Yao&Ilgauskas

In the game against the CAVS, Z used his elbows alot 2 hook ming just 2 get his shot off...(a veteran move!!). But Z had a hard time shooting face up against Yao Ming, and I think he blocked one of his shot!!?? The Yao Ming Dynasty Era is under way !

 

didnt Z score like 24?

 

Yeah, he did have trouble with Yao in the first half.....lots of trouble.
Though, he adjusted and took advantge of Yao in the 4th.
Yao needs to understand that he shouldn't ever jump on defense while covering a player one-on-one.
That's exactly how Z got him every time during the second half.

Yao......don't leave the ground while playing one-on-one defense.


Side note:
Why didn't Yao get more touches?

 

Yeah, Z is one of top centers in the league when healthy, and he used alot of veteran tricks 2 school Yao Ming but thats how Ming will learn & it won't be pretty at first. But once he gets comfortable, he will return the favor!! By the way, Ming wasn't the only one guarding Z, and only played 18 mins to Z's 30 something plus mins. I thought he did a good job at guarding Z, and Z seemed 2 work harder at getting his shot off Ming, even resorting 2 using his elbow 2 hook and pump fakes! Overall, a good learning experience from a vet....and a good one too!!

 

ZI was scoring over Collier at ease. Like OverRRated said, Yao had success guarding ZI in the first half, forced him to either miss the shot or fire a harder one. Only once he tried to deny the ball to ZI and failed, resulting in an easy jumper. In the second half Z.I adjusted and attacked Yao's weakness and caught Yao in 3 plays. Once he faked Yao up in the air and drove to the basket. Then he backed Yao in and spinned around him causing him to foul for like twice. Yao was no dummy and adjusted as well on the next play. Instead of waiting for ZI to pull his moves, Yao covered him with his size and moved his feet just beside ZI's, giving him no room to operate and missed the shot. The next turn the Rockets gave Yao some help when ZI tried to post him up. End of the Yao vs. ZI mini saga. Yao needs more upper body strength so he can quickly recover his position after a hard bump. Also quit going for the pump fake. With time and experience I think Yao will be an excellent post defender - dont' they all supposed to be at 7-6?

 

Really?

I'll refer you to this chronicle article. I've quoted the relevant paragraph.

 

What game were you watching? Collier played Ilgauskas quite well. Notice what the Chron said:

Just how well did Collier play Tuesday?

Consider that when he took his first breather with three minutes left to play in the first quarter, Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis were both shouting his name and looking to congratulate him. But Collier was already being hugged by center Kelvin Cato, the man he replaced in the lineup after Cato missed the previous three games while dealing with his grandmother's death in Atlanta.

What else do you do when your third-string center makes three of four field goals and grabs three rebounds in the first quarter alone? Collier held Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to five points in the quarter while scoring seven.

"He ran the floor great," said Francis. "He was able to beat Ilgauskas down the court a couple of times and get us some quick buckets at the beginning of the game."

Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich credited Collier with setting the tone defensively against Ilgauskas. While the 7-3 center finished the game with 24 points in 34 minutes, he made only one of his four field-goal attempts against Collier and turned the ball over twice. He added three free throws to finish the quarter with five points and two rebounds.


Please note the last paragraph. Thanks.

 

I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no clue what that means

 

Yao has looked alot more agressive and continues to grow with every game. It is good that he is facing quality talent like Ilgauskas.

Collier's play is a pleseant surprise and should continue to light a fire under Cato's butt.

Look if Collier, Ming, and Cato continue to give quality play from the Center position. That 3 headed monster should be enough to get us deep into the playoffs or at least until Ming is ready to step his minutes.

 

I don't know, but even Matt Goukas called Z on three hooks alone.

 

I feel bad for Ilgauskas. He was going to be a star before his foot gave up. Now he will never be back to that form again. In fact, his career is one more injury away from ending. However, he is still a good center on some nights playing on a foot with eight screws in it. This just tells you how bad the centers have become in this league. If Yao can keep improving and stay healthy, he will become a more effective player than Z and the second best center in the league in the near future.

 

Lets get this STRAIGHT***********
When Yao played the Cavs Center YaoMing scored 9pts he scored 6 pts. Yao wins 9to 6.********

 

How is it that straightforward? How many times did Z attempt to shoot? Was it down to the guards not giving him the ball, Yao's coverage of him? There are a hundred external factors, other than "it was 9-6 to Yao".

It definitely isn't as simple as you suggest.

 

Yeah, but I think he socred only 8pts when Ming was on, and Ming scored 6 or so when Z was on. Defensively, Ming was the most effective Rox player to to guard Z last night.

 

Yao is going to be a good player ,but to say he played Zi better than Collier is just crazy,some of you guy's are thinking with your hart's not with your, minds.I know alot of you chinese poster don't want to here anything negative about Yao, but you have to take the good with the bad.

 

This is one crazy thread. You guys don't have to try and talk Yao up everytime a veteran center has a better game than him. We all know what Yao is capable of, but Z has the one thing that Yao lacks and that is experience. Z is no slouch, he is very talented as well, he just keeps breaking his foot every year.