Lopez giving Yao props http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3042418 Feb. 16, 2005, 1:18AM Yao's huge in streak, no pun intended By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle RESOURCES ROCKETS Q&A Chronicle writer Jonathan Feigen takes your questions about the Rockets. Send your questions here NBA: Houston 123, Washington 93 FINAL AUDIO: Chronicle columnist John P. Lopez: Rockets on an intriguing run Requires the free RealPlayer or Flash. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS Team W L PCT GB San Antonio 40 12 .769 --- Dallas 34 16 .680 5 Houston 32 21 .604 8.5 Memphis 30 22 .577 10 New Orleans 11 41 .212 29 As of Feb 16 2005 12:04 a.m. CT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMING UP Tuesday: vs. Seattle, 7:30 p.m. TV/Radio: Listings; KILT (610 AM) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROCKETS BY THE NUMBERS • Schedule • Movements • Roster • Depth chart • Chronicle story archive • Live NBA scores at a glance • NBA Playoffs 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE PICKS • Writers & readers: Predictions for '04-'05 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPORTS POLL Can the Rockets make the playoffs? Yes. This team will improve down the stretch No. They are too inconsistent It's too early to tell Yao Ming makes the biggest mistakes in the league. Of course, we're not talking in terms of numbers or significance, but sheer mass. That's what 7-6 does. On those occasions when he is slipping into little — OK, big — habits that still need refining and improvement, it becomes easy to understand why Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy believes Yao once was the most overrated player in the NBA. "Seriously, he was when he came here," Van Gundy said. "Everybody wanted him to be a megastar from day one, no chance to grow, no chance to learn. ... Now if he hits an occasional bump in the road everybody wants to be on full-attack mode." On those occasions when he puts the ball on the floor and turns it over or doesn't get off a shot, you groan or shout at the television screen. When he lowers the ball as he begins a post move and some 6-8 forward strips him clean, you shake your head. When he allows rebounds to slip out of his reach. When he struggles mightily to defend his man against the NBA's staple offensive igniter, the pick-and-roll, you ask yourself: Will he ever be truly great? Playing large But if you ask yourself those things on the big mistakes — certainly, I have — you must be watching this torrid Rockets run to the All-Star break, which went to eight consecutive wins with Tuesday's 123-93 victory over the Wizards, with a new perspective. So many little things are spawning a kind of greatness. Mistakes are more than being made up for with a better feel for what the Rockets are doing on both ends of the floor. Yao's passing ability always has been his strength, but it's even better now, during a 25-game stretch of which the Rockets have won 19. His improved knowledge of finding lanes and open spaces has translated into his scoring at least 22 points in eight of the last 13 games. But it's not even the numbers that show the difference. It's the look he has on the floor, the confident way he carries himself, the way he rarely hesitates when he gets the ball in his hands or sees the ball coming off the rim. A selfless sensation Remember Yao's nervous ways his rookie season? But when was the last time you saw any indecisiveness in Yao over the past month? You might have seen the occasional mistakes, but no tentativeness. Van Gundy now believes Yao could be the most underrated big man in the league, and he could well be right. "There are very few selfless guys that you run into in the NBA," Van Gundy said. "He's got a combination. He's selfless, but he's a man of great pride. He knows he can deliver, and he wants the ball. But if other guys are playing well and making shots, he's as happy for them as he would be for himself." Yao's problems never have come from lack of toughness or desire. It has been basketball instincts. When the mistakes are glaring, it's easy to wonder if Yao doesn't need NBA summer leagues or Chinese national team training. He needs to spend a summer at New York's famed Rucker Park or Houston's Fonde Rec Center. He needs to improve the instinctive parts of the game, not another 1,000 shots on a shooting machine. He needs to get a better gauge of when and where the ball comes off the rim, knowing when a bounce pass will come instead of a high floater. He needs to play at the fastest pace possible, always. He needs running the floor for two, three or four hours nonstop. He needs games where you call your own fouls and are force-fed the creative and intuitive parts of the game that always flow better on hard courts and sweaty inner-city gyms. Tuesday night's performance was only the latest display of his greatness. The mind-boggling thing about his mix of inside and outside moves that accounted for 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting is there remains so much potential. Contrary to what his size and post game might tell you, Yao's ability to run and play better when more players touch the ball, the ball constantly moving, also is vastly underrated. "I know my meal ticket is getting it to Yao," forward Jon Barry said. "Once everyone's able to get the ball, it becomes easier for everyone to score. It's easier to get it to him, too. The guy's unbelievable when he gets it down there." Don't compare Yao to Hakeem Olajuwon. The Dream was a true half-court player. All the Rockets needed to do was feed Olajuwon the ball and start jogging back on defense. As much as Yao's post game is superb, it's when the offense starts with him, not ends with him, that everything looks as beautiful as it did in the 123-point game Tuesday night. "The last few weeks, I have been more comfortable," Yao said. "Everybody has had the ball, everybody has been passing, everybody has scored. "All the scorers here are not post-up players. Speed is more important right now. It's more important to get the quick scores, in transition or fast break or whatever. I think we've changed." Perspectives should change, too. Yao might still have his bad moments. They'll always seem so big and glaring. But if you're going to give Tracy McGrady most of the credit for the Rockets becoming a Western Conference threat, and give Barry, David Wesley and Bob Sura credit, don't forget Yao. He's been huge.
Good read. It is interesting that JVG now thinks Yao is underrated. Hopefully folks like SI's McCullum or whatever his name is and Rosen can open up their eyes and see Yao's true greatness. Just like JP Lopez stated, the scariest thing of all of this is that Yao is only reach somewhere arround half of his full potential. I am loving it!
One major thing to note is that Yao has become much more of a "role player" now. Being part of the offense majority of the time, rather than initiating it, ala Hakeem. Granted, production is production regardless of how you obtain it. But it does show that Yao is more of a team player that thrives in team offense like that of the Kings. Rather than being a pure low-post player as the traditional great centers have always done.
We are letting him be a finisher instead of a creator. It reminds me of Amare's role on the Suns right now. All the guy does is finish, and he's great at it. Recently, guys are setting Yao up more consistently, and he is delivering. He's just not as flashy as Amare.
i think people overlook the fact that the majority of amare's points come off of easy buckets set up by nash, hence his 24+ pts a game. yao on the other hand has to work for the majority of his pts by using his post game.
