I didn't want to start a new thread about this (and didn't feel it was necessary)... I'm as big of a Yao supporter as the next guy, but man Yao really needs to grow some. Lately it has become more apparent. I really wonder what is happening lately (I mean his aggression level is at an all time low, and he is playing clumsy, on a consistent basis). When you have URKEL talking smack about you, you know its gotten out of hand. http://www.nba.com/blog/blog22.html "Yao is not The Answer 3 NBA Storylines 2 Follow Houston, we have a problem! Yao Ming should NOT be the focal point of Houston's offense. Not now at least. As a disgruntled fantasy league owner who foolishly drafted Yao in the 2'nd round over Amare "Man-child" Stoudemire, I am sick with regret. Yao is a tremendous talent and a cultural phenomenon no doubt. But I'm sorry- if you're standing 7 feet 99 above all other competition, I expect better than 28th in the league for offensive rebounds. Basketball is a rhythm sport... shake, rock, pop, count it... And it is quite obvious to me at least, Yao has no rhythm whatsoever. Somebody take this man to a nightclub. Pop a bottle. Bump some Ludacris in his car, please! Or better yet, sign him up for Debbie Allen's Dance Academy. Get his feet right for crying out loud. All that bowing and politeness and reluctance to knock a brotha in the head has got no place in the NBA. Either address the problem or face the facts, Van Gundy. Confucious say he be Rik Smits and nothing more." I just hope he really kicks it into gear, and finds himself and dominates in the playoffs........here's to hoping! We could really use him in half court sets during the slowed down playoff tempo. The ability to play both ways would really set us apart from most other teams, and would be our biggest asset. In that sense, I feel he would be earning his max contract.
I don't give a damn to these stupid analysts. Because you are 7'6 and you are supposed to grab all of the rebounds? What a stupid joke. I still remember all those reports talking about how stupid Houston was to draft Yao and after about half of the season and they all jumped out to announce how stupid they were to say things like that. Now them again? Give me a break. Yao is Yao, not Shaq/dream, like him or not, he is a hell of player and person, he is not used to the way he is asked to play now and he is trying to adjust but it doesn't seem to work out well, so it is coach's job to change the system if you believe he is the go-to guy, or let him go and get the guy you want, if you believe the boss is not letting you do this, then quit the job. As to the max contract, I am pretty sure Yao deserves it, he was on his way to a great center, but he is "adjusting to the sytem and role set for him" and he is kinda lost right now. I believe he will find his way back and prove himself. Just my 2cents.
Uprising, I think you and Stack way underestimate Yao's potential. Never be dominating force? How long does it take KG and TD to become dominating force? No, Yao is not going to be SHAQ or Jordan dominating (which I mean nobody can stop them). He's going to be as good as TD and KG.
Follow up to my previous post. From what I saw, Yao is not really finding his place in this league yet. What he is showing right now is not what he's fully capable of once he finds his place.
Please remember why T. Mac. came to Rockets firstly. Other teams would offer Yao. This team is still undergoing adjustments to play like a team.
Yao is not playing his own game, but still averages 18.5 - 8.5. Have you all forgotten why Tmac struggled earlier this season? He was taking out his comfort zone. Now put yourself in Yao's shoes.
GP 36 MIN/G 31.1 PPG 18.3 REB/G 8.4 AST/G 0.8 FG % 51.2% he's not the first option on this team. he will never be, as long as McGrady is here. and he shouldn't be. i have serious doubts he will ever develop into the kind of player that makes you happy you spent a #1 overall pick on him.
Yao reminds me of Rick Ankiel but to a lesser extent. Yao is taking the exact same shots he attempted last season. He turned the ball over last season too. The difference this season is that Yao is not finishing his shot. Rick Ankiel had a pretty good start to his career as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. However, he had a bad postseason. After that, he was all screwed up. He couldn't throw straight anymore. Yao had a horrid postseason, and I think he might be mentally broken down now like Rick Ankiel was. You combine the changes around him, and it just shows that Yao will never be a go-to guy. He cannot handle failure well. That's not a tragic flaw for a human being. However, that is a tragic flaw for a professional athlete. Is that max contract worthy?
Exactly. If Some GM in Knicks (before Isiah Thomas) was willing to pay max for Allan Houston's service, I don't see why Yao doesn't deserve it.
You do realize that the Knicks are garbage right? Of course, there will be plenty of teams that will pay max to Yao IF they had the cap space. How many of those same teams are looking to win championships? Look at any team in the history of the NBA since the salary cap era started. Each and every one of those teams had very efficient payrolls with very few anchors and albatrosses. However, I think Les sign Yao to an extension. He is a cash cow.
Pardon me if I may sadly say this: Yao doesn’t deserve the max contract. I am a huge yao fan, but it is really hard to see him struggling in there, he is and can be a better player, (remember how he carried the Chinese Nationals?) but not in this environment, something is not right (the coach? just a wild guess) but it doesn’t mean he is at no fault either, but it is pretty hard to get better in a weird discouraging environment. I think if you put yao in a different team/system/coach, he may just do well, and so if Rox didn’t give me a Max contract, it may just work out fine for everyone…
Throw anything Yao does at Chinese Nationals out the window, the competition level is so low that it does not bear mentioning. Yao's talent level is the problem here, nothing else.
Pitcher lost his speed of pitching after the surgery, it's pretty common in the MLB, no comparation here for Yao which never have physical problem. Nobody said Yao had a horrid postseason, he play pretty well against the most dominated big man in the league maybe in the NBA history about 15 points a game, not much people in the league can acomplish that, and Yao handle himself extremely well, win or lost, it was real tragic flaw for the people who could't recognize that.
it was in the Olympic game, i believe the "dream team" was in the mix, how come the competion was so low. Yao's talent level never be the problem, problem is you are the Yao Hater.
Rick Ankiel in particular didn't undergo surgery in the middle of the season. He had a good regular season, but he had a horrible playoff game against the Braves. I watched the highlights from that game. The dude was throwing balls into the stands instead of the catcher's mitt. He was never the same after that. I think he's still in the minor leagues. I watched the playoffs. Come on, man. Yao was bad (bad as in bad, not bad as in good). Steve Francis on the other hand played pretty well in the playoffs. I think dramatic failures when the lights shine the brightest are the toughest to handle. If Yao has still got Shaq and Karl Malone in his nightmares, he needs to go to a sports psychologist.
Charvo, what's your problem? deal with the fact that if Yao chose to stay, he's going to get a max contract. I am sure every true Rockets fan want Yao to stay in Houston.
Are you the same guy with Espn Houston board Charvo89?? if the answer is yes, debate is over, You are nothing but yao hater, all comments about Yao are negitived.
