All the Yao doubters please chime in.

Can't agree more...case closed...

 

Good post. I admit the zone does make a difference.

 

Actually I was surprised to find out both Shaq & TD have more TOs than Yao, even on 48mins basis. So even we are so frustrated w/ Yao losing ball so easily, he is not as turnover-prone as it seems. He actually has learned to take care of the ball a little better as time went on. He certainly has some way to go on that, as far as the right technique in protecting the ball, catching the ball. The point is he is not as turnover-prone as we think.

 

*chime*

After another year we'll see if it's a gong.



I still wear my YAO 11 hat though... it's sweet.

 

I really think that we can make it work. Duncan is not the most physical pivot man, and they get it done. The offensive system needs to be reworked and more free-flowing, we should let our players make some decisions as far as how it runs. I heard someone say that we should use Yao like San Antonio Uses Duncan, sometimes down-low and sometimes in the perimeter; I totally agree. This team can work, we probably do need some additions, but SF and Ming need to stay to make this work, we already have good chemistry.

 

Possibly you might consider the poor judgement and low passing ability of the Guards as another reason why Yao has so much difficulty getting the ball at the right spot etc.

 

It is true that many teams can offer alot more then we can, but as you said tmac has to sign off on the trade and he will only go to a winning team. Houston is one of the only teams that is in a winning postion and has a star player orlando could use and could accept hills contract via the trade exception with either Cato or MoT, two frontcourt players that would improve them immediately.

 

I'm astonished at the level of dissatisfaction with Yao. Let's keep in mind that a lot of post-playoff criticisms of Yao appear to based on how he played in his first and only postseason appearance ever. Now consider:

1. He went up against Shaq. Shaq is the most dominant center of this generation, quite possibly in history. He happens to be a good defender against most centers. But Yao is in his SECOND YEAR! When Shaq was in his second year, he was still learning the game, and was dominated routinely by the best center at that time -- a fellow named Hakeem Olajuwon.

2. Shaq had a stronger supporting cast. Suppose you took Shaq and Yao and swapped the two on their respective teams. I think a roster of Bryant, Malone, Payton, Fisher, and Yao would make it much easier for Yao to get better numbers (think more easy buckets) going up against Cat, Francis, JJ, Cato, and Shaq. (Is there any doubt that Karl Malone would leave Cato to double Shaq every time he touched the ball?)

3. Lots of love for Jermaine and Ben Wallace. Anybody care to post their numbers in their 2nd year in the NBA? Even better, go back and actually watch tape of their play and tell me how obvious it was that they'd become the forces they are today. I'm sure we can name a dozen players who look very different now than in their 2nd year in the game. Here's just a few easy ones: Dirk Nowitzky, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant.

4. Yao is slow? Not aggressive? There were people who said the same thing about Duncan coming out of college. That's why people thought of Duncan and Camby as veritable equals before they got to the NBA. Camby was more quick and athletic, but time has shown that skills and smart mental play can make a difference. They're not so equal anymore.

My point is simply this. I really don't know whether Yao will be the most dominanting center 7 years from now, but from what I've seen, it's worth the risk, because a skilled 7'6" center with in a league full of 7-foot centers and PFs is worth the risk.

And it's not as if he's never had a monster game to validate that he has potential.

IT WAS HIS SECOND YEAR. HE WILL GET BETTER.

 

Check out J. O'Neal stats tonite,
13pts. in 39min. 5-17fg 3-4ft 8boards 3assist 3fouls, the rest are all 0 0 0.

When Yao plays like this he get chewed.
Don't you think we should have a more balanced view of our players?

 

Correction, J. O'Neal had 2to, 1steal and 1block.

An efficiency rating of 10.

 

The bottom line is that Yao Ming needs to be more aggesive in the post. Plain and simple. Maybe, Yao should demand the the ball more often, and show our guards what it truly means to dominate at your postion. I know the guards can be a bit slow with their decision making at times, but I refuse to believe that our guards are that slow upstairs. The way I see it, if our guards had more confidence in your center, then they would feed him like Gilbert Grape's mom.

 

The key is J.O'Neal never struggle for a month. Everyone may have a couple bad games at sometime, but I never see a franchise player struggle so long so often like Yao did. Do you remember which games he played well in April?? Maybe the game VS Sonics as I can recall. Other than that, he played average at best.

For KG, Duncan, J. O'Neal, Kobe those so called franchise players, they may have a bad game, but very few time they have two bad game in a row, not to mention the whole month. That is the difference.

 

The problem is for now Yao don't have the ability to give a consistent performance. Nobody, including the guards, coachs, fans or even himself, know if he will play well tonight. Unlike players like KG, Duncan, everybody knows they will give you 22pts, 12 rebs in most games, but for Yao, sometimes he plays like a season MVP, sometimes he looks totally useless, stripped the ball, missing easy layup, can't rebound, can't defend, if he struggles, he struggles in all aspects. If I am the guard, how can I totally trust him???

 

Several have said that either
A) with Francis gone they will love the Rockets less.
B) Yao is not someone to built around and reshaping the roster for him will lead to the Rockets doom.

The Rox will not trade SF just to trade him. They will need to get equal value in the trade (like Brand). That equal value player will immediately become the Rox best player, i.e. better than Yoa. I would suspect that the Rox with their new #1 player could make the playoffs next year and miss the lottery. It is just that the Rox will not be riding on the back of their #2 player Yoa to get there.

Two years ago, I did not think Yoa would become a franchise player. I expected Yoa to peek with 18 ppg and 10 rpg. He is there now and I do expect him to get better, especially when he plays closer to 40 mpg. My current expectations are that Yoa will peek with 22 ppg and 12 rpg, putting him on the brink of supestardom. To put this into perspective, SF is a superstar, franchise player now.

In conclusion, neither A) or B). Trading SF would be a wash.

 

Sigh, you do realize J. On'eal still put up 19.7pts /10 rebs in the month you critized him for struggling, don't you?

And yes, if Yao shooting 43%, put up 20 /10 like stats night in and night out, and his team win 55+ game in a season, he will be a pretty strong MVP candidate IMO. Why shooting percentage is such a big issue? Mark Blount, Erick Dampier, Carlos Boozer, Nene all shoot better percentage than Duncan and KG, does it make them MVP candidiates?

And yes again, I agree guards should pass the ball to Yao more, trust him more, but on the other hand, I just wish next season Yao stop be hesitant, pass less and shoot the ball more; get stripped less and protect the ball better, get blocked less and going strong more.

 

Yao Ming is chinese for Rik Smits. Like i've said before he has no heart and doesn't want to be great. He's 7ft freaking 6' and he cant' get position in the paint. He's just a 7ft jump shooter so I think destroying this team just for him would be a big mistake. Maybe during the summer Yao can develop some heart or a occasional mean streak.