A chinese commentator had a different observation/perspective of both Francis and Yao's limited playtime last game. Here is the link: http://wc2002.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/news/show_news.cgi?type=basketball&date=2003-03-28&id=108030 Anyone cares to translate it? Credibility aside, it puts a different spin on things. Soulsong999
Just wanted to point out that this article is not written by Yang, but by Sina.com's Su, whose articles are usually quite reasonable. Noone cares to comment or translate?
There is really not much substance in this article, but lots of speculation. Basically, it says: ---------- The situation now is a battle between a newly pointed chief who wants to establish his authority, and key players who question his ability and credibility. Thus the new interim coach employs a technique which is to award whoever follows the order with more playing time, and punish those who don't, by putting them on the bench. In the end, if the conflict cannot be resovled, it's up to the management and owner to decide who stays and who packs. Since the confrontation is not good for Rockets' playoff run, and maybe Smith's way of doing things is another road leading to Rome, everybody should put dispute aside and make peace. ---------- That's my take after reading it.
How about a coach who benches players that aren't playing well, like one who just shot one for eight and show no intensity and who seemed to be extremely fatigued. This reporter is an idiot.
If Smith ever wants to his career as a coach to move to the next level, he simply can't afford to bench star players, even if they question his ability and authority. I have a hard time believing that he doesn't understand that. He benched Yao and Francis because they weren't helping the team to win--plain and simple.
