I am not going to insult your basketball knowledge, as many matured fans, my point is rox often beat on the boards, because lot player didn't fight for the rebound instead just stand there watch.
It's not that they watch most of the times. The way that JVG has his system set up is to have people fall back and get ready for defense instead of attacking the basket...that cuases us to hardly ever get offensive rebounds which sucks.
stevezh, I take back what I said about basketball knowledge, that was stupid on my part. I still don't see what your comments have to do with this thread though. You'll have to explain a little more.
I think bias is a strong word. But he does get screwed a lot. For example, whenever Dampier (the "second best center in the league") plays against him, they should/could be calling a foul every time Yao shoots. You're just not allowed to push/elbow a guy when he shoots. I've heard the TNT commentators mention it before - they just know that Yao's going to have a bad game because they're not calling the fouls. By all accounts, Yao is a good guy and I would find it hard to believe that refs hold a grudge agianst him (or Asians). Maybe they just let things go more because he's 7'6", 310+ pounds.
If Yao got the calls he should, he'd be a much better player. BUT, if Yao learned to get around the no-calls he'd be an even greater player because the refs wouldnt determine the outcome of his play. I will study other big men and see if there is a pattern i notice on contact to see if they do something Yao does not.
Good luck MrRolo, I'd be interested in your findings. I doubt you will find things that other's do and Yao does not. You'd think our coaching staff already tried....but hey, you never know.
Welcome Kfgan, I feel honored your first post quotes mine. SJC, he's not here anymore. I also feel that way about him.
If Yao would get HALF the calls he did tonight every night, this thread would become totally pointles.
I know I'm coming to this thread really, really late, but I've avoided the Garm since Saturday (Seems like a wise decision while I survey the aftermath. At least right now, I have the Rocket victory and monster game by M & M to fall back on). Personally, one small suggestion for Yao that I think would help tremendously, is for Yao to make move right away after receiving the ball. He can beat the single coverage and get a decent look anytime he puts his mind to it. The problem comes when either he waits for the double, and often times ends up making a bad pass, or allows a sneaky guard to steal the ball from the back side. I think if he would attack his man right away, and try to get off his shot before the double-team comes, he would be countering two of his biggest weaknesses. The problem is that this would require a complete change in mentality on the part of Yao. His first inclination is to wait for the double team and try to set up his teammate with an easy score. The only problem is that when he tries to do that, he's prone to making bad decisions sometimes, and we don't really have the shooters or strong cutters to make it work anyway. I'd like to see, him take more of a scorer's mentality, and try to put up his shots instead of waiting for the double. Ideally, it would come down to these scenarios: 1. Yao attacks the single coverage right away. If there's one thing that Yao has figured out in this league, it's how to beat guys one-on -one (generally speaking). 2. If the opposition is going to front, then go to the front of the rim, swing the ball into the high post so as to provide a better angle to deliver the ball to Yao down-low. I won't get to watch the Raptor game until later, but by all accounts this is what they were kind of doing. 3. Otherwise if they are going to bring the double team, then Yao should be making his move right away before the second man gets there. Yao's main move is basically the one dribble drop step into fade-away or jump-hook. Either that or spin move on the baseline, with or without the reverse pivot hook shot. All of those moves are perfectly designed to either go away from double-teams or are quick enough to get a shot off. The problem is that he can't do that if he is getting crowded by a second defender. So it's imperative for him to go into his move right away before anyone else comes in. 4. If the extra defender is totally shading in his direction, and the double teams come right away, or he gets double teamed before the ball arrives, then there's not much you can do to combat that. Yao could send the ball back out and repost, but if two guys are zoning on his side, then you got to attack it on the other side. Fortunately, we have a guy on our team that can do some major damage of his own. Just swing the ball to T-Mac on the weak side, and let him go one on one. If he can drive past his man, then it should be an open lane to the hoop. Or if Yao's man converges, then a dump off to Yao for an easy bucket would be there. Otherwise, T-Mac can always get one of those pull-up jumpers that he's so fond of. It would be quite a change for Yao because he's always trying to "do the right thing". But I sincerely believe that it will eventually finally dawn on Yao that looking to score, and accepting the responsibility of carrying the team offensively is the "right thing to do" for this team, and frankly for any team that he will be on. Big men down low, still provides the highest percentage plays in this league. So if Yao has any championship aspirations (which I'm sure he has, because nobody has ever said that Yao isn't a competitive player), then he's going to have to start looking out for his team, by looking out for himself. It might not happen today, and it might not happen tomorrow. But I look forward to the day that it all "clicks" for Yao and he understands what his role truly should be. I Believe.
