Yao seriously dissed

Hey Rockets fans, don't get your hope high just yet. After seeing Yao's 36/9 performance last night Charley Rosen has some to say. "world's most colossal second banana". Wow, just wow!



Yao simply not good enough to carry team
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Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 47 minutes ago



In his three previous NBA seasons, the scouting reports on Yao Ming were a mixed bag.

His huge physical dimensions, soft shots, unselfishness, and point-making skills were undeniably top caliber. On the flip side, Yao's feet were slow, he was incapable of playing more than 30 energetic minutes per game, and he seldom played with noticeable passion. He was deemed an elite center, but not a franchise-type player who could someday lead his team deep into the playoffs.
Then everything changed.

After playing in pain at the start of the current campaign, Yao underwent tootsie surgery and missed 21 games. Since his return, his numbers indicate that Yao has been the most dynamic big man in the NBA. Peja Stojakovic has even called him "unstoppable."

Yao's enhanced scoring, rebounding, and passing have led the Rockets to the cusp of playoff contention. Heading into Monday's homecourt date with the Nets, Houston was a mere three games behind the current 8th seed.

The possibility of a "new" Yao raises a pair of interesting questions: What's the difference between Yao then and Yao now? What kind of immediate (without the injured Tracy McGrady) and long-range (with T-Mac) futures are likely for the Rockets?

Houston's 90-77 loss to New Jersey offered some significant clues.


MIN FG 3FG FT REB A ST BS TO PTS
Yao 38 9-17 0-0 18-20 9 1 0 1 1 36

For sure, with T-Mac unavailable, the Rockets couldn't surround Yao with star-quality players. And after a quick start Houston was never really in the ball game. Still and all, it says here that Yao's 36 points were spectacularly unimpressive.


Offense
His moves were totally robotic: From the right box, Yao went to his turnaround jumper eight times, scoring five buckets and two free throws, and also firing up an airball. He was fouled both times he wheeled into the middle.

From the left box, he slowly spun baseline five times, scoring a single basket and getting a shot blocked. From there, he turned into the middle twice, getting fouled and also getting another shot blocked (by Jason Kidd).

Yao's other hoops came on a layup created by a nifty drop pass from Rafer Alston, by a fortuitous offensive rebound that simply dropped into his lap, and by poor defense on the part of the Nets.

Yao showed a solid base whenever he caught the ball down low. But his balance was noticeably shaky whenever he was on the move. (He was either tripped or knocked to the floor a total of four times ... mainly because he was too upright and his center of gravity is so elevated.) That's precisely why he made fairly accurate passes when he was doubled on the catch, and made risky passes when he was two-timed as soon as he put the ball on the floor.

Whichever way he moved and whatever shot he unleashed, Yao was extraordinarily slow. (Jason Collins easily beat him to a baseline spot in the third quarter when Yao made his habitual turn from the right box.) Nor was there any trickery involved in his offense — no drop-steps, switching hands, no hipper-dipper delights. Just straight-on TAJ's, layups, and flat-footed jump hooks. The big man is profoundly unathletic.


Yao Ming's inside game still needs work. (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Moreover, Yao was slow in moving his hands to catch any incoming pass that was slightly off the mark. Early in the third quarter, he waited for the pass to come to him instead of reaching out for the ball, thereby allowing Nenad Krstic to make an easy interception. Jeff Van Gundy was extremely upset, calling a time-out ASAP and yelling at Yao for this miscue.

Because Yao was extraordinarily slow off the floor, spring-legged defenders who fronted him usually got a piece of any attempted lob passes. This happened three times. Similarly, his shot releases were performed in slo-mo, allowing alert defenders (and helpers) to likewise challenge more shots than expected.

It's also surprising that Yao rarely used his elbows to either fend off defenders in the low post or to maneuver himself into better position to snatch offensive rebounds. Instead, he tried to bully his opponents with hip power and with sheer mass.

On the plus side of the equation, these days Yao is making more powerful duck-in moves that enable him to receive the ball in the paint. And once he catches the ball with one foot in the lane, Yao will certainly either score or be fouled.


Defense
Here's where his heavy sneakers were a distinct liability. The Nets starting big men are not bountiful scorers — Krstic is basically a mid-range jump shooter, and Collins can't shoot himself in the foot. In the first half, however, when the Rockets were still within reach, the Nets gave the home team a steady diet of high screen/rolls that zeroed in on Yao's utter lack of lateral movement.

Even when Cliff Robinson — a dead-eye long range shooter — was the screener, Yao either played the S/R from a distance, or made a clumsy attempt to show on the far side.

Accordingly, the Nets ran this maneuver ten times and generated fifteen points, plus a foul on Yao. Had the game been close in the second half, Lawrence Frank would definitely have called the same number again.


The Nets' Vince Carter runs past Yao Ming to score against the Rockets. (Bill Baptist/NBAE / Getty Images)

Whereas Robinson was very effective in fronting Yao on the defensive end, the bigger man had no chance of preventing Robinson from plugging several corner jumpers when their roles were reversed. And on two occasions, Yao was lifted by fakes 20-feet from the basket.

And here's another defensive boo-boo: Carter drove the lane, took a step after he was fouled, and threw up a floater. "If it goes!" the nearest ref shouted. Yao had a great angle and could easily have slammed the shot into the stands, but he merely held his ground and became a spectator. Fortunately for the Rockets, Carter's shot went awry and his chance to complete a 3-point play never materialized. But the sequence illustrated Yao's general lack of aggressiveness.

The Nets challenged Yao with post-ups only twice. Krstic was the designated pivot man, and he did beat Yao to the basket but was tooted for a questionable offensive foul. Krstic also tried his luck at turning and facing Yao, but his wide-open 16-footer was off the mark.

Even if he only registered one swat and two alterations against the Nets, Yao's vertical stature and long arms normally enable him to block his share of shots. At the same time, he has to lower his hands before he can lift them to attack the ball — a delay that severely limits his ability to close down the middle on defense. For the very same reason, several Nets players were able to beat Yao to the top of his jump and prevent him from pulling down several rebounds on both ends of the court.

To try and hinder Vince Carter's dynamic post-up scoring, Yao lumbered over to double VC several times. Twice, Yao completely obliterated Carter's court vision and forced wild passes. Once, Yao couldn't recover in time to prevent Krstic from nabbing an offensive rebounds. But on every other sequence, the Rockets were able to rotate and cover for him.


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It was also on defense where Yao's lack of stamina was most evident. Toward the end of his rotations, Yao played straight-legged defense. And whenever he took an outside position on the free throw line, he spent virtually all of the dead time leaning forward with his hands on his knees. Both of these acts being tell-tale signs of profound weariness.

What, then, is the sum of Yao's game?

Under certain conditions he is indeed an unstoppable scorer. But smart defensive teams who can field legitimate shot-blockers can cramp Yao's effectiveness. Doubling him on the move can induce him into turnovers. Getting into his legs may cause him to topple. Yao can also be confounded by fronting defenders aided and abetted by quick baseline rotations.

On defense, Yao is virtually helpless when asked to guard bigs who can shoot in S/R situations.

No question that he'll score points by the dozen with T-Mac down. But the Rockets are still destined to be grounded.

With a healthy McGrady on board, Yao can fit into the role that best suits him — being the world's most colossal second banana — and with a few more tweaks in their roster, Houston can be a legitimate playoff team for years to come. As things stand, however, Yao is simply not good enough to carry a team on his own.

When Peja claimed that Yao was "unstoppable," he was most likely describing what would happen if he had to guard the big guy.

Charley Rosen is FOXSports.com's NBA analyst and author of 13 books about hoops, the current one being "The pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA."