The Official "I Was Wrong and You Were Right" Thread

If I remember correctly, NewYorker was never a Yao hater or skeptical about Yao. I think I had some what of the same idea as he did, and that was Yao would need to earn his minutes. He has now, so there should be no excuse for Rudy to leave him on the bench or for him to not get him any touches.

I am now on the "All we have to do is get the ball to Yao somehow" boat that mostly everyone else was on.

 

30-point game. Next come the constant double-teams and collapsed zones, followed by the kick-outs for jumpers. That's when the triple doubles start.

Now close your eyes and imagine that we had traded the pick and that Yao had just scored his 30 points for the Bulls or the Knicks. We'd be passing the pistol right about now, and if the first five guys hadn't bought it, I'd be putting the sixth bullet in the chamber.

 

Will,

Close your eyes and imagine Yao at the high post where he can't be double teamed. Imagine an exposed lane, because the center cannot back off Yao, because he'll just turn and drain 15'er after 15'er...imagine the drop step for 15 feet out because the defense has been flattened trying to matchup with Francis and Mobley to the wings of Yao.

Imagine Francis and Mobley getting give and goes from Yao like Francis got last night for a slam. Imagine crisscrossing Francis and Mobley's as Yao fakes hand off after handoff and becomes a picker with the ball who dumps to a passing speedy finishing guard....imagine Bill Walton at 7 foot 5.

Hakeem had to face the collapsing zones. Yao has more shooting range and passing than Hakeem did and can step out to the elbow and flatten zones.

 

I am happy to say that my skepticism concerning Yao has been overcome.

 

I also have to give Yao Ming his props. He is without doubt better than Shawn Bradley.

I just hope that everyone realizes that Yao is not going to averge a double/double in every game this year. He's still learning, and at some point this year he's going to hit that proverbial "Rookie Wall". It happens to all the greats. I would be suprised if he doesn't start for the Rookie Team this year, and I would be SHOCKED if he doesn't win Rookie of the Year.

Keep up the good work Yao, and keep making people eat their words (including myself). The Rockets have a bright future, and if they had more experience they would have won last night. It may be time to start refering to someone else on the Rockets as "Franchise".

 

Please don't jinx us

 

I wasn't anti-Yao, though I didn't think he'd have this kind of an impact on the game, or on me watching the games.

I'm a big Steve Francis fan, but I must admit I was whole heartedly rooting for Yao Ming last night. He was simply a pleasure to watch.

 

Interesting scheme, heypee. (I'll assume you're not just trying to protect Mobley.) Yao essentially plays QB with two running backs. It certainly worked with Francis last night. Where would you put the other two guys? At the 3-point line in each corner?

 

I never doubted we should pick Yao since centers are so hard to come by, but my goodness! I never expected him to play so well, so soon! He is a special one! How lucky are we to have him and Francis on this team?

Wow! I hit 400 posts and didn't even know it.. Good for me!

 

Initially I wanted to trade the pick for Odom and one/two of the Clippers lotto picks. This was based on everything that was written about the guy being "soft" and couldnt play in the post. The lengthy video clip that Clutch posted really changed my mind b/c it was obvious Ming had very special offensive abilities. I was concerned about the defense and rebounding of this frontline but figured they'll eventually figure it out as a talent with the size and skills of Yao comes along once in a generation.

At this stage, Im not as concerned about the whole post defense and rebounding thing as I was before. Yao's rebounding technique has developed at an incredibly fast rate, and the fronting and weakside help strategy should be ok against the teams with tough frontlines.

 

Hey, I knew he'd be better than Bradley. I thought - one day - he'd be somewhere between Smits and Sabonas. It's 1 game - well 2 - but now I see I was a fool.

 

I started a thread a while back, saying I though Yao was going to have one of the sweetest shooting touches in the NBA -- and I was ridiculed for such a dumb statement. Even though his scoring so far has come mostly from shots in the paint, I've seen enough of that midrange shot to stand by my statement. You don't make 31 of 35 -- even from right under the friggin' basket -- unless you've got some serious touch.

Yao already shoots better than every center in the league, and better than most forwards and guards. Once he's settled in, having someone like that with an automatic shot is going to an absolute rally-killer. Combine that with a rally-starter like Stevie and we are going to be downright scary one day very soon.

 

I'm actually trying to protect Francis from Yao-mania "move him to shooting guard" knee-jerk reactions, and I'm trying to protect Rudy from those who hate the Dump it in offense, that you described in this thread. I'm trying to describe the UCLA-Cut that Doc Ramsey and Walton ran for a title.

Do me a favor now, and lay off the football metaphors. It is the UCLA offense used by Jabbar and Walton...no need to be a Texan who views everything through the gridiron.

It is perfect for our guards lack of passing instincts and makes certain Yao doesn't get doubled. You can do it with many different Shooting Guards, but they all must have one thing in common, they can't be the 'ol Shandon euphemism "defensive specialists."

The give and go is something Duncan and Ginobili have shown, and we saw Francis do it last night. Place that at the elbow and run crisscrossing Francis/Mobley's, and the slightest step those two get translates into a serious threat. Many PGs and SGs can do that, but the faster ... the more athletic (like Ginobili)...the better.

Anyhow, I loved the motion I saw in the first half...as you said "impeccable ball movement." But you can't live off of that. You have to beat zones in more way than one. Moving Yao out to the elbow like Duncan and Divac is an obvious addition to the offense.

 

When we won the #1, I was for packaging it in a trade. It wasn't that I thought Yao would be bad, only that the #1 pick was being overvalued. Then, I played the Houston GM for RealGM's fantasy draft and realized I could not trade the pick in good conscience. So, by the time the real draft came, I was on the bandwagon.

All the same, I thought of it as an investment in the future. I didn't expect to see any 30 point, 16 rebound games in the first season. 20 points, sure. 12 rebounds, sure. 20 and 16 in one game? In this, Yao's proven me wrong. But, it isn't so much this one spectacular game. He's run off several consecutive good games now and shooting an unbelievable percentage in the meantime. I think it is still possible for his game to regress as teams come in with a plan on how to stop Yao and he (and the guys getting him the ball) has to adjust to living the life of the double-teamed, but I no longer doubt that he will be a major component this season.

 

I'm not a Yao hater either, but not in my wildest dreams did I thing he would play the way his played the last 4 games. Last night was surreal, I was beside myself and visions of Championships were dancing in my head!

 

Logic tells us that you're most likely correct...

... but I would certainly advise betting against Yao Ming on ANYTHING this year.

Frankly, I'm just waiting to see what he can pull out of his pocket... and I've just been to surprised already to have a fixed opinion on what he can or can not achieve this season.

 

I didn't declare it publicly but I was also a bit disappointed after the draft.I was hoping we would have traded down in the draft and picked up somee extra picks and a veteran.

After the first few games I was thinking I'd be happy if Ming could develop into a 10pt 8reb 2blk guy by next year.

The guy has really impressed me with his desire and his knowledge of the game...He has a great future and we are lucky to be able to witness it ,with him being a Rocket.

 

I have been a supporter all along.

I guess I am going to have yaogasm every night.

 

I was wrong.............Thanks Goodness

 

Ok, here is my situation. I always wanted Yao as our #1 pick. It filled the most immediate hole on our team. But, I also stated that I think Butler would be more successful. I apologize to Yao for that asinine statement. Butler will be a star, IMO, but Yao will be a superstar. I would still like Butler on this team, but Yao is the man.

Go Rocks!