Yao, Rockets beginning to get it Van Gundy sees progress in team getting the ball into the low post By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle The first shot was smooth and soft, swished with the sort of grace 7-6 people are not supposed to possess and that has made Yao Ming special. But the next shots showed the difference in Yao and perhaps in the Rockets. Dunk. Layup. Dunk. Dunk. Layup. There are few things more beautiful on a basketball court than a smooth jumper -- an increasingly rare find -- but the 7-6 player is supposed to bend the rim. An occasional jumper is fine. But the Rockets want Yao to use those tree trunk legs to take up residence in the lane. They want him to battle for position so he can receive the passes sent his way. They absolutely want those passes to be thrown. And if they get all that to work, they'll take their chances on what Yao will do with the ball -- as he did Wednesday against the Nuggets. Dunk. Layup. Dunk. Dunk. Layup. A year ago today, Yao played his first preseason game as a curiosity, the subject of `That's him' fascination. He was painfully welcomed to the NBA by the veteran force of David Robinson and Tim Duncan. "They left an impression on me," Yao said that night, displaying for the first time his taste for puns in several languages. A year later, he returns to San Antonio for the final game of this preseason, a preseason in which he has been the dominant offensive force in the league. Yao leads the NBA in scoring, averaging 20.2 points while averaging just 29 minutes per game. He is second in the league in shooting percentage, making 67.3 percent. He is fifth in rebounding, averaging 9.2. No one else ranks in the top 10 in all three categories. Though catching up from his late arrival to camp, Yao's greatest improvement seems to be in his low-post positioning. Coach Jeff Van Gundy said he wants Yao to move his celebrated mix of force and finesse further to the force side. But after Wednesday's 29 points in 28 minutes, teammate Moochie Norris brought up a comparison to the ultimate NBA brute. "I don't know if he's been watching tape or they're working with him on it, but he's starting to get that Shaquille O'Neal mentality," Norris said, when asked if it is easier to deliver low-post passes to Yao this season. "And if he's not where he wants to be, he throws the ball out and re-posts and then, he's in the paint. "When he catches right there, with his size, whether you jump or not, it's almost too late. And with his skills, with his ball fakes and being able to move the ball around, that's going to be a tough guard for anybody." The Rockets have had Yao watching tape and have been working with him on his low-post positioning. "I think he's doing a better job," Van Gundy said. "He can still continue to improve immensely on where he catches the ball. I think the guys are doing a good job of trying to find him. We can do better at that as well. There's a lot of improvement to do, but it has improved." From Van Gundy, that might serve as a rave review. But getting Yao open in the paint and then getting him the ball has clearly been made a priority. "We moved the ball very well," Yao said. "It made it easier to get the ball in and get closer to the rim. "He (Van Gundy) wants no matter who is the center, for us to get the ball into the paint. And he wants us to play a lot of in-and-out. He wants me to get in every time. And if I keep trying, at least some of the time, I'm going to get that position." Once Yao gets that position, the Rockets have gotten him the ball consistently, to the point that against the Nuggets it didn't seem difficult. The Rockets' passers should face considerably more pressure against the Spurs. But there was a sense that the more regularly the Rockets find Yao inside, the simpler the concept will seem. "It's very easy to deliver the ball to Yao," forward Bostjan Nachbar said. "His arms are so big and he's so long. I'm trying to look for him more because I know he's dominating. I'm trying to look every time to the post because I know that means if he gets it, either he's going to score or he's going to pass to somebody who is going to score."
