If Ming can't position himself in the painted area, then we are in BIG trouble. No More Mr. Nice Guy!!
Gee, Rockets fans urging their star player to be more selfish and shoot the ball more...Where have I seen that before?
Whatever Yao's personality, it makes sense that he's not demanding the ball in only his second season. I'm almost positive he feels like it's not his place to do so. He doesn't feel like this is "his" team yet, as opposed to the Chinese National team.
Yao came back bigger and stronger, but he still has trouble gaining position in the paint. Maybe this is fatigue, maybe it's inexperience, but it's definitely time to develop that Dream Shake. Not much anyone can do against a quick catch and turn around baseline jumper. Ewing should know that. -go rockets-
because... the rockets can't rely on shooting over 50% fg in all of their wins. the rockets can't rely on shooting over 50% 3pt fg in all of their wins. winning either or both ways is nice, but it's not always going to be that simple. they could have easily lost two of their three wins (excluding the chi game) with the amount of turnovers they produce, but their shooting and defense has negated it. if yao can touch the ball more and not turn it over (which he's extremely good at), more often than not it should result in rockets getting a higher percentage shot by either him shooting it, passing it to a fellow teammate to shoot, or having that player swing the ball around the horn to someone who's open.
did anyone notice how the nets were playing yao? he will get position but before the entry pass could be made the defender would use Yao's Backward momentum and release to get in front of him, kinda like shedding a block in football. I think the other players look for Yao but are too hestitant on their passes...they need to get the pass in there before the defense collapses on Yao. on his aggressiveness I don't think he feels comfortable yet...I've watched some national team games and you see a lot of fire from yao(especially in the Asian Championship Game against korea...he played the whole friggin game!). ah well...hopefully time is the only obstacle
It's not that he's not demanding the ball, it's Van Gundy letting the guards do whatever they want out there and take all the shots. He's clearly lost control of this team.
The thing is oski is that we've been winning because of LUCKY shooting from our players & SORRIe *SS play from our opponents. The key is HIGH PERCENTAGE shots! How do we get them? The Low Post, thats where Yao Ming comes into play. Yao time is NOW. Not next YEAR but this very moment.
I agree with keep_rudy. I do think that Yao is unsure whether or not he is ready to carry a team on his shoulders, which is essentially what the Rockets want when they ask Ming to "demand the ball." It may take a while to change his attitude on this, but when it does change it should be fun to watch. Right now Yao has no "eye of the tiger," but we've seen that he can acquire it in the Asian games. Obviously Yao could much more easily take control of a game in the Asian Championships than in the NBA, but I believe that eventually encouragement from his coaches and teammates, coupled with his own play, with pump up Yao's ego/self-confidence enough that he'll be a creature out there. His conditioning is still a concern, as he sucks wind far more than any other Rockets starter, but my hope is that this will improve over time as well.
Yao is a slow starter. Give him some time, he will speak out loudly. He is a tranditional Chinese, peace before war.
No, we're winning because of good defence and good shooting. Do you honestly think that any shot that falls that isn't coming from the paint is a lucky shot? There's no skill in shooting, they're all prayers? Is that right? Look at Yao's quotes. He doesn't sound like somebody who is ready to dominate. Excuse me, but if the coach believes that the problem is Yao wanting to dominate, not the amount of touches he gets, then I'll listen to the coach.
I can hardly imagine a guy who does not speak English fluently could carry the team. Right now I don't think it is the issues with his strength, conditioning or skills. What makes him not confident enough is the communication issue. Never underestimate the damage of language barrier.
Yeah almost like Rudy. Oh well, at least he can get the guys to play defense and setup up the plays quicker.
