Why offer Dream a position if he's not asked for a position... Anyone know Dream asked or talked to anyone about coaching?? If not that point is stupid... I'm a huge Dream fan but if he's interested enough to come in like Mario Elie and interview well then you go with the best guy available.. I really like the move for Ewing... No need for name calling!!!!
But see, IMO, they are two totally different type of shot blockers. Yao is a shot blocker, based purely on his height and not much else. Hakeem was all athleticism and instinct. You just cant teach the things that Hakeem had going for him. All in all, Hakeem was not the most fundamentally sound player in the world. I guess thats why I dont see him as good big man coaching material.
Ewing was painful to watch. Slow, lumbering, boring. A crappy passer. Had no touch. Yao already has a higher basketball IQ than Ewing ever displayed to me.
Ewing will still be able to pass on some knowledge of the game to Yao. Banging with him in the post during workouts should help Yao build up his strength and endurance. It's a good move on the Rockets part.
Hakeem cannot coach period! He does not have the communicational skills to teach anybody. Ewing might just be the next coming of Clyde Drexler! coaching wise!
its all quite pointless to argue anyways. I dont think Dream has the desire to coach right now. But i worry wether Ewing will be a very good coach, and not a distraction. We already have enough of that w/ all the attention given to Yao. But i'm optimistic cause I think Van Gundy can hold everything together. Plus, worst come to worst, Yao will at least become a better rebounding force
ROCKET People get a grib! He's not going to be head coach just the 3rd assistant. Big Deal, he carries a clip board. At least Yao can practice against a quality opponet.
I hope he is a help and not a detriment to Yao's development. I have never been that impressed with Ewing, but then again, I was used to watching Dream.
Yeah, hell is freezing over, HOWEVER, Weren't there tons of threads last season about how Ming needed a big man to teach him the NBA Bigmans game? How could this be a bad thing? Ewing was .2 rebounds away from averaging a double double over 15 seasons. I have no doubt he could teach Yao, and EG a thing or two.... Ok, spare me the Strip club jokes. JVG has a good relationship w/ Ewing, why would he want to hire someone who he doesn't know and doesn't understand his vision? Ewing makes sense to me. He is a traditional center... There aren't many elite centers who want to coach. Kareem, Malone ok....... This can't hurt is all I'm saying
welcome ewing. im all for this move unless we start seeing yao hanging out at strip clubs now. but if it helps his game im all for that too.
Agreed. Thats why I dont mind seeing Ewing sign on. Yao needs to learn how to use his frame more to his advantage, positioning on D and pick up a couple of more post moves. I think Ewing can help him in all these areas. However, I was hoping that we would find a big man that was a bit more of a passer than Ewing (although, those are hard to find).
Bottlerocket is RIGHT!!! He'll carry a clipboard, & practice against Yao. It ain't the end of the world.
HAHAAHAHAHAh. Welcome Patrick Ewing! Well I hope he can teach some stuff for Yao. Hakeem has never wanted to coach. He is still under contract. He can't coach anyways because he won't be able to communicate. AND ANYWAYS. Yao's favorite player was Hakeem Olajuwon. And he watched videos and tapes of Hakeem the Dream. And some of his moves are based off of Hakeem's moves.....LIKE THE SHANGHAI SHAKE..... Yao's just too slow. He can't do what Hakeem did.....they can't play the same type of style and stuff. Patrick....well hopefully he can be our muscle.....maybe he can be the enforcer....I don't know if he can teach.....doesn't seem like it. How the heck did he improve Kwame Brown and Brendan Haywood and Jahaidi White? WELCOME!
I don't think Ewing will be a quality opponent. He's gotta be out of shape badly by now. The bright side is we'll get to hear about Yao mopping the floor with Ewing in practice now... But there's gotta be some knowledge to be passed down.. Ewing worked with Zo in the summers and he developed an all-around game pretty quickly. I think Van Gundy knows whats up...
I agree with codell about Ewing being much closer to Yao than Hakeem is in body type/potential skillset, at least defensively. Hakeem was an ultra-quick athletic leaper who could be out of position and recover to make the play anyways. Ewing was more of a position defender who used his length to alter/block shots. This is the type of player that Yao is, or can become. One skill that Patrick had was knowing when to go for the block, and when to just stand there with his hands up to keep from getting the foul. He didn't get as many blocks as Hakeem did, but he also didn't get into anywhere near the foul trouble that Hakeem did either. If Patrick can just teach this one thing to Yao(smart position defense), I would be happy. I recall several times last year when Yao would have 4, or 5 fouls despite only playing 25 minutes or so. We need the big fella on the floor as much as possible. Sometimes it's better to just give up a layup, and go get it back on the other end. Nobody has rooted against Patrick more than I have(Hakeem's rival), but I'm glad he's on board. Maybe he'll get his ring this way.
Strip club jokes aside (guess Chris Rock was wrong, there is sex in the champagne room, LOL!), this is exactly what Yao needs. A guy who didn't have the greatest athletic ability and who, no matter what you guys say, worked his ass off every game, be it against the last place team at the end of 8 game road stretch or in the playoffs. Dream was more pleasing to watch and more talented, but no one outworked Patrick Ewing. He'll be a great tutor for Yao and I think he will go from being good to being a great player in the mold of a taller Tim Duncan.
