A more modest take on Yao's performance: Yao makes us say wow - but he still has room

Yao makes us say wow - but he still has room to grow
BY MITCH ALBOM
Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT) - Well, you have to admit, the guy can definitely win the tip.

I mean, Yao Ming didn't control that opening jump. He knocked the ball into next season.

If that ball were lettuce, it would be salad.

If that ball were a balloon, it would land in Oz.

If that ball were . . .

Well, you get the idea.

On the other hand, for all his height, Yao whacked the ball right to Chauncey Billups, who doesn't play on his team. Which pretty much typifies Tuesday night, the inaugural performance of "Who's Yao Daddy?" at the Palace. The guy was impressive. The guy was arresting. The guy, despite a constantly pained expression, was impossible not to watch.

And he made almost as many mistakes as good plays.

Did he dunk? Oh, yeah, he dunked. He dunked one-handed over Ben Wallace and Mehmet Okur, neither of whom will be jockeying a horse any time soon.

Did he post-up?

Oh, yeah, he posted up. He banged in and he backed in, and he spun better than a major appliance has a right to.

Did he pass or dribble?

Oh yeah, he passed and dribbled. He is smooth as a distributor, not so great off the floor, although, in fairness, for the ball to bounce from Yao's hand to the court and back, it has to stop for air.

He did all that - and scored 20 points. But he often fumbled the ball, got called twice for traveling, scooped a shot into the bottom of the backboard, and was blocked by Cliff Robinson - on Cliff's way down.

Personally, my favorite moment came when Yao, after a breather, walked to the scorer's table while the game was still in play. He stood there watching, until he realized he was blocking the broadcasters' view. So Yao sat on the table. And he was still blocking their view. So Yao sat on the floor. And his head was still sticking up over the table.

I supposed we could invent a trap door.

NEEDS TO BE TWICE AS TOUGH

This is what happens when you are 7-feet-5 and come from China and you're the No. 1 draft pick and you do a commercial with Mini-Me from "Austin Powers." People notice. They notice everything. Good and bad.

So this, from Tuesday night - and a few other performances - is how I see the good and bad on Yao so far. (And, remember, he's a 22-year-old rookie.)

Good: his footwork, his fundamentals, his shooting touch, his passing, his court awareness, and his free-throw shooting (and excuse me, but if Yao can shoot that smoothly, tell me again why Shaquille O'Neal can't?)

Bad: his toughness, his rebounding, his dribbling, his running the court, and his toughness.

I said toughness twice? Well, he needs to get twice as tough. It's not like he doesn't have the body. This is no Shawn Bradley. This is no Manute Bol. Yao is thick in the legs and decent in the torso, considering he hasn't been in America long enough to sign up for Vic Tanny's. But the NBA middle is no place for peaceniks. And a guy his size should not be boxed out so easily.

A number of times Tuesday night, Yao was fouled down near his waist. While that may have been the way the Pistons were defending him, the faster he keeps the ball in the stratosphere - you know, up by his neck - the faster the fouls will drop off and the gaping will begin.

We should also note that the Palace gave him a warm reception, and a section of the upper deck held a huge sign in Chinese. I can't read the language, but I doubt it said, "Go For The Free Pizza."

PISTONS HAD A GOOD PLAN

Now, lest we forget where we live, a moment here for the Pistons, who not only had a pretty good plan for Yao - Wallace and Okur, plus Michael Curry racing over to double-team - but also snapped out of their West Coast nightmare, winning, 96-83.

Bye-bye, seven-game losing streak. Hello, long home stand.

The Pistons won Tuesday with Rip Hamilton dropping a dead-eye shooting night and Chauncey Billups continuing to prove he is the best pickup since black coffee. They did it with Wallace and Robinson rebounding and with the welcome return of Jon Barry and his jumper and his aggressive game.

Mostly, as always, they did it with defense, and considering the Rockets boast Steve Francis as well as Yao - sort of a Mutt and Jeff of the hardwood - that's no small feat.

Still, in fairness, nobody did what Yao did Tuesday night. I'm not talking shooting. I'm not talking dunks. I'm not even talking the opening tip.

At the end of the night, whatever money he had earned, Yao sent half of it back to China. That's the arrangement for him playing in the States. He gets a dollar, they get a dollar.

Which explains the pained expression.

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© 2003, Detroit Free Press.

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