All Rockets need now is to let Yao be Yao (article)

He doesn't have to be, and shouldn't be "the man" on this team. Not for us to be a championship contender.

He just needs to be Tracy's sidekick.

He just needs to produce consistent energy and effort, and an effecient 20/10 on a nightly basis.

 

Was that really a whole article's worth of insight?

 

I've always wondered if we could ever win a championship w/ Tmac as our best player.. I kind of agree with this article that for us to win a championship Yao needs to play like the MVP of the league. Tmac as the best player will make us formidable but without Yao were the Houston Magic.

J

 

Man am I tired of the Magic comparisons. This team's talent, coaching and chemistry is light-years better than any of those Orlando Magic teams. Even if Yao doesn't end up taking the next step to superstardom, I don't see any reason why we can't still be a contending team. Teams like Portland with Drexler and NJ with Kidd have shown that a great backcourt player can carry his team to the Finals. And teams like the Pistons (both incarnations), and the Pacers and Knicks of the 90's show that good chemistry and a commitment to defense can take a team pretty far.

Maybe you do need an extra something from your superstars to actually win a title, but that's still a far, far cry from labeling this team as the Mcgrady-era Magic.

 

Yao has been nothing more than average? Is NBA that good or is he that stupid?

 

Pistons won a Championship with somebody named Billups as their MVP. Spurs won the Championship last year with Duncan being their best player and he choked during the playoffs. If you want to win a Championship next year and you don't have Shaq, there's no other player I can think of that has more impact on the outcome of a basketball game than Tracy McGrady. T-Mac has been the best or second best player in the last four playoffs he was involved. In those 4 playoffs he's averaged 32ppg, 7rpg, 6apg, 2stl, 1.5blk while often defending the best opposing player (Baron Davis, Ray Allen, Chauncey Billups [shut him down], Nowitzki [shut him down]). Those are Jordan-like playoff performaces. He outperformed Duncan by a mile last year. However, it's a team game. Duncan couldn't have accomplished what he did without David Robinson, Ginobili, Parker. McGrady is a high pressure performer. He likes the spotlight. His best games happen when they are needed the most (the playoffs) or when he is challenged (dominated Lebron James head to head 4 times, has outplayed Kobe for the most part when they face each other, b****slapped Ray Allen head to head).
I haven't seen any evidence that he can't be THE MAN. On the contrary, he's shown he can carry a team on his back and lead them to a victory.

 

Good point, I'll even take as low as 18/10...I really insist on the 10 though.

 

I wonder if this opinion of Yao would still prevail if he averaged more minutes per game. Hubie Brown mentioned once in a telecast that if Yao could just bump him mpg to 34-35, his stats would get to that 20/10 level and that a lot people's perceptions would change. Yao's biggest obstacles may be foul trouble and stamina. I think foul trouble is the key. He was very good last year when he generally stayed out of foul trouble. It just seemed that once a week he would put up a 9 pt, 6 rebound, 5 foul, 23 minute effort.

 

IMO all Yao needs is confidence, and he is gradually getting it. Last year, and especially in the playoffs, he was inconsistant; but showed signs that the dawn was breaking. This year could a breakout year for Yao. He has it coming.

 

What the guy is trying to say (and I agree w/him) is that were not and most likely not going to get the full potential out of Yoa if we dont take advantage of his natural ability. If not then its going to be hard for us to win a championship.

Yoa is not Shaq ( low post monster) and most likely never will become that type of player. He is however a Rick Smits, Sabonis type of player. Van Gundy is a very good coach but I think he is making the classic mistake of trying to fit the players to his style instead of changing his style to fit the players strengths.

Think about it. What would be better for us? Reaching the full potential of our players in Van Gundys style of play or reaching the full potential of our players talents?
I'm not saying we can't win with VG's style I just think we could be even better if he coahed to the players (Yoa/Tracy) strenghts.