This paragraph really catches my eyes. YAO is the leading scorer in NBA! I hope he can stay at the top 10 in these categories since he will play at least 7 more minutes in regular seasons. SCORING (As at 23 Oct 03) 1. Yao Ming (HOU) 5 101 20.2 2. Michael Redd (MIL) 7 138 19.7 3. Ron Artest (IND) 5 97 19.4 4. Kevin Garnett (MIN) 7 135 19.3 5. Amare Stoudemire (PHO) 5 95 19.0 6. Rashard Lewis (SEA) 7 132 18.9 7. Baron Davis (NOR) 7 132 18.9 8. Vince Carter (TOR) 6 110 18.3 9. Steve Francis (HOU) 6 110 18.3 10. Zach Randolph (POR) 7 125 17.9 11. Joe Johnson (PHO) 7 123 17.6 12. Paul Pierce (BOS) 7 123 17.6 13. Carmelo Anthony (DEN) 7 122 17.4 14. Eddy Curry (CHI) 6 103 17.2 15. Jamal Crawford (CHI) 7 120 17.1 16. Eddie Jones (MIA) 7 117 16.7 17. Predrag Stojakovic (SAC) 7 115 16.4 18. Allen Iverson (PHI) 5 80 16.0 19. Quentin Richardson (LAC) 5 79 15.8 20. Chauncey Billups (DET) 7 109 15.6 21. Pau Gasol (MEM) 6 92 15.3 22. Ray Allen (SEA) 7 107 15.3 23. Antawn Jamison (DAL) 7 107 15.3 24. Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) 6 91 15.2 25. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE) 7 105 15.0 26. Gilbert Arenas (WAS) 7 105 15.0 27. Desmond Mason (MIL) 7 105 15.0 28. Bobby Jackson (SAC) 4 60 15.0 29. Keith Van Horn (NYK) 5 74 14.8 30. Jason Richardson (GSW) 5 74 14.8 REBOUNDS (As at 23 Oct 03) 1. Erick Dampier (GSW) 6 67 11.2 2. Carlos Boozer (CLE) 7 76 10.9 3. Ben Wallace (DET) 7 76 10.9 4. Kevin Garnett (MIN) 7 74 10.6 5. Yao Ming (HOU) 5 46 9.2 6. Zach Randolph (POR) 7 64 9.1 7. Tim Duncan (SAS) 7 59 8.4 8. Kelvin Cato (HOU) 7 57 8.1 9. Chris Bosh (TOR) 6 47 7.8 10. Alonzo Mourning (NJN) 5 39 7.8 11. Antonio Davis (TOR) 6 46 7.7 12. Nazr Mohammed (ATL) 7 52 7.4 13. Amare Stoudemire (PHO) 5 37 7.4 14. Gerald Wallace (SAC) 7 51 7.3 15. Loren Woods (MIA) 7 51 7.3 16. Obinna Ekezie (ATL) 4 29 7.3 17. Marcus Camby (DEN) 6 43 7.2 18. Udonis Haslem (MIA) 6 43 7.2 19. Lamar Odom (MIA) 7 50 7.1 20. Dan Gadzuric (MIL) 6 42 7.0 21. Dale Davis (POR) 5 35 7.0 FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE (As at 23 Oct 03) 1. Yao Ming (HOU) 5 37 55 .673 2. Zach Randolph (POR) 7 52 85 .612 3. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE) 7 37 64 .578 4. Tim Duncan (SAS) 7 42 74 .568 5. Baron Davis (NOR) 7 52 101 .515 6. Antawn Jamison (DAL) 7 43 85 .506 7. Ricky Davis (CLE) 7 43 86 .500 8. Kevin Garnett (MIN) 7 52 105 .495 9. Rashard Lewis (SEA) 7 44 90 .489 10. Desmond Mason (MIL) 7 36 75 .480 11. Carmelo Anthony (DEN) 7 43 90 .478 12. Vladimir Radmanovic (SEA) 7 37 80 .463 13. Steve Francis (HOU) 6 36 81 .444 14. Michael Redd (MIL) 7 48 109 .440 15. Chauncey Billups (DET) 7 36 82 .439
I think it's VERY logical to assume that he'll average 20/10 this season. In 29 minutes per of preseason, he's 20/9. If you add 3 or 4 minutes, he can take more shots and get more rebounds, which would bump him to 20/10, although on a lower FG% obviously. I'm pretty sure he's going to be at 20/10/2. It's about frikkin' we have a 20/10 guy again.
IMO, the posters who dumped on Chad Ford for naming Yao as one of his breakout players a few weeks ago need to re-evaluate. If Yao does go 20-10 this year, I think that qualifies for well above reasonable expectations (ie breakout) for a player entering his second season given Yao's rookie #'s.
Steve and Yao are gonna be the two dominating duos in the league. Kobe gotta worry bout staying outta prison. Shaq alone cant carry the team to a championship. aint no team with two starters of the caliber of Franchise and Dynasty.
He also has a nasty ft shooting %. Could be the first player in league history to lead the league in fg% & ft%? hmmm..wonder if thats been done before. I hope Yao breaks some sort of record this year, but I'd rather the Rockets break into the playoffs.
