Ok I'm sure this one may bring a few idiots out of the woodwork, but I'm going to throw this out there and hope I can get some objective feedback: Yao Ming either needs to man up inside or Rudy T. needs to show some balls and give him some much needed rest. Here's why I say this: If i see Yao Ming at 7'5 miss another 4 foot putback because he decides to throw up a baby hook instead of a dunk I think I may decide throw up my dinner as well. I'm really tired of hearing all these excuses for him not being aggressive. I mean if the man is tired..and in all likelihood he is..I think we should rest the poor man. To me, he doesn't have to prove anything else because he came to this country and in the first 4 weeks of the season made miraculous improvements and showed the world he was worthy of a #1 pick. So with that said he should be allowed to rest his weary body in the games leading up to the allstar game, before the games really matter later in the season. If fatigue isn't the reason for his passive play inside then I think its time you send a message of a different sort to the 7'5 phenom. "Look, this is the NBA in the USA, you don't have to look, act, dress, or speak like we do and we appreciate your differences, but what we DO expect is you to dunk the basketball from 4 feet in front of the basket if you are over 7 ft. tall. I don't care if you are white, black, hispanic, asian or martian, there are some things that you cannot sugar coat and this is one of them. It is a detriment to the team to miss shots from so far inside because he won't dunk the basketball. His fg % has plummeted as a result of the newfound timidity that has arisen over the last 2 weeks. In games where you loose by 6pts or fewer those points are of PRIME improtance, and if he is too physically exhausted to give us those inside than I must humbly request that he sit untill he is again able to be the player that we know he is capable of being. Please be objective in letting me know what you think. Thx.
swooh, I think he doesn't have the explosiveness and strength to dunk the ball in the crowd. Please accept this truth. It is not a matter of attitude but a matter of capability.
I agree that this is a problem. BUT I think we have many other more important issues before this one. Here are my rankings.. 1. PF help. Eddie can't guard sh$t 2. Lack of Movement in offense 3. PG issues 4. Role players 5. Yao dunking the ball I think Yaos problem will be resolved once his endurance builds up but our other issues continue to create sleepless nights for me. Hope we can have it figured out by play off time.
He has plenty of explosivness, just ask Theo Rattliff, what he doesn't have yet is the confidence or aggressive attitude you need to excel in the NBA. Yao has a case of the "Just happy to be here" syndrome. He will learn that he has to play BIG to succeed. THROW IT DOWN BIG FELLA !!! DD
I'm begging ya.........Please dunk the ball. Can someone tell me how high he has to jump to dunk the ball. I'm tired of seeing his shots get block. I also think he needs to dunk with more power. I'm tired of seeing weak dunks get blocked by other centers. Please dunk.......PLEASE. I don't think a few power dunks cuts it.
I personally do not like to see Yao trying to 'drop' it in or attempt a 'weak' layup when he is 2 feet away from the bucket. But I am ready to wait for him to learn and realize that as big men you have take it by force when around the bucket. That is when people start using the word DOMINANCE along with your game. But come to think about it, the following stars, hall of famers hardly "threw down" the ball when around the basket; 1. Hakeem (I wish he did it more. But he could never get himself to play that way). 2. Karl Malone 3. Patrick Ewing 4. David Robinson (sometimes flexes his muscles though) 5. Pau Gasol Anyway the most important thing is no matter how you decide to take your shots just make sure you get the ball through the basket - period. I just wish Yao will use his height and ability to get close to the basket more to his advantage by attacking the rim more with authority.
Rudy needs to tell Yao Ming to be agressive and not to worry about fouling out. Yao Ming played better when he wasn't trying to play like a traditional Center, just look back at the first game, this season, against the Spurs.
swooh, you sound like a Yao-only fan to me. The Rox is still in a dog fight for a seat in the playoff, how can we afford to rest Yao at this point so that he can look better later on? Don't forget Rox plays ugly offense when Yao is not on the court and his just being there has a huge impact on defense. Shrimpie
As much as I hate not to see Yao dunks the ball when he's near the basket but I realize Yao is not stupid if he could, he would. Yao seems to have problem dunking the ball with someone between him and the basket eventhough he's only 2-3 feet away. Maybe this is a combination of lack of strength, endurance and old CBA attitude (about dunking). I've read an article (don't remember). It mentioned that Yao lost 5 inches of vertical because he trained his legs improperly when he was playing in the CBA. If this is true then it also explains why he couldn't go up strong for the dunk. As we all know most of the power come from the legs. I am more frustrated than worry about Yao on this type problem. It can be easily corrected with proper trainning. I am sure the Rockets trainners are working on this. I believe with time, Yao will soon develope the strength that he needs. When that happens, he and his "twin" brother Stevie, and the whole Rockets will be an incredible team to behold.
What?! Hakeem was nasty his first few years in the league. His offensive game was relatively raw out of college, but he played with power. His athleticism was phenomenal.
These guys may not have dunked when they didn't need to, and Hakeem had a knack of "getting under" the defender to lay it in off the backboard. But if these guys knew that the difference between making the shot or not was whether they could throw it down over somebody, and if they tossed up, it would get blocked, these guys would throw it down to get the basket. And unlike guys today, they'd run back on defense, because they knew the dunk was just another shot made and not a statement.
Hakeem threw it down earlier but that changed later especially in the 90s. I know you will agree with me on that. Anyway, I am confident (hopefully) that Yao will learn and accept to finish his moves (when around the basket) with a fury like Shaq and Amare.
I agree with w&s that Yao doesn't have the explosiveness. He is not a quick jumper,and he doesn't have the brute strength to dunk when there are defenders around him. I also think that it is an attitude problem or habit of attitude. He is just not used to playing with force. He is not used to forcing the issue. Old habits take time to change. He just needs to consciously make the aggressive moves. If he leaves it to his instincts, he will always be gentle and deferent. He said that when he first came to the US to attend a youth basketball camp, the coach would make the whole team run laps if he didn't dunk the ball. Maybe Rudy should use the same method. Some of the guys need exercise anyways.
Give the man some slack. Who would have dreamed of his progress to this point? I am amazed that he is able to paly as foul free as he does. BIG gets cheap calls and he plays smart. He will play strong. It's coming 'by next season'. I love the fellow. I love our PG. I hate our stagnancy, but hey -- all is looking up up and away!!!
