I know it is still early in the season. But based on his performance so far. Do you think Yao makes significant progress in his game?
consistent at being inconsistent, flip-flop, etc. that's how bush would describe him. i do think he's improving though. edit: by the way mods... not a political thing.
I think he has improved in each of the games he has played this season. He was drawing fouls like crazy and getting the respect he deserved in the last game against the fakers. I think once this guy gets some respect like shaq, kobe, garnett, duncan (you can't even breath on those guys) does he will be putting up bigger numbers. Overall, I would say he has improved greatly. Good job Yao!!!!
Yes. If he improves as much this season, I call Yao's first MVP trophy comes next season. This is off topic: Has anyone been watching Shaq play this year? Something is not right. His hamstring must be bothering him A LOT! He looks significantly slower and weaker than before. Maybe he's just trying to hold back for a while.
his rebounding is down and he can't block as many shots as last 2 seasons. You call that "progress"? Nah.
I think he's improving slowly. The one thing that stands out in my mind is in the Kings game. Yao fought of Miller & company to get a rebound on each of Sacramento's last 2 posessions. He won't be a Dream, but he may become a Yao(if you catch my drift).
Has Yao shown improvement in these areas: Consistancy: So far, No. But maybe he's on the upswing with his past few games and will reel off dominant performances for the rest of the year. Rebounding: Well the past couple of games hasn't shown it, but I thought he was going after the boards much better the first few games. Too soon to tell really. Defense: No. His shotblocking hasn't gone up, he still has difficulty getting back to his man after "showing" on help defense. And he did a couple of poor double team numbers last night by allowing guys to split the doubles. And there's the whole "trying to draw charges and getting into foul trouble" thing, that I'm tearing my hair out over. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Yao is a bad defender. Far from it, his presence changes the game a lot for the Rockets D. But he hasn't shown me that he has IMPROVED on what he was doing before. Offense: A big YES. Watching him the past few games have been an absolute delight. Yao is really starting to put some polish on his offensive game. He has about a half dozen moves that he'll utilize a game, and he's getting better at all of them. Assertiveness on offense: Yes. He's not an assassin yet, but he has made improvment on looking for his own shot, and not just settling for the fadeaway.
If his worst games are in the opening games, and his best games most recently, isn't that considered improving?
Ask me again when the season's halfway through. We've only played a handful of games. Yao has seemed to try and take over more, but still nowhere near as often as he should. His stamina has improved dramatically. Last year, we were lucky if he could stand up straight in the 4th quarter... this season, he's been a go-to guy in the 4th. He's improved. He still has much to improve upon. I also want to see more of how he plays when teamed up with TMac. TMac's entry passes off of his threat to drive are exactly what will make Yao a force in the paint.
Hardly, because I think we are demanding more and more. But he is trying though. His condition will continue to be the key factor.
offensively, yes. and wait till' T-Mac comes back to draw the double-triple teams away from Yao, he'd be more dominate. Defensively, no. we really need someone alike Cato to bang inside the paint, and take off some pressure off Yao at the defensive end. Howard for Kurt Thomas?
The people who are looking at pure stats seem to say no.. but I think if you've watched all the games, it's pretty obvious he's shown improvement. Considering what he's done without another player better than average on the court recently..just adds to it
Im with DoD on this one. With the elbow injury and all the new teamates, I'd give Yao till mid-season or so till you make that comparison. His stretches of offensive dominance are, so far, more impressive IMO than last season, yet, his rebounding and defense has been about the same, which is, inconsistent. I like how Yao has shown the willingness to be more dominant and physical and not afraid to mix it up inside. However, for my taste, thos moments are still few and far between. Also, I'd like to see Yao not be in auto-Yao mode and feel the need to pass the ball back out. There are several instances where Yao gets the ball, has his man clearly behind him and is able to back him down within 5-8 feet of the basket and inexplicably passes back out. In fact, I think one could say that sometimes Yao's kick out passes come as a suprise to his teamates and will disrupt the flow of a good offensive set. Last, lets face it. Yao just lacks the athleticism/quickness/explosiveness to be a great shot blocker/rebounder. If he could someday average a consistant 10 rebs and 2.5 blocks, then I think we would have to be happy with that, as long as he is taking care of business on the offensive end.
Improved since last year? I'd say no. Mindset: still far too passive to excel in the NBA. Easily pushed away from spots by defenders, still reluctant to try and score on double teams or physcal defenders, and still rarely makes an immediate aggresive move to the basket after catching the pass. Consistency: has had games with 32 and 33 pts, and two with 7 and 8 points. Why? FGA vary wildly, from 20 and 21 (the 30 point games) to 12 and even less than 10 attempts a game (3 out of 7 games this year). Why? It is still too easy for defenses to harass Yao enough to prevent him from getting touches on a regular basis. This is where the 7-6 target issue can be frustrating. Also where the myth that Steve and Cat were jealous and didn't want to pass him the ball needs to be debunked. Big Mark of Improvement: FTA are way up (8 attempts a game vs 5 last year), making him #14 in the league and #3 among centers (Duncan, Shaq). Also, he's the only center being fouled that much that can hit 75% of his free throws (you wouldn't hack-a Shaq him). Nice to see, because FTA are an underrated marker of how big an offensive threat you are. Defense and Rebounding: dropped a notch in both categories. Is actually doing slightly better as an individual defender, but not as a help defender. Still very slow to react to cuts to the basket, making him foul prone. Probably misses Cato's help with boxing defenders out - something that Taylor is wretched at by comparison. -->The biggest thing Yao has to learn to do is fight to establish himself down low every position. He can not allow players like Swift and Woods to keep him from putting up 20 shots a game, period. If they front, he needs to either spin in front or call for a lob or switch sides. Even if they want to front, he needs to beat them to the spot, knock them off the position, seal them, and call for the ball. There is no reason for him not to get 40 to 50 touches a game. None. I like Yao, and I think he's going to be an All-Star each year no matter what. But whether or not he becomes a great player rides on his aggressiveness. I say this knowing that his upbringing is a hurdle most players wouldn't have to overcome. Evan
I don't know how anyone can say he hasn't improved on offense. He's getting to the line and attacking the basket. The fadeaway is a last resort. But he's scored 33,32 points already. Major stride. The Hakeem offense is in full swing only 10 games into the season. Provided he gets the ball. On defense, he was always average. So nothing has really changed, and you have to remember, he's the one doubling all the time. That's his job. So he can't just sit back and block shots and rebound. He has offensive and defensive responsibilities that many other centers do not have.
Have you asked yourself why this is still an issue? Do you think JVG downgraded his priority within the offense? Yao keeps himself from getting touches.
How does he keep himself from getting touches? In the first two games, the whole team had problems adjusting to each other. In the third game, T-Mac was on fire and just dominated the offensive end. After that, Yao managed to get 33, 14, 25, and 32 points the next 4 games.