 

not quite sure how we're trying to turn Yao into a Shaq clone....shouts and exclamations from fans to 'dunk the ball' doesn't translate to 'be like Shaq!' Sometimes, Yao needs that aggression that we know he is capable of in times where it could be very beneficial for him, but again, that doesn't mean we're looking for it all the time. The fact of the matter is that Yao can often get in the low block deep enough when he makes a strong effort to, so why wouldn't you want a 7'6" truly big guy to get in that position when he can? Yao's shot is nice, but it's not as automatic as Kareem's sky hook, and Yao could truly benefit from mastering a power and touch game, which is what we want. I see nothing wrong with that, and I also don't think it means we're trying to make him play like Shaq, who clearly has only one dimension to his game. Yao's thinking is long-term....he wants to be able to have a complete game.

 

I wouldn't be so quick to say that. Yao's FG% keeps on rising. His percentage last year was a mere 7/10ths of a point behind Kareem's career average. And that's from a guy that didn't see double-teams for most of his career.

During the second half of last season, it seemed like Yao couldn't miss with his jump-hook. Personally I think he's very close to putting it all together, at least on his post-up game.

 

I would have agreed with this statement eagerly for the first half of last year, but IMO JVG changed his approach to the game mid way through the year and proved that he is adaptable. IMO, that fact is proven by the second half record. It wasn't just the new players that changed everything.

 

No but making him play mostly on the low block and with fans and media and even coaches constatly seem to be challenging his toughness does.

The fact of the matter is that Yao can often get in the low block deep enough when he makes a strong effort to, so why wouldn't you want a 7'6" truly big guy to get in that position when he can? ..[/QUOTE]
Because I dissagree with the fact Yoa doesnt put strong effert when called for. I just think hes not strong enough to compensate for his height. Most of the players he plays against are just as strong and have a lower center of gravity.


I see nothing wrong with that, and I also don't think it means we're trying to make him play like Shaq, who clearly has only one dimension to his game. Yao's thinking is long-term....he wants to be able to have a complete game.[/QUOTE]

What if he doesn't get strong enough or "tough enough" and his low post game doesnt improve over time? Why take the chance? He has excelent range for his height which is a big advantage because of his height. He also is an excellent passer who happes to be playing on a team with very good athletes.

 

Sometimes I wonder if any of these writers have ever seen Yao play outside the playoffs. Even this writer cites the "experts" he has talked to, in the process admitting that he is not an expert on Yao, the Rox, or perhaps the NBA.

I just don't get how they can look at the man who is head and shoulders better (and bigger) than any other center in the NBA save Shaq. His FG% is great and getting better every year, his PPG are improving every year, and he finally has a strong group to play with, but these writers pan him like he is Rik Smits (this writer drew a direct comparison). The Sabonis comparison I don't mind since I think he would have been one of the dominant big men in the league had he come over in his prime.

The biggest thing that I see is a man who draws the bulk of the opponent's game plan. TMac is just harder to plan for since you don't know if he is going to heat up or not and TMac has the ability to put up big numbers in bunches to a greater degree than Yao. However, if Yao is faced with single coverage on his back, he has shown himself to be virtually unstoppable and is becoming a much better passer than he was (and I thought he was pretty good in his rookie year).

There are two things that Yao still lacks IMO. He lacks experience and the muscle memory that goes with it and that will simply come with more time in the league. He has seen virtually every gimmick defense there is to try to deny him the ball and over the course of time he and his teammates will learn the best ways to overcome those tricks. Time will be Yao's best friend in this league.

He also lacks the respect of the refs, which is a harder problem to deal with. Somehow, someday, Yao has got to find a way to keep the refs from taking him out of games. Personally, I think he needs to get in a few faces during the preseason and the beginning of the regular season just to let everyone know he isn't going to take any **** from them. Yao may be too nice a guy to do that, but I hope TMac or someone can light a fire under him wrt the refs.

