The Rockets Credit Manager is Helen Waite. If Patrick Ewing wants credit tell him to "Goto Helen Waite"!
Maybe Thibodeaux just recently got more involved and that's why the mention. It doesn't mean Ewing has been MIA all along. Well, since that has ALWAYS been the biggest complaint against Yao, then that bodes well for supporting Ewing.
The trainwreck of unsubstantated opinion presented as fact that became this thread was tough to see coming. Past history has shown that to expect rationality when discussing this is foolhardy.
He also credited Deke. I do think Deke helped him a lot. Especially when Yao was in early foul trouble, he got the opportunity to watch how the 4 times Defensive Player of the Year to handle all kinds of situations. I also believe that practicing against Deke was invaluable as well. Of course, that Thibedeau guy deserves special credit. Honestly, maybe I am wrong, I just don't see Ewing doing too much work, neither did Ward. Otherwise, a guy like Yao Ming would certainly have given them credits.
No but Thib was also the one who spent the past summer in China with Yao among other things. Ewing didn't. We've also heard reports that Yao works on his post moves with Thib not Ewing. From what little we can speculate on I've drawn the conclusion that Ewing isn't a main contributor to Yao's development. I'm not bashing him. This is a pretty speculative topic and in the spirit of speculation this is my opinion which is circumstantially I don't see where Ewing is a key part of Yao's development. I have no idea if I'm wrong or right. And if I'm right I'm not condemning Ewing for not being a key part of Yao's development. 2ndly I have no idea what his job was when he was brought in. Some people assumed that he was to be Yao's primary big man coach. I never made that assumption and didn't have the expectation that he was though I can understand the logic that folks expected him to be. But I think that people's expectation of what Ewing is supposed to be doing has a lot to do with some of the negative opinion of him. Personally Yao's newfound aggression has little to do with developing a warrior mentality. I think Yao already had the dedication & effort. I've listed in other places some of my reasoning for Yao's emergence: (1) Getting Healthy: Regaining of speed & strength from a healthy foot (2) X's & O's and better passing: (a) Better use of angles in receiving entry passes to defeat fronting, physical, and double teaming defenses. Instead of fighting for a single position he'll intentionally move to/from left & right block or to the lane. The combination of Yao in motion accompanied by his teamates moving the ball well have opened up more angles for entry passes. Passes have been thrown into Yao not just on the deep wings but also from the "mid wings" and high post as well. (b) Posting & reposting to force the defense to react and allow Yao to establish better position. (c) Passing has been much crisper and faster. The team is getting better at acting on the split second window timing that Yao is in good position before the defenses can set or react. In the past the passers were not nearly as confident about their ability to get the passes into Yao quickly. Rafer, Bogans, Howard, and even Wesley are getting good at this. (3) Increasing offensive skills: Yao' comfortable working off the left or right block and has developed a confident hook shot with either his left or right hand. He's also getting better at using the baseline spin on the left block and looks to be improving this move on the right block as well. (4) Confidence & Leadership: He's going at double teams and doesn't always try to pass out of them. It has been mentioned in print that some of this came from him watching videos of how Tracy deals with double-teams. He's demanding the ball more and actually directing traffic like a quarterback from the post. (5) Smarts & passion to excel: His study of his game and how to beat defenses is really starting to show.
I don't think that he has anything to do with his development. Thibodeaux has helped, but Yao had these skills all along. He just had to physically develop and acclimate a little bit more, and then had to assert himself.
Yao is a hard working individual. Even though others deserve credit. he was the one who put in the work. I think Yao could even be better. His full abilities are not being extracted from him.
Just trying to keep you on your toes. Actually, I was thinking of Thibedeaux, the asst. coach. Can you forgive me?
They made mention that Yao's Toe Issues had been around for YEARS How does something like that go one for YEARS He had infection to the BONE! this is what messed him up his early years BTW WHAT TOOK SO LONG FOR US TO RECOGNIzE IT!!! Rocket River
Nice post all around. I don't think I can fully disagree with anything you said. That being said, not only has Yao established his footwork, etc ...he really has learned to fight more. He is demanding the ball and going right at teams. He is also not taking so much crap from the refs. I don't know if that came from Ewing or not. I don't care if Ewing stays or goes. I'm completely nuetral as I have no idea what he does do but he doesn't appear to be a distraction. Given that there are no salary caps or roster spots for asst coaches, I could care less about Ewing. If JVG wants him, fine with me. I don't understand why everybody calls for his head.
If you guys think Ewing had no impact on Yao's development at all, why was he bashed left and right on the bbs here when Yao was not playing to our expectations? Yao was not playing well --> Ewing sucked. Yao is playing well now --> Ewing doesn't deserve any credit.
Are you saying that Ewing's finally doing something productive with Yao, and that's what's changed? I don't buy it.
I think it's very logical. Ewing was brought in to help Yao get better. Yao didn't get better, Ewing wasn't doing the job. Now, Yao got better because all kinds of helps from other coaches, from Deke, from himself, from experience, from facing all kinds of defense opponents throwing at him, and from his toe surgery, WITHOUT Ewing actually helping. So, Ewing doesn't get credit. It's very logical and consistent. The only constant in that equation is: Ewing did NOT do his job to help Yao get better.
It's funny, really. People think they can run a basketball organization from their couch munching on Frito Lays. First, nobody even knows for sure whether Ewing's job description includes coaching Yao. All we know is that he is an assistant coach on the team, period. But everyone assumed that's what he was supposed to do since he's a former all star big man. Then everybody jumped on Ewing's back when Yao was having trouble (the fire Ewing calls were particularly loud while Yao was busy recuperating from surgery). Now Yao's a monster, and well, since we're good at whining and nothing more, Ewing can't get any credit either. Meanwhile still, no one knows what Ewing's job description is or whether it has anything to do with Yao in particular. Professional whiners, that's what we are.
