That's what I'd be preaching to Yao before tonight's game. Look, you're gonna get hit. Superstars know how to absorb the contact and finish the play. Keep you hands strong on the ball, absorb the contact, and finish the play. That's how you really make 'em pay for going at you hard.
he needs that extra hop in his step...maybe he needs to visit one of our many famous gentlemen's clubs, hahaha
Easier said than done, but I agree. Yao is not a very good finisher right now and doesn't get nearly enough 3-point plays. Obviously Shaq is a lot stronger than Yao, but Shaq finishes even with big men hanging all over him. Yao gets effected by the smallest hits by guards. Once he learns how to finish And-1's, he will be very hard to stop.
It's not about learning how to finish, it's about getting stronger in the upper body. He's got two tree trunks for legs, but he needs more muscle in his arms and chest. That is done in the offseason. You can't gain muscle during the season, you just hope to maintain it. Hopefully if Yao doesn't play with his Chinese team, he'll be able to get on a strict weight regimen this summer.
Yao is not strong enough to finish a play when the defender come at him hard. He needs build up upper body strength, and at the same time learn to use his body to shield the ball and take it away from the defender and finish the shot.
I kinda wonder if it also has to do with his jump/lack of vertical. Some of those high flying guards are still on their way up when they take the foul. Then they come down and finish strong. They can absorb the contact 'cause they're still kind of accelerating. When Yao jumps, he's already on the way down But aside from that, I think he needs to hold on just a little bit longer, and hold on strong so the ball doesn't get jarred when the contact comes.
another key against "z"... quit letting that mofo hook you when he's on the offensive (and let the refs know about it). z does that every effing game against yao since he can't shoot over him.
