Yao and his balance & timing.

When he is pushed ,sometimes he does not push back and he is pushed over.He is holding the ball too long, because he is making his mind up, should I shoot or should I pass. He needs to be told to have a shoot first mentality. I dont think his mind is set on rebounding or making blocks, he never goes for them, only gets them when they come to him. I believe that if Moses Malone was to take him under his wing all these problems and positioning would be either solved or improved. The great advantage that Yao Ming has over all of the other Giants of Basketball is that his legs are tree trunks. The last thing you would ever want to do is alter this build. The strong legs will protect him from injury. Yao Ming will always have a THIN upper body, thats the way he is made! With specialised weight training he will make it stronger, but he will end up with a strong sculptured thin upper body.His main problem is that he does not know the tricks of the game and Moses is the one that knows all the tricks. I cant understand why the Rockets have not taken Moses up on his offer!

 

It is the law of physics. Yao will always get knocked down more often than not. Besides the height difference, Yao has a totally different body habitat like Shaq. Yao's upper body will gain more definition with time, but he will always be long rather than thick.
His timing in blocking shots will also improve, but his timing will never be great. Timing is more a natural ability than an acquired product. Emphasis should be placed on getting in position, boxing out and anticipation. Yao will definitely improve on those aspects, then his rebound and blocking will improve. I think we are over-emphasizing on improving his aggressiveness down low. Yao will always be best utilized as a finesse player. Dont tell me Chris Webber is a power player only. Webber is an all round player, who can play inside and outside, can drive to the basket, or take that 15-20 foot faceup jumpers. While improving his inside moves, Yao should also mix it in with his outside playmaking and shooting abilities. For those of you who believe SF is a new breed of point guard, then Yao is defintely a new breed of centers who can play both inside and outside effectively. In a certain games where there is a slower opposing forwards, Yao could even play the 4 spot like he did on occasion during the World Games. I simpily disagree with how RT has been using Yao so far this season. What a waste of talents.

 

It is hard to keep the ball above your head after an offensive rebound and put it back with a slam dunk. Even if Yao try to do that, he could still be blocked. In order to slam it home with authority, you have to bring it down somewhat to gain momentum. All these talks about dont bring the ball down is bologna. All offensive putback with authority requires you to bring down the ball. Shaq, KG, Duncan all do that. The only difference is you have to have a strong hold of the ball and do it QUICK. What Yao could do is to keep the ball close to his chest with his elbows out and SWING the ball up rather than straight up. Anyone who try to strip the ball will most likely hit Yao's arms rather. By the way, Yao does keep the ball up with deffensive rebounds because there is no need to bring it down in those situations.

 

Bradley and Bol dont really try to play aggressive. Just watch Bradley. When he tries to go inside and play aggressively, he will get knocked down just as often as Yao.

Yao is a new breed. Jabar is great, but I think Yao has more offensive arsenals though. NBA games has changed a lot over the years. Dont mean to put down all the NBA greats over the years. Rules are pretty the same, except the new rule on zone defense, power plays has been encouraged gradually over the past 10 years. Watching some of the old NBA games, you seldom see so much pushing and shoving down in the low post.

 

I've heard arguments both ways. IMHO, I say yes.

Earlier I mentioned the fast twitch versus slow twitch muscle fiber. I am of the opinion that for each individual, there exists an optimum number of sets, reps and load to increase quickness. It goes without saying that there are upper limits based upon muscle fiber composition, but IMO some gains can be made be all individuals.

 

The 'D' just wasn't there until the mid-80s. That's why guys could shoot. Double teams were rare and scores were high.

Yao does show aggressiveness. He is learning, a work in progress. Kareem came in and taught the Association. So, too, did Wilt. They had more appropriate expewrience at the same age as Yao.

Better make room in the pantheon of great 5s, Yao he is a comin'!

