Yes indeed, the future looks bright. Much brighter, in that we drafted the best available center last year. I told people at the beginning of this season that I would be happy if Yao got us Rik Smits type numbers, which are 12 ppg and 8 rpg. He's given us more than that as a rookie. He averaged 13.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg, was ranked in the top 20 in the NBA in 11 statistical categories, according to nba.com. If Yao isn't the ROY, he sure is damned close and it's not like he's anywhere near his peak. S'good :> Dave.
Yao was the right picked made by RT. But he needs to teach the 2 guards Cat & Wink to pass the freaking ball more often. Yao has not reached his prime and he shows a lot of integrity and willingness to be better player.
Yao, to me, was a no-brainer as the first pick. The great thing was that it didn't take long to see that Yao understood what it meant to play team basketball. Seeing his rapid development helped put the pressure on Francis, Mobley, and the others that still like to play the ISO style and one-on-one. If we had gotten someone else, I don't think we would have seen the individual play so pronounced like we did in comparison to Yao. Unfortunately, with the exception of Les, it seems like no one in the Rockets organization thinks that is the problem...not playing a team game.
This thread is stupid.....the only reason we arent in the celler of the midwest is b/c of Yao. The only reason the Rocks got any tv time is because of Yao. These Rockets needed a center and got a legit one who's going to be a defenite all-star for years to come. The Rocks needed a big man and got one. The rocks did not make a mistake w/ Yao. This thread is pointless. Its not Yao's fault we suck. Point fingers anywhere but at Yao.
You are a moron! Your logic makes no sense. No other rookie "pick" this year would have been able to take us to the playoffs this year. Amare is the 3rd to 4th fiddle on the Suns (marbury, marion, penny/amare). Our problem this year wasnt with Yao, it was our lack of chemistry. The UNDERLYING question should have been, do we want to to get a ROOKIE that might help us make the playoffs OR do we trade the rookie for a proven veteran that can guarantee us a playoff birth.
I can not believe the lack of intellect on cc recently. Yao plays ONLY 29 minutes!!! Most if not all of the guys you listed play 39 minutes plus. Yao averaged 8 boards in 29 minutes. Essentially 3 boards per 10 minutes. If he played 10 more minutes, that would equate to 11 boards (which is more than respectable). Granted, fatigue was a factor as well as the coaching staffs lack of confidence. But comparing his rebouding stats with guys who play 10 more minutes is completely unfair. The other critical flaw with you post is that you are claiming that Yao is a franchise center now while other posters (myself included) consider Yao to be a franchise center in 3 years.
Yao is not the problem. Francis and Mobley are. Francis is fun to watch, but he hasn't seemed to have matured much in his 4 seasons in the NBA. He still thinks isolation plays for 6'0" tall guards is a formula for winning basketball. I mean how many 6'0" and under shooting guards have really lead their teams to success? Not many. The sad truth is that signing Francis to a huge contract as a franchise player is probably going to hurt this team for years. They won't have money available to shore up much larger needs at power forward and will probably continue to miss the playoffs, especially when you consider that New Orleans is heading to the western conference next year. If the Rockets are serious about winning, they should trade Francis (that is IF anyone would trade for a 6'0" shooting guard making close to Garnett money) and start to design an offense around Yao Ming who, while making the typical mistakes that most rookies make, shows he is probably going to be a force in this league once he is put in the right system. I choose the disciplined Yao Ming over the immature Steve Francis.
