Looking for answer? Yao for starters By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Sura the Savior has a nice ring to it, but rings hollow. Scott Padgett as the answer man might work for one night — this night, in fact, when Padgett scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and kept the woebegone Rockets within anguishing distance in an 82-76 loss to the Nuggets. But Padgett's a bleeder. Who knows if he can go the NBA distance? He's also the consummate overachiever. Clarence Weatherspoon is a would-be great NFL defensive end playing inspired, but average NBA basketball. Point guard Andre Barrett is a 5-9 version of the 5-8 Nugget, Earl Boykins, only without the shot, vision or production. Sura steps up Yet we saw all those players stepping into significant minutes Saturday night for the Rockets. Most importantly, we saw Bob Sura with a nice debut and Padgett with a decent game after getting elbowed bloody in the nose by Denver's Nene. We also saw Juwan Howard's name associated with the second-scariest letters in the NBA, next to I.R.S. That is, D.N.P. Did not play, coach's decision. It was the surest sign yet that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy finally has had enough. Those big changes of which he has spoken are beginning to come, as well they should. But remember this as your heart gets all aflutter over a fine point guard's highly anticipated debut and the grit and guts of Padgett and Weatherspoon. It means nothing. Squat. Yao Ming lost this game, beginning to end. Yao also has been the reason the Rockets have lost other games, and look lost, especially rebounding and defensively against athletic big men like those on the Nuggets. Quit fooling yourselves, Yao fans. This is his third season. No more excuse-making, deferring to international niceties or waiting and hoping for Yao to become a night-in, night-out dominator just because he's 7-6 and a heck of a nice man. Of all the big problems the Rockets have, the biggest is, well, the biggest. Right now, Yao is playing the game as if he's teaching a basketball clinic. He knows where to go, what to do, how to play. But he goes about it as if he sprints too fast, the campers won't understand. No longer a novice By now, playing the game at the NBA level for two-plus years, Yao's instincts should have improved. We should see that controlled kind of rage in his game — that hunger on both ends of the floor — like we do in Padgett and Weatherspoon. The biggest fallacy in the NBA is that just because Yao is the two-time leading vote-getter in All Star balloting, it means he's among the best two or three big men in the game. He's not. He wasn't even one of the top three big men on the floor Saturday against the Nuggets, consistently getting outplayed by Denver's Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin and even Weatherspoon. Another sign of Van Gundy's frustration level mounting with these underachieving, uninspired Rockets: For long stretches in the second half, particularly as the Rockets mounted a challenge from as much as a 15-point third-quarter deficit, Yao was on the bench. He finished with just eight points and six rebounds in 28 minutes. The guy is too good, too hardworking, too deserving, to be the flashpoint of the Rockets' troubles. But being nice and trying too hard doesn't win games. It can, however, lose them. During the opening stretch Saturday, when the Nuggets blasted their way to a 12-point first-quarter lead, Yao was beat to rebound after rebound. He was beaten up the court and couldn't make a bucket. The scoring part we can live with. Even the truest of scorers have bad nights, as did Tracy McGrady (1-for-11) this night. Besides, Yao's best contribution to this team is his offense and on that front he indeed is a top-level NBA big-man, right up there with Shaquille ONeal. But when the scoring isn't happening, it only amplifies the other problems and Yao has some big ones. Defensively, the league has figured out how to beat him, or at least tire him and lure him out of position. They'll high-screen him virtually every trip, which usually leads to Yaos double-teaming the opposing point guard and failing to get back into the lane for a rebound or shot-block attempt. They'll also try to pull him outside the lane with a player like Camby or Martin, both of whom can knock down jumpers. Fortunately for the Rockets, only about half the conference features mobile, jump-shooting big men like the Nuggets. Yao never will be the big man of Houston's dreams if he only plays well against half the league. "We need to do a better job covering for him when he's outquicked," Van Gundy said. "He also can do better in how he plays. I just think sometimes his alertness and his awareness ... I thought he grew a lot in that area last year. Maybe he has regressed a bit." Don't expect Van Gundy to make a habit of sitting Yao down the stretch. Yao can be too good offensively and, as Van Gundy said, "In the end, I know who we have to ride." Neither are the Rockets without blame in this season of stagnation for Yao. What were they thinking pairing Yao with a pair of power forwards, Howard and Maurice Taylor, who offer virtually the same things on the floor. As one Rockets source put it, "soft next to soft means you're extra-soft." With respect to Sura's impressive debut, he's no savior. The savior for this team has been in uniform all season long. He just needs to start playing like it. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2921748
I don't think critisism like this will help Yao IN a way . . i think Yao is like eddie Griffin they both need a level of coddling, patiences and kid gloves that JVG is just no capable of providing Rocket River
Until he devlopes a heart and a mentality of a franchise player, i believe Rockets are not gonna do anything worthwhile for a long, long time. The Problem is, we have heavily and i mean Heavily invested in Yao, Hence it's too late to Trade him. basicly the Rockets are at Yao's Mercy. Until he decides to say to himself: enoughs enough, i gotta be a man and assume the rockets have invested heavily in me and th least "I CAN DO" is play like a franchise player should, were gonna stink.
