read this articles form nbadraft.net here is the link http://www.nbadraft.net/prevenas059.asp Cracks in the Great Wall -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nick Prevenas 11/24/05 November 23, 2005. The Houston Rockets entered their contest against the Phoenix Suns on the heels of an embarrassing four-game losing skid. Picked by many to contend for the second seed for the Western Conference playoffs, the Rockets have stumbled out of the gate to a disappointing 3-8 record. Injuries to starting guards Rafer Alston and Bob Sura have contributed to Houston's lack of cohesion on the offensive end. But the biggest obstacle has been Tracy McGrady's frequent back spasms. He has only played in six of Houston's contests this season (team record: 3-3) and was scratched before the start of the Suns game. Even though it was early in the season, this was clearly a gut-check game for the Houston Rockets. The stage was set for Yao Ming to singlehandedly right the ship. He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2002 draft for games just like this. With Houston struggling to find any kind of rhythm offensively, this game was tailor-made for Yao to work his magic. Phoenix's only big man - the 6-9 Kurt Thomas - was giving up over half-a-foot to Yao. He should've been able to score at will, or at least find Derek Anderson or Luther Head or Juwon Howard spotting up for wide open jumpers. This should've been the game that established Yao as a bona fide franchise cornerstone. Houston needed this game. The final score: Phoenix 100, Houston 88. Three wins, nine losses. Winless at home for the season. Yao's numbers: 8 points on 3-7 shooting, 8 rebounds, and one assist in 27 minutes of action. Perhaps Yao was sidelined with foul trouble? Nope. No fouls whistled on the big man. Jeff Van Gundy had no conspiracy theories to fall back on Wednesday night. The fact remains that Yao submitted one of the most uninspired games of his career on a night that the Rockets absolutely needed a dominating performance from him. This contest proves that Houston has no chance to compete on a nightly basis without McGrady playing 1-on-5 for at least 30% of their offensive possessions and providing his trademark superhuman highlight-reel plays. Houston is now seven full games behind the San Antonio Spurs in the Southwest Division standings. There will definitely be more gut-check games and other chances to turn their season around, but this team failed their first true test on Wednesday night. Give Phoenix credit; they game-planned effectively and flustered Yao to the point of near irrelevance. But to me, that says more about Yao than it does about the Suns, a notoriously sub-par defensive squad. What does this game mean in the grand scheme of things? First, I'm resigning my post as one of the official chairmen on the Yao Ming Apologist Committee. For the past three years and 12 games, I've come up with every excuse imaginable to explain why Yao has yet to consistently perform at the level he occasionally hinted at. Oh, Yao will dominate when someone's smart enough to play him at the high post and take advantage of his passing abilities. Just wait until he's surrounded with top-notch spot-up shooters and a point guard who knows how to throw a proper entry pass. As soon as Yao adjusts to the American game and he finally gets an off-season to rest, the rest of the league is in trouble. I've said it all. But at some point, Yao has to take it upon himself to justify the hype, right? Second, this means we have to adjust our expectations for the Yao Ming era. If Yao truly had a franchise streak in him, there's absolutely no way he only scores 8 points against the smallest team in the NBA in a must-win situation. This doesn't mean that Yao is a bust or a bum or anything. This simply means that Yao is a 7-5, $90-million complementary piece who gets you a solid 19 and 9 most nights. In a league almost bereft of legit centers, that's better than decent. But with Yao's skills and potential, should we as fans be satisfied with "better than decent"? I just have the sinking feeling that this Phoenix game is less an aberration and more of an indication of what we can expect from here on out. Clearly, he cannot be considered the type of player who can put a team on his back and grab a victory when they desperately need one. He still finds himself way out of position defensively far more often than he should and has yet to figure out how to avoid those costly, ticky-tack fouls - problems a player like Yao should no longer be facing. Those people remaining on the Yao Ming Apologist Committee will still point to his above average per-40-minute numbers and his typically high shooting percentage. They will point to his surgically precise passing from his rookie season and his Walton-esque court sense. They will point to his three, soon to be four All-Star Game appearances (even though MVP candidate and all-around mega-stud Marcus Camby deserves to get the nod ahead of Yao this season) in his first four seasons. No matter what, the cup of Yao will always be half-full with the Committee. Realists see a player who hasn't evolved much from his sophomore season. They will see a player who struggles when he plays for extended periods of time, much like how a relief pitcher's slider will flatten out if he's asked to throw more than a couple innings. They will see a passive player who always leaves us wanting more. On Wednesday night, the realists saw a player who scored 8 measly points against much smaller opponents in a pivotal early season game. The Rockets' season isn't over, but the constant assertions of Yao Ming as a potential championship centerpiece might be.
