"Risin' up, back on the street, Did my time, took my chances, Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet, Just a man and his will to survive..." Shaq says he has worked out how to play Yao. He was just surprised by Yao because they had never met before. he continued by saying other players in the NBA were surprised by Yao and will know how to play Yao. There is truth in what the Shaq daddy says. Osterberg seems to trouble Yao. Will Shaq vs Yao II be all Shaq?
This learning curve goes two ways. I agree that Shaq will play Yao better this time, but Yao will play Shaq better the second time around also. Yao always seems to play someone better the next time around. He often doesn't do that well the first time, while he figures the player out, since he's studying them.
step up big man. play your game and you'll be fine. i expect yao to have better numbers: 20 pts and 8 rebounds. same as the previous game, shaq will get his numbers, but he will have to work hard for them. lakers will win this game because francis will try to take over the game and shoot team to a lost.
Do you remember the game on Tuesday? Did Yao not light up Osyter and Co. like a Christmas tree? Shaq-Yao II is going to live up to the hype. It's the battle of the Titans. But the game will eventually be decided by guard's play.
If I am Rudy, I will like to try this starting line up for rematch with Lakers: JP/EG (PF), Yao (PF), Kc (Center), SF and CM
Yao's has become a consistent 15+ per game scorer, hopefully Yao-Shaq II would offset each other, Kobe and Stevie is the more interesting match-up in this one as both are on a scoring tear!.... expect Posey and hawk to share time defensively vs. Kobe...... I hate to say it, but Mobley could be the x factor in this one (29pts in their last encounter)
Kobe is gonna tear us apart like wet paper. He averaged 35 freakin pts in the last six games. Last game he scored 51 pts by the end of the third quarter.
In Shaq-Yao I, Kobe only went inside once. Hopefully, Yao's presence will keep Kobe on the perimeter like last time. Kobe is still going to get his points but I think it won't be in the 50s.
I have a strong feeling Mobley is going to win this game for the Rockets, either offensively or defensively.
support YAO!Shaq is old although he's strong now.but Yao is only a rookie.He needs time and confidence!
Wouldn't that be cool? Mobley has dropped off the radar so badly lately.. I'd love to see him just take this game by the balls and b**** slap the lakers silly..
None of the above. Shaq will play a bit better than Yao in terms of individual #'s... but Yao will open up the Lakers D for our guards to exploit in a way that not even Shaq does.
Shaq is still the most dominating player in the league, so it will be tough for Yao. However, Yao played Shaq very well for the majority of the last meeting. Here 2 factors that I think haven't been mentioned... Playing at LA - Shaq will have the crowd behind him (for the most part) Rest - Yao will have 3 days rest, Shaq 1 days rest I think and Yao will play well, but if he doesn't play well I wouldn't be too disappointed. The kid's a rookie and under a ton of pressure. He'll have more ups and downs this year to come, but I think once he gets more confidence (i.e. more shots) and plays more agressived (i.e. demands the ball) he'll be dominating. With all that said, the game IMO depends on Stevie Franchise and the Cat. As great as Kobe is, he tends to get burned by the quicker, smaller guards in the league. The Rockets need a big game from Stevie and the Cat.
