Yao seems to be less aggressive than what he was in December. His rebounding especially offensive boards are down, he misses layups instead of dunking them. Is that because of he's too tired, lack of vertical jump ability, injury or just timid? How to get his aggressiveness back?
Rookie Wall kicks in. His absence over the last summer camp also plays a big role right now. He still can be a very good player. Just be patient.
Yao is really distressing me. He's just not aggressive on the boards, and.. well.. the lack of touch around the basket is just amazing. WHO IS THIS GUY?! I think the only reasonable explanation is the rookie wall. I just remember way too many occasions where he's made shots, and grabbed balls that he just could NOT tonight. Sigh. Sigh. Someone get'em some mojo, and/or ginseng.
I'm glad that someone brought this up. I went to the game tonight and was surprised by what I was seeing. Everytime Yao shot the ball the defender would just give him a bump and it would completly disrupt his shot. He also should have thrown down at least four of his missed shots instead of laying them up. He had great positioning under the goal. Maybe he is just tired. That's what most of us figured would happen by this time of the year. I hope he gets some rest during the All-star break.
We've said all along that he needs to develop his upper body strength. His first few games people thought he couldnt do anything and they let him have free reign. Once they realized what a big mistake that was, they starting pushing him off the low post and bumping him as he was making his moves. If he develops some upper body strength, his shot should be more steady. He needs to learn to play aggressively with contact. This is imperative because you're not going to get the call all the time, especially on the road. Also, Yao needs to shoot more face up jumpers to loosen up the defense. Eddie's Griffin's development will should free up more space inside as they stop collapsing on Yao. Just remember, this is only the regular season. We all know they allow even more contact during the playoffs.
I don't think yao's lost his aggressiveness. I think it's a combo of more aggressive defense, some tiredness, and a little ols fashioned slump. He's making similar moves and taking similar shots as earlier in the year. But, earlier, he was making almost everything, while lately a lot of shots have seemed to rim out. On defense and the boards, I think he's holding his own and staying aggressive. He doesn't have to go after every shot (which makes you dog tired). Plus, he's doing a better job of securing rebounds in the paint. He needs to obviously continue working on building up strength and also do a better job of grabbing onto the ball instead of tipping it around (Quit hanging around Jason Collier, Yao.).
What are you talking about? I thought Yao went to the hole like crazy tonight...he just couldn't get his shot to fall.
Its the instruction that the Coach is giving! Yao Ming is a lost soul on the court,he never plays like a Center, he is the wipping boy for the Francis and Mobley Show. He will never snap out of the "fuzz" till he gets mad with the Coach and DEMANDS the ball, then the Coach will have to sort out Francis and Mobley and tell them that Yao Ming must touch the ball on 90% of the plays! They reply"But Coach that will mean that we now are a Center oriented Team" Rudy replies "Thats right its our future get used to it from now on". Of course he might wake up on the 17th.and remember his MOVES and attack the basket.On the otherhand he might continue to be the Best Passing Center in the Mid-West Div.and be full of promise for the future. He needs a big mans coach BADLY because he will never dominate in the futurte without serious coaching and an attitude adjustment.
Probably a rookie wall...his season would have been overed by now had he played in the CBA? Anyway Yao still need go up strong. It's inexcusable for a 7'5" with all of the moves to do weak lay ins underneath the basket. The refs will mostly give him the call if he played aggressive on the offensive end. Somebody please tells Yao that it's ok to throw his 296lb body into someone if that is what it take for him to dunk on someone. If he get an offensive foul from that thats fine too. When the refs get used to see him play aggressive basketball they wont call that on him much anymore. ( see Shaq.) Yao definitely need a couple of Shaq lesson on how to play like a big man. Yao needs to stop acting like Mother Teresa by waisting his precious energy to pick up your opponents everytime there are on the floor. Most of 'em ain't gracious about what you're doing because the only thing on their minds is trying to get a highlight on him. By the way, I ain't hating Yao. I am just getting annoyed by his lack of aggressiveness lately.
Yao had 13 shots and had plenty of good looks. Plus big men often score off their rebounding which Yao was not able to do tonight. I think the guards did a great job feeding him the ball. Problem was he couldnt get the shots to fall. When you don't make your shots from point blank range, you really can't just demand the ball. That's stupid. Hopefully he'll learn from this and realize how improtant it is for him to conitnually get better and stronger. Tonight's game had nothing to do with poor guard play.
I was wondering the same thing. What are you guys talking about? Yao was very aggressive taking the ball to the basket, unlike earlier in the season when he would just shoot fadeaways and turnaround jumpers. It's just that his shots (layups) didn't go in.
I have noticed a problem in Yao's game. He has a tendency to bounce the ball once no matter what shot he takes. He doesn't need to dribble most of the time. That one dribble allows the opposition time to get better position resulting in a more difficult shot for Yao!
cmellon:- The reason posters are polite to me is because I am polite. I am of the old European School, I never use street language or use Gods name in my posts. I believe everyone has the right to their opinion. Most times my insghts are quite different to the average analyst . I have been recording and analysing Rockets for more than 21 years.
I just don't understand why others got blamed for somebody's poor performance. When Steve made a lot of turnover or Cat made a stupid shot attempt, can we blame Yao? I'm not really sure what you mean with average analyst. People who think Yao plays poorly today are average analysts? Yao just has an off-night tonight, and that's it. Mobley, Francis, Posey were awesome. Rudy was excellent. If we were only to rely on Yao tonight, we would definitely be screwed up.
