ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Heat 10/25/2006 (PRESEASON)

The Yao vs Shaq battle reminded me of some of the Duncan vs KG games. Neither guy could consistently score on the other because they know each other real well and knew how to limit their effectiveness (not to mention that each guy had help from teammates). Yao got blocked a few times, and Shaq threw up some ugly shots as well. Fun to watch.

 

Oh OK, Heat finished? No. Never with Wade on the team. But, 60 wins and as good as last year? No again.

 

Shaq shot terribly from everywhere, but I wanted to mention how impressed I was with the shape he appears to be in. He doesn't look overweight, for him, and he's started the season that way far too often. The problem Shaq has is his mileage. He's getting up there, and Riles will have to watch his minutes during the season, if he wants him to be himself in the playoffs.

Yeah, it is fun to watch those two go at it. Lots of mutual respect, and the two best big guys on the planet. Reminds one of the old days, when we saw big men battle each other on a regular basis. I love watching them play each other!

 

nice

been a long time since I saw a orwell reference in a garm thread.

well done.

 

I was really disappointed in Yao's performance yesterday. It's like he was afraid to try hard whenever Shaq was on him. And when he decided he was going to try to score, he hesitated way too much. The couple times he got blocked by Shaq, he hesistated to the point where it was so obivious Juwan Howard could have swatted him, let alone Shaq. When he was assertive and attacked Shaq right away, he got good results. But he only did that a couple of times (the left handed, first shot of the game, and the nice little drop step move on the left block). Overall, IMO, very soft and tentative game from Yao. This is the only preseason game I've seen so far, and I hope Yao has not been this timid in the other games too. The only bright side of this is we saw flashes of brilliance, which gives me confidence that he can dominate Shaq completely if he chooses to attack with authority. Also, despite all this, his numbers weren't that bad. "Good enough" should never be good enough for Yao. I hope the he knows this, and hope the coaching staff addresses this issue to him. Really look forward to our regular season games against the Heat.

 

Thank you BigM, your post is for those who claimed that Yao was soft and it didn't matter the touches he got or the amount of shots he took.

 

Very well said. The stats line says Yao mostly outdid Shaq head-to-head, but we Yao fans are nonetheless disappointed. I think Yao lost his mind battle against Shaq last night when he stepped onto the court. He was thinking too much. The sheer determination to overpower (figuratively speaking) his opponents -- those 2nd- or 3rd-tier centers he expected to beat handily in last season -- was not there, neither were the instinct and spontaneity in his shots. As I noted earlier, he was showing too much respect for his "long-time" nemesis. Yao is known to be able to regroup and adjust his game quickly, as we don't see back-to-back poor games from him very often. Tonight he will be battling against Dwight Howard, aka Shaq's heir apparent. I expect Yao to re-assert himself with authority, to show to the world who's the best center after all.

 

I hear ya guys, but I think it's still rust. If he's doing this by the mid-season, then someone needs to light that fire under him again, so that he remembers who he is. But given that, I was still pretty happy with Yao last night. It wasn't like Shaq was dominating over him either, and a few of the plays, he made Shaq take some really bad shots.

 

Its the way he plays, not the shots he makes that's worrying. Shots fall when you shake off your rust, but you can always play aggressively.