Is this problem of Yao? Or problem of team's system? He can't gram rebounds without boxing out of other forwards and now he's not getting any. Anyway, my hope for Yao is moving away....
I agree. This is a brand new generation of players. The league isn't full of Oakley's/Ewing's/Lambier's/Bird's, this is a generation that is definitely more sensitive. This may not be a good thing, but it is the way it is. JVG can play all the "mind games" and "tough love" all he wants, but this isn't the early 90's.
that article was not cool. if someone tries and does better than he is expected, then lay off the smackdown.
exactly I mean . . yao will go where the Chinese Govt says go but if he not happy .. and they know he can go whereever he wants they will consider his wishes. . . I yao isn't happy. . . Max contract will be his no matter where he goes because WE WILL SIGN AND TRADE if the other option is to get nothing [See PIPPEN TRADE] so we HAVE TO keep yao [and the Chinese govt] happy [if the CG think we using Yao wrong and embarrassing their country . ..making him a big bust. . . they will pull him out of Houston . ... .IMO] Rocket River
Well the Point is his not mentally Strong enough yet. he Commits the most basic errors in basketball. when you catch the rock in the low post, the first thing you do i keep the ******* ball high above you're head that you're opponents dont have a chance of stealing the damn thing away so much. Boxout, how manytimes do you see small guards for other teams steal easy offensive rebounds right from under yao's nose?. it's not like this are mistakes that cant be Corrected, but there just happening too much lately.
JVG? Try John Lopez, the author of this article. JVG hasn't come out and all-out bashed Yao, in fact he was quoted in the article as saying he's the one we need to ride. Stop trying to spin everything to make him look bad. Great article, spot on. Yao has been pathetic. I almost want to start Weatherspoon or Padgett, send a message. Whoever is on top of their game and gives us the best chance of winning, deserves to play the most. We lost because Sura/Spoon were taken out and Yao went in.
It's ridiculous the way Yao is playing. I think JVG really needs to re-evaluate his offense. This team doesn't have the chemistry yet and I think it's going to be a few more games....now how many games, I have no clue. I still believe, but the hope is getting smaller and smaller....
Get a clue. Yao sued Cocacola for using his image even Coke is the official sponsor of the CNT and won. The official policy is an athlete's image belongs to the government. Pathetic.
I hope this is the beginning of the end of the Yao Era in Houston. The media has spoke... now people on here will start feeling a bit more brave about speaking honestly about Yao instead of buying into his hype and bashing folks (like myself) who have been clamoring for a Yao change for a while now. Let's look at some facts: 1. Yao is a heck of a nice guy 2. When Yao is matched up against other "big" centers... he does really, really well and seems like the next Big Thing. 3. Most teams do not have or use "big" centers against Yao meaning he is matched up against smaller (6'10), quicker posts who can front him and deny him the ball. 4. Most teams will use these same small, quicker posts to attack the basket and get Yao in foul trouble. 5. Yao can not guard these guys. and 6. (this might be the most important one...) JVG does not know how to use Yao against these smaller post with the end result being that Yao is either ineffective or is on the bench. Nothing here is going to change. Yao is not Shaq. He can not hold onto the ball and power over folks. Yao is finese. He depends on his size and touch which, as we are seeing this year, can be negated by quicker post players and double teams. So what do we do? 1. Continue to plug away hope we gell and things improve. 2. Continue to play and hope we surround Yao with a stronger cast via trade or the draft next year. 3. Recognize that with two MAX players in TMac and Yao we will have a hard time getting a strong supporting cast... and with this knowledge... trade Yao. Who could we get for Yao? 1. Teams that would take him in a heartbeat... Chicago, Golden State, Seattle, Dallas, Memphis. 2. We should be able to get an all-star, another starter and perhaps a draft pick. From Seattle we might be able to get Ray Allen and R. Lewis for Yao, Boki and Ward (I don't know about salaries). That would give us the following lineup... PG Sura/Ray A SG Ray A/ JJ SF TMac/R. Lewis PF Howard/Taylor C Deke/Howard,Taylor,Spoon An improvement? Maybe... A team that could push the ball and hustle? Yes... Regardless... a great article with some good points. And for the record... I am not bashing Yao... I have avocated trading him since last year.
This isn't the end for Yao. I know it's his 3rd season and he should be starting his prime, but I'm not going to give up on the 2nd best center in the NBA. That's crazy. That's like giving up Hakeem when he's sucking. Don't be a bandwagoner. I hate saying "give it some time", but that's the only thing we can do. Chemistry is the key on this squad, and they don't have it yet.
Yes, no more excuse for Yao. But how about JVG? Who told Yao to set worthless screen, to chase opposing guards, to bang inside all the time and to give up mid-range jumpers?