Wow, Nick Prevenas is a tool. The Suns consciously centered their entire defense around trying to take Yao out of the game and the rest of the team didn't step up and make their shots. If you have a constant double team on you for a big portion of the game, you're not going to score that much. I don't care if it's Shaq, KG, Duncan, if you have two players on you you aren't gonna put up big numbers. Moreover, the refs let the Suns get away with murder in their post defense. It's been said time and time again, the refs just cannot officiate Yao well.
It's OK. In order to grow, Yao needs some ass spanking and verbal abuse from his own fans. It just makes it so much sweeter when Rockets danced in the championship parade.
Yao is what Yao is - a decent center on the level of Sabonis. This is what most people predicted him to be when he was drafted. I think that's fine. The problem with this team is that you have a lot of new faces in DA, Alston, Head, and Swift who don't have a clue how to play in a winning program. It's going to take some time. With Sura and T-Mac out, and James gone, you have a big chunch of players missing who would bring more stability to the team. Remember that this team took Dallas to 7 games last year without a PF. It's going to be ok - just have to hope the hole doesn't get dug too deep. At least now we might get the 6th seed!
Yao is capable to beat double team. He single-handedly beat Serbia & Montenegro at the Olympics. I don't see that the double team by the Suns is much better than the duo of S&M. We should just pass it to Yao and let him decide whether he wants to beat the double team or kick it back out for open jumpers. One difference between the Rox and Chinese CNT is that Chinese CNT teammates defer to Yao, so they always give me the entry pass and let him decide what to do. In contrast, Rox teammates don't defer to Yao. Some of them just care about their own stat...
Yes, Yao is on the level with Sabonis. Sabonis was an unstoppable force in international competition in his youth. The Sabonis we saw in the NBA is like the broken down Hakeem we witnessed his last 3 years in the league. He was a shell of his former self.
From the title of this article, I smell the prevailing sentimental issue against China in the states right now.
Yao was an embarrisment last night. The article said it all. I'll add that he may be hurt. Or either the big man has no heart, or, and this is my theory, they have coached him away from his strengths and tryed to turn him into Pat Ewing. Kurt Thomas is strong and has some skills, the others who guarded him last night should have been insignificant. On too many nights, Yao is the most dissapointing player in the league. How can he be as dominant as he was in some of the Dallas playoff games last year, or as overpowering as he was at times against Ben Wallace last week, and then not even show up. or is it that he is fouled on every single shot he takes, hit on the arms, wrist, body banged and pushed. I don't know to be pissed at Yao or say, FORGET the refs ( as they say on network TV). Frustrating is another emotion puonding through us as we watch the Rocks and Yao struggle. Watching Yao is like kissing a girl with rank breadth.You expected some fun, but jeeze, just turn it off and go home.
It's a realistic article. Yao is capable of doing much better. I'm disappointed in him. It's not right to blame for everything but we can't become a championship contender if he doesn't play with consistancy no matter how well T-Mac and the others do. I'm not advocating to trade him but he needs to do a lot better for us to be a success.
Look at our roster last 2 games... We have Ryan Bowen as our starting forward. This is the guy who will be the 12th man in 90% of any nba teams We have Head as our starting SG, a rookie who is picked in the 20s. Our Power Forward and Point Guard have a combined age older than 70. There are no nba teams' PF and PG older than ours. Our bench: Mutombo, good for 10mins; Swift, good for 1 or 2 highlight reel for espn; Barry, where is the Barry we know a season ago?; DA, horrible defense but starting to find his stroke; Moochie, well he is still the Moochie we all know... And the starting Center is a 7'6 chinese who is complete collapse under all the pressure. Do anyone really believe with this roster we can beat anyone??? I m not trying to find excuses for yao but Yao was terrible last night but overall the whole team wass terrible as well.
Dead-on article. Yao is a born sidekick. Give him a Francis or McGrady, and he can play a useful role. But without a Francis or McGrady, don't expect him to become the main man. If that were in him, we'd have seen it by now.
Really? Just like Kwame and Kandi, eh? Or even Kenyon Martin? No, you stupid idiot. The hype was made by the media. Yao never proclaimed himself as the best at anything. Why does he have to justify the hype that YOU (media) place on him. Article has some good points, but it's a shallow analysis of the situation. Heck, some clutchfans posters make better points than this guy.
I'm a tad dissapointed in his progress thus far, but looking at his stats, he seems to be improving each year. i think most people expected a MVP candidate, and not a borderline star-role player.