 

Quickness and leaping ability often go hand in hand. Just as you cant turn someone into a great leaper, you cant instill quickness into someone who just doesnt have the natural ability. There is only a very limited improvement as far as with practice.

 

With all respect...Moochie Norris is quicker than Eddie Griffin. Who has the higher vertical leap?

I recognize the limits of natural ability but believe you have ignored the other elements which comprise either vertical or lateral mobility. In the case of lateral quickness, footwork is almost as important as genetics. The mental ability to quickly decide in advance whether you are going to hard double a PnR or react passively is a factor in determining "quickness".

As I mentioned earlier, there is debate over whether quickness can be improved and my opionion and personal experience is yes.

 

Two words: The Elbows

 

Talking about twitch muscles - I came accross a trainer who informed me that it is possible to develope them. So that means that it is possible for Yao to add a few inches to his vertical leap and overal quickness by getting the proper training.

 

Maybe Yao is really attractive up close?

 

Yao definitely needs to bring the elbows into play against defenders. I hate to say it, but look at Karl Malone with his elbows and knee kick. You don't see anyone ever getting in his way. Deliver a couple hard offensive fouls and it'll be well worth it to get his defender scared of a world of pain.

Also, from what I remember of Shawn Bradley in his first few years, he was ALWAYS falling. I still think he drops to the ground more than Yao, especially if you compare their minutes per game.

I think the reason Yao doesn't move right away when he receives the ball on the post it's because that's the way the play is designed (as terrible as that sounds). It's a straight up iso and he has to wait for the passer to cut by him and clear to the other side of the floor, which takes a few seconds.

I think this play sucks because all four of his teammates are just sitting around at the 3-point line on the opposite side of the court, none of them are cutting at all. When the Laker's feed Shaq, they always keep a shooter on the same side of the floor, so if Shaq wants to pass out, he can make a quick short pass. With the defense collapsed in the middle, that player can either shoot a three, or swing the ball for the open shooter. The Rockets should implement a similar play. They shouldn't force Yao to make difficult low-percentage passes over his defender and across the defense.

 

I've been to the last few games and noticed it, too.

Cause and effect:

1) Yao is being more aggressive. He is backing his way to the rim and not settling for the TAJ nearly as much. Result: defenders are beating on him and "pulling the chair out". Lo Wright did it 2/3 times. Yao ended up on the ground. He'll adjust.

2) On D, the refs are in his head. Since fouling out of the Laker game, he is clearly thinking about fouls - spec. how to avoid them. Result: He's caught in the middle - giving ground and even going down with contact. IMO two weeks ago, Lo Wright wouldn't have broken double digits. If this is the closest to "foul trouble" we experience with a rook center, I'll take it 24/7.

3) Rudy T speaks the truth. Yao looks tired mentally. The hard doubles, the tick-tack fouls, seeing and digesting the game. He's just having a little mental reflux right now, but like Neo, he's still "The One". Maybe he just needs his cookie from the oracle.

 

Here are the official stats for Falling to the Floor:

Per game/Per 48 min

Bradley 1.9/3.8
Yao 2.3/3.4

 

About this improving quickness argument, I've heard it both ways, but I also say it CAN be IMPROVED. Of course, Yao will never be a high flyer, lol, but he can improve.

But then again, everything I've heard says that improving your quickness or leaping ability (twitch muscles basically) is probably THE most intense training exercise out of all. Basically, it won't happen by jumping and playing a lot. If you want it, you really have to put in tons of effort, to improve only slightly over long epriods of time.

 

One thing that he has to learn is that how to draw shooting fouls. I watched the last game (Memphis), Yao was fouled at 6-7 times under the post but none of those are shooting foul. He has to learn (from the player to forum hate the most, K. Malone), to throw up the ball as soon as he hear the whistle or know when a whistle will come (by experience). What are your opinions?

 

Exactly what I was thinking. He has used his elbows everynow and then when he goes up for a shot, but he must use them also when he is in the post/setting up so he isnt stripped so much.