argue about this years after years ... I guess without yao, you don't even have a chance to be clutch ... that is the value I see in him ... by the way, can anyone let me know which center is clutch in the NBA history ... thanks ...
I bet the same people that overvalue "clutchness" are the ones that slack off in there jobs and tries to get the job done at the very last minute. As an employer, I don't have much tolerance for slackers.