Yao is the second best center in the league and perhaps the third best big man after Shaq and Duncan. TMac is top five or ten in the entire league. These writers can pan all they want, but this is a good year to be a Rockets fan.

 

The only way "we're" gonna turn Yao into a Shaq clone is if "we" somehow convince Van Gundy to quit running him around setting picks from one time line to the other and quit making Yao and go for every defensive play in the 1st quarter including running out to defend all the picks when the opposition is running straight at him to draw fouls and put him in foul trouble. Shaq basically stands around in the paint and he doesn't attach aggressively defensively until the 2nd half. He saves himself for money time. And Stan don't have him running around setting picks. The pick and roll at the top of the key is the only pick Yao should be setting. That is a pick that goes designed to open up either him or McGrady and goes straight at the bucket. All those other picks that just lead to moving the perimeter player from one side to the other should be set by Stromile. Yao should have the picks set for him down low, not be setting picks for the dribbler.

If Van Gundy simply changed our offense that little bit to keep Yao less occupied with the picks and more occupied with staying out of foul trouble and shooting and passing until crunch time then he would duplicate and surpass Shaq statistically and be much more efficient in the process. Shaq is only half effective at crunch time because he can't hit free throws. The defrense would be forced to make adjustments for Yao that they don't have to make for Shaq.

However, there is more to winning than just stats. I'm sure Van Gundy has had his reasons why he used Yao to set all those picks the last couple years. (I just don't know what it is.) All the talk about Yao and TMac's lack of greatness, passion, etc., will all end when they win championships. And then the talk will begin regarding where they stand amongst the greats of all time.

 

What irritates me about the criticism of Yao most are statements like these:

Who the frick actually made up those expectations? Not Yao. It's not his fault that people hyped him as if he were the second coming of Wilt.

What is more frustrating is the complete ignoring of the fact that Detroit and San Antonio are the league's most dominant teams, not LA, not Miami, not Cleveland - in other words, not teams with marquee names outside of Tim Duncan who, in terms of marketable names, is down on the list a ways.

Pisses me off.

 

I don't get it....what were people expecting Yao to be when he first came into the league. If I recall correctly, half the people were saying he'd be the next Shawn Bradley. The other half were expecting a long-term project who wouldn't average 15/8 until his third or fourth season.

As of this moment, Yao is better than Rik Smits already. Smits was a purely jump-shooting center. While Yao isn't close to being low-post monsters people want him to be, he still has a decent back-to-the-basket game.

Overall, I'm expecting Yao to reach the level of pre-injury Ralph Sampson: a good, all-around big man with a soft touch and a decent low-post game to fall back upon.

 

There are very good reasons.

First, this stamement is simply incorrect. Shaq does set a lot of picks because of his size. But, there are two significant differences between their games.

1. Yao cannot hold position in the paint. He is either not strong enough or aggressive enough to do that. Shaq can. He could hold off a triple team if he wanted to. As a result, you want Shaq in the post a lot because he'll just dominate most post players. Yao doesn't have that ability.

2. Shaq cannot shoot. Yao is a high percentage shooter even from 15 feet. If he sets a pick, guys have to stay with him when he rolls to the perimeter. Not the case with Shaq who can't hit a jump shot.

3. There is no minor tweak to the offense that would allow Yao to average 25/15, which is what he'd have to do to be Shaq-like, let alone surpass him statistically. Much of what Shaq gets is based on pure dominance as a player. If you love and watch the game enough, you know that, whether you like him or not, he is one of the most dominant players to ever play the game.

4. If you take Yao out of pick and roll situations (he can be one of the most effective big men in the league at it), you neurtalize opportunities for the other best player on the team, T-Mac. The reality is that T-Mac and Yao absolutely KILL opposing teams with pick-and-roll because McGrady has such an incredible combination of quickness, ball handling ability and shooting skill. It is almost impossible to guard them on that play and what they used to kill lots of teams last year.

There are more reasons, but those are a few of the more important one's.