There are many things Ming can do to improve his overall game, quick 2nd jump around the hoop, hold post position, better rebound, aggresive blocking (knock'm out) etc. Most of those have something to do with how the play is called by the coach, e.g., if Yao was asked to set a pick 25ft away from the basket, you cannot expect him to get rebound; or if JJ keeps swimming the ball away from Yao, he cannot hold the deep position without be called 3 seconds. One thing Yao can improve by himself alone is going strong to the hoop when has the ball inside 10 ft. What we have seen from Yao mostly are fade-aways, baby-hook, or finger-rolls, rarely we seen him lean into defenders, shoot over them. Most of Yao's blocked shots came from those moves. For a guy with half a foot & 50lbs over almost everyone defending him, the best move is to take a bump, lean in & shoot over the smaller defenders' head. The bump will knock the defender off the balance, then the lean-in will eliminate any space between the defender and Yao, so the defender's quickness & jumping ability will not be a fact since Yao's 300lb+ weight will not allow he to get off the ground. Shaq has this move from each sides with the bank-shot, Yao could easily add the move from the middle as well.
m_cable and daoshi, what both of you guys are saying I understand and agree with. You guys, especially m_cable, obviously put a lot of thought into your posts, and it showed. What you guys said will improve Yao's game, and he's show signs of just what you wrote about. However, he can only play that way if the refs let him. Make quicker mover, yes. Seal off his man, yes. Attack single team, yes. Take the ball up strong, yes. All of that is wasted effort if the refs let the defender hack away at his arm, body and head. It was especially insane in the bobcat game, but by all means it wasn't the only game. It's the rule rather than the exception. The toronto game was the exception! Yao was having his way inside, if it looked like there was any contact, Yao got the call. Like I said earlier, if Yao got HALF, shoot, 40% of the calls he got last night every night, this thread will look real silly. When you are watching the game m_cable, you'll see how Yao is not doing anything special, he's just getting the calls. Of course he got more aggressive as game went on, that's because he doesn't have 4 fouls on him. Over all, we did do a great job getting Yao the ball. But if refs gave Yao 2 offensive fouls in the 1st quarter, all of that doesn't really matter. Yao would probably end up with 5 fouls and 17 points along with 7 boards. We can only hope Yao gets this kind of treatment more, even if it's every other game. If not, it's operation Yao Fury time. lol
Not really for the suggestion I made. Yes, it will be better if the refs protect him more, but I'm not asking Yao to lower his shoulder, power his way to the basket. What I have seem over and over again is his inability to close the space between himself and the defender. Yao's advantage is his height & weight, he loses everytime when try to out quick & out jump the defender. It's to the smaller & quicker defenders advantage to have space, so they can close in fast, jump higher. Yao needs to eliminate that flexibility from his defender, lean his body over them, not KNOCK them out, just LEAN over, and simply shoot over their head. No one can jump with 300lb hang over him.
Ok, daoshi, we are talking about different things. I know what you are saying, and I agree with it. My point is that he can do those things if the refs allow it. And that if he does exactly what you said, but gets hacked on the wrist on the way up and loses the ball, without getting the call.... From what I see, Yao is learning exactly what many on here wants him to learn. He's still got a long way to go, but I'm happy with the progress he's making now. The scary thing is, he's still far from a finished product, and he's already dominant at times. I'd say his development right now is about a normal rookie from the states. His CBA years taught him fundamentals, like the first 2 years in NCAA. Last two years taught him American ball concepts, like junior and senior years in NCAA. This year he's a rookie, new team and everything. lol, scary indeed.