What makes this even better? SCORING (As at 23 Oct 03) 1. Yao Ming (HOU) 5 101 20.2 2. Michael Redd (MIL) 7 138 19.7 3. Ron Artest (IND) 5 97 19.4 4. Kevin Garnett (MIN) 7 135 19.3 5. Amare Stoudemire (PHO) 5 95 19.0 6. Rashard Lewis (SEA) 7 132 18.9 7. Baron Davis (NOR) 7 132 18.9 8. Vince Carter (TOR) 6 110 18.3 9. Steve Francis (HOU) 6 110 18.3 REBOUNDS (As at 23 Oct 03) 1. Erick Dampier (GSW) 6 67 11.2 2. Carlos Boozer (CLE) 7 76 10.9 3. Ben Wallace (DET) 7 76 10.9 4. Kevin Garnett (MIN) 7 74 10.6 5. Yao Ming (HOU) 5 46 9.2 6. Zach Randolph (POR) 7 64 9.1 7. Tim Duncan (SAS) 7 59 8.4 8. Kelvin Cato (HOU) 7 57 8.1 FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE (As at 23 Oct 03) 1. Yao Ming (HOU) 5 37 55 .673 2. Zach Randolph (POR) 7 52 85 .612 3. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE) 7 37 64 .578 4. Tim Duncan (SAS) 7 42 74 .568 5. Baron Davis (NOR) 7 52 101 .515 6. Antawn Jamison (DAL) 7 43 85 .506 7. Ricky Davis (CLE) 7 43 86 .500 8. Kevin Garnett (MIN) 7 52 105 .495 9. Rashard Lewis (SEA) 7 44 90 .489 10. Desmond Mason (MIL) 7 36 75 .480 11. Carmelo Anthony (DEN) 7 43 90 .478 12. Vladimir Radmanovic (SEA) 7 37 80 .463 13. Steve Francis (HOU) 6 36 81 .444 Steve Francis ninth in the league in scoring, thirteenth in field goal percentage while Cato is in the freaking top 10 in rebounding. Ball going into Yao, Steve defering while not sacrificing his entire game and Cato cleaning the boards and muscling the absolute dog**** out of opposing fours. I am getting veru excited about this team.....very excited.
I would normally be the last guy to say anything nice about the Fakers, but I was watching some of their game last night, and even keeping in mind they were playing the Clippers.... I saw something that scares me...their team of mercenaries were playing together..working off of each other... Our only hope of beating them this year is if they lose Kobe to jail or their egos start to clash with each other, cause they looked flat-out dominating. We may have two AllStars, but they have 4 and they are playing well together... oh well... You never know... Go Rockets!
We can beat anyone this year if we want to. We have the talent now. Even in the West. If Yao dominates we'll have the advantage inside on every team except the Lakers. That's too big for anyone to overcome because we also have a dynamic backcourt.
Based on the preseason and the fact that major players like EG, Pike, AD and MoT are out, we are a team that can compete for the top 4 spot in the west. I am just waiting to see how tonight works out. Anyone wants to guess how many of those two games the Sonics won earlier they can win if those games were played now? Once the full complement is back look out. For all of those who could not see the 10-12 game improvement in this team based on the stats, I trust they can see it now. The effect of the changes in this team in the off season ranks, in my opinion, in the top 3 among all teams. The changes include the further development of Yao, the new coach and system, and new players.
Dont expect, then you wont be disappointed,hope for a good season for Yao Ming and the Team and you might be pleasantly surprised, by a great season.
Jamma, we also have a solid and improving bench. I agree. Just to add a point about LA. I do not view them as uncatchable this year as far as the rockets are concerned. Yao said it does not matter which center is playing they all have to be able to get low position and the outside players are commited to getting the ball in. To understand this further think about all the time in the past when we would take so much time dribbling. Now that time is used to get the ball inside to Yao, MoT, Cato, EG and Ame. Putting that much pressure of the defense of the lakers will be a factot. I do not expect that lineup to killed by Shaq and Karl. Yes I give LAL the edge but by the end of the season it could be a different story.
Although I also think that Yao deserved ROY more than Amare, don't discount Amare so quickly. He's dominating in the preseason as well. look for him to have a great season as well. both he and Yao are going to be great players.
