Behind the Bench, Vol. 3 relevent part: HOUSTON The Clips lost this one in OT, thanks to a bogus foul call on Bobby Simmons on the final possession of regulation. The Rockets cleared out for T-Mac (an ugly 8-for-23), he drove left into Bobby's shoulder, then hopped backwards for an ugly jumper ... and the refs called the foul on Bobby. This play tells you everything you would ever want know about the Clippers -- they don't get an obvious non-call at home on a deciding play. I spent most of the game bemoaning the demise of Yao Ming, who played 30 minutes, notched 10 points and 8 rebounds, turned the ball over six times and ended up fouling out. It's not like Yao was going against Hakeem in his prime here -- the Clips checked him with Chris Wilcox (young power forward playing out of position), Zeljko Rebraca (brittle foreigner with no discernible skills) and Mikki Moore (six teams in the last four years). So what happened to this guy? Wasn't he supposed to become the Chinese Bill Walton? On "NBA Fast Break" last week, Legler, Anthony and Stephen A. discussed Yao's relative funk -- statistically, he isn't any better than last season, which makes no sense -- and collectively decided that Yao wasn't aggressive enough to become a dominant center. Stephen A. also pointed the finger at Jeff Van Gundy, staring into the camera like an assassin, then screaming, "JEFF VAN GUNDY DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO COACH OFFENