NY press... LOL

I think his name is Ming(first) Yao(last)

 

It's just NY trash talk. They printed similar crap during the 94 finals when THE ROCKETS BEAT THE KNICKS IN 7 GAMES.

Raven

 

wait till the next meeting, save this thread and see what they say afterward. heheheh there is a saying "the grape you can't get is sour"

 

It's a pity - someone can't give YM the heads up on these two articles. Something for him to think about when they play in NY, late Feb.

Raven

 

KNICKS STAND TALL vs. YAO

By MARC BERMAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Knicks 99 - Rockets 83
December 28, 2002 -- HOUSTON - It was more Ming Disaster than Ming Dynasty last night.

Proving for one night size doesn't matter, the undersized tag-team of Kurt Thomas and Michael Doleac pushed and shoved the 7-5 Chinese rookie Yao Ming out of the low block and shut him down as the Knicks routed the Rockets 99-83 during a boo-fest at Compaq Center.

A foul-plagued, heavy-legged Yao was a non-factor in finishing with 17 points - eight in fourth-quarter garbage time. He shot 5 of 12, had just five rebounds and was a step slow on defense.

Yao was outplayed by the maligned Doleac, whom the Knicks needed because Thomas got into foul trouble. Doleac had his best game as a Knick with 15 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.

The final indignity came when Clarence Weatherspoon took a pass from Latrell Sprewell, tore down the left baseline and dunked emphatically over a helpless Yao with 2:30 left.

"Our bigger guys really stepped up," an ecstatic Don Chaney said. "Just look at the way 'Spoon attacked on that dunk. I haven't seen him do that since he was a young guy eight years ago. Those guys had a lot of pride. We were small. They know that. But we played big tonight."

The Knicks face the powerhouse Mavericks tonight after holding the Rockets to their worst shooting percent in their 34-year history: 29.5 percent.

Sprewell scored 21 points, using his speed against the old, slow ex-Knick Glen Rice. Allan Houston added 20 points, shooting daggers from the top of the key. But it was the centers - the oft-criticized centers - who should savor this. Especially Doleac.

GM Scott Layden wanted Yao in the summer and instead got Doleac, a free-agent bust till last night. Doleac even had a picturesque dunk with 4:45 left in the third quarter after taking a feed from Spree.

"I'm not the most athletic guy in the NBA," Doleac said. "But sometimes the stars are in alignment."

"I thought he played fantastic," Chaney said of Doleac. "He was fearless. He's supposed to play offense. That's why he's here, but I thought he did great things defensively, getting into people, moving his feet."

Thomas and Doleac wouldn't let Yao receive the ball in the deep post, forcing him to take difficult turnaround jumpers outside his comfort zone. He looked clumsy at times. On one play, Yao felt on his rump after backing in Thomas and losing the ball.

"I didn't realize he was 300 pounds," Thomas said. "It makes it a lot difficult to move 300 pounds. but I was able to move him out a step or two and use my weight and strength."

Said Doleac, "I wasn't blocking shots or anything, just keeping him out of his position down low and try to get my hand up. I was just happy to make a contribution. Obviously, it has been a frustrating season so far."

The Knicks used a number of pick-and-rolls to free Thomas and Doleac but Yao couldn't keep up. Doleac shot 6 of 9 and Thomas bagged 4 of 9 shots.

"It's not about shooting a lot of shots," Thomas said. "It's making a few to make them honor the fact they can hit. That opened up things up."

"Everybody's talking about Yao, there was a lot of hype built," Houston said. "I knew our big guys were going to be up to the task."

Perhaps the harbinger was set on the opening tip when Thomas jumped quickly and beat Yao.

Before the game, Glen Rice went as far as saying Yao has the potential to be among the five best centers ever. So much for the hype.

--------


Jealous haters. Marc Berman and Chet Coppock must be old roommates.

 

Interesting. Didn't know that Yao servers so many functions, one of which is to elevate NY little men's spirits.

 

WOW, This Marc Berman is really fooling himself! Why pay so much attention 2 a rookie....and not the other players on the ROXS team!! He paints it as if it was Yao Ming vs. the whole VERY CRAPPY Knicks team......& yes they are CRAPPY!!!! HELLO Marc...this a team game! Enjoy it while it lasts! And by the way when was the last time your Knits-(wits) won a title, hmmmm!!

 

I got a feeling that the next time Yao face the Knicks the result will be much different. It's not totally his fault that he is having a subpar game. The Rockets need to realize that Yao's game at this point in his career is not out muscle the other team big guy down low. They need to utilize other weapons that he has until he gain some strength to bang down low night in and night out. One thing I agree that Yao can be more aggressive last night against those two players. If you can't back it in then drive around them to draw some foul. He can also drive into the paint and shot the hook shot over them. There are other shots you can take when the turn around jumper doesn't fall. It's a learning experience for Yao and I expect him to light them up the next time when they met.

 

Maybe its time people stop worrying about what NYC has to say about Houston and start worrying about how much Cuttino jacks up every shot on the planet?

If you were here, you would know what they say about the Rockets. Its mostly positive. One writer or two does not make fans ignorant. Notice how they sell out every damn game at the MSG despite their teams record and we can't even get sellouts on a consistant basis.

 

Why is it that they are always sold out? Arco Arena is always sold out because basketball's the only sport in Sacramento. New York City just has 4 times more people that Houston.

 

Knicks? Wish you good luck in draft lottery in the next 50 years.

 

It looks to me that it is exactly what they are implying...those wankers need to look closely at where they stand today...

 

Not only that, enjoy him knowing you could have had Amare Stoudemire had you been smart enough.

In the immortal words of The Simpsons' Nelson Muntz......HA HA!

 

The knicks are happy cuz some rookie only score like 18 points on them???!!

 

There was also the Sunday NY Times that basically stroked Doleac's meat for two columns because he destroyed Ming (note sarcasm).

Yao's gonna have this every game: some 3rd-rater playing the game of his life because all his teammates will pump him up for his chance to show up Mr China Hype.

 

they keep talking about the dunk wheaterspoon had on yao and how great it was. now i saw it and out of all the posterized dunks ive seen his was the weakest one. it wasn't even a clean dunk. it looked more like a layup while grabbing the rim.