A pretty darn good defensive stance by Yao taken last night. 3 fouls in 21 minutes, mostly commited from quicky guards not from defending Centers and PFs pick n rolls. A single blockshot but poor rebounding stat. Well, Howard was there, but Yao plays a better job in boxing out.. Offensively, 19 points in 21 mins is just awesome. Any observations you care to share from last night game?
Skip + Swift = A New Yao All Yao needed this whole time was a PG who could set him up... Skip is that guy. Defensively we hope Swift is the other guy. We'll see tonight...
I was pleased with what I saw from Yao. There was a concerted effort to get him the ball. The entry passes were clean and nice. Yao even showed some good hands catching that pass from Skip while breaking to the basket in the first quarter (he was fouled on the play so no finish). The one criticism I have, and I don't know if it can be improved, is his explosiveness. When he's on the offensive end of the glass, in good position for a rebound, he just doesn't seem to be able to get to the ball. He's not quick, he doesn't get up there, and someone else usually gets the ball. If Yao could be quick on the offensive boards, he would be an MVP candidate. Oh well, I still think he'll be a 20/8 guy this season. I'm pumped.
Yao didn't look that great last night. He blew several finishes under the basket, and as another poster wrote, he was extremely slow on the glass. His rebounding honestly looked like it's regressed. There were also several instances where a guy would front and Yao would stop trying to post up and set a pick. T-Mac had to tell Yao to keep posting up.
Its kinda hard to finish when you are getting mugged by multiple players. He had guys beating him over the head with their forearms to stop him from putting the shots up. Their main tactic once Yao got the ball that close to the rim was to slash across his arms and shoulders to stop him putting the ball up. Even Shaq would have trouble finishing those shots. Cut the guy a break...I thought he did fine in his first real speed game.. It will only get better from here.
Just struck me, what if this was a football game, AI was the QB with the ball, and Yao, defense, is about to get AI.. What do you think is goin gto happen?
I wouldn't really call him a "New Yao". He's basically the same player with some improvements here and there. He has some ups and some downs, but there was much more good than bad. Yao is basically going to keep getting better at a gradual pace. Every year his game is going to be more refined and stronger. He might not make any huge leaps and bounds, but I can imagine him getting a little better every single year until towards the end of his career, we find him to be drastically improved from even where he is now.
I noticed the first few possiessions where he finished STRONG. He missed an aggressive dunk he tried and had a sweet turn around on the right baseline during the first half. Overall, with what I saw, he looked fantastic.
Rockets need to study on how to defend p&r. Maybe it is best if Yao just stay put in the paint. Coming out all the way and then cahse after small guys almost gurantee a foul on Yao.
Chill guys, it's just ONE preseason game. Remember, players are supposed to be slow and off target during the preseason. It's a time when they're trying to work out the kinks in their game and get back into playing form. Besides a missed dunk (with two defenders at his side) and a easy lay up where there were also two smaller guys hacking away at the bottom of his arm, I think he did fine on offense. Defense wise, everything will come back with time. One thing that concerned me last night and Matt Bullard also pointed out was that Yao is still prong to pick up cheap fouls. I hope he stays away from those types of fouls as the season progress. That could really limit his minutes and slow down his game. Overall, I think Yao's on the right path to greatness this season. He's determined, in shape, well rested, and really worked hard on his game during the off season. Now, just give him about 10 to 20 games to really put all the pieces together and execute.
