30-28 Rockets on top after one! wait, after two! Spurs is a team to beat, and Rockets with two all stars and great future, 30 points in 24 minutes!
Yao's biggest advantage is his disadvantage as well. He's just too big, he attracts so much attention naturally. I hope JVG urges Yao to hit the jumper more. That would open up the lane for T-mac to drive and also keep Yao out of BS fouls by the refs and TO's. Defensively Yao just needs to focus on adjusting shots rather than denying. Seeing Deke play defense.. he adjusts shots with his body (clear of contact but in the way) and he denies baskets with his arms and hands. Yao looks like he's trying to deny using his body and arms which will get called a foul almost everytime even if the contact is minimal. Yao should practice never to get pulled into the circle on defense. Try jumping toward the basket and blocking off the backboard (slapping the ball toward the backboard, this would give up some shots but atleast there is no chance for a foul and still leaves a chance for Yao to block or adjust the shot.
Yao needs to stop taking charges. What other big man in the game takes charges all the time like Yao and is a good big man? Refs are not rewarding Yao for putting his body in front of the dribble drive. Dikembe is just putting on a clinic on how to play the center position. Man...after Yao schooled Dikembe last season, I would never have thought that Dikembe would pass Yao in player effectiveness this season.
Yao has been quoted in the past stating that after Ewing and JVG took over, they coached him to try to take charges instead of going up for blocks. Apparently tyhey feel he isnt good enough of a shot blocker to try to swat shots, so they prefer him to try to take charges.
He isn't quick enough to block shots... so at least if he's standing there, with his arms outstretched, he's doing "something". Of course, if he's inside the circle... he won't get the charging call no matter how well-trained he is. I'm sure they're not training him to set-up inside the circle.
The winner of that series would either be so physically drained that they'd have no chance in the next possible THREE rounds... or they'd be cruising in the following rounds by getting to face defenses that are nowhere near as tough. Either way, the series itself would still be quite a defensive struggle.
WTH happened in this sequence?? 7:54 SA - Layup by T. Parker 8:00 HOU - Y. Ming hits the first free throw 8:03 HOU - Offensive rebound 8:27 HOU - Y. Ming hits the second free throw 8:27 HOU - Y. Ming misses the first free throw
Its just confidence and energy level at this point... his physical skills have not "eroded"... contrary to bbs-popular belief.
When you combine the NBA's new "low-tolerance" physical play... and you combine two physical teams... you're going to have a ton of inconsistencies. On some plays (normally at the beginning of quarters), they're going to enforce the low-contact policy which is being used around the leauge... but if they continued to do that with these two teams, they'd foul everybody out before halftime... thus there will be stretches when they allow physical play and thus the players get frustrated at the lack of consistency on their calls. In the end... there's no right answer... but the refs shouldn't blame the players for being frustrated (by giving them techs)... they should be blaming themselves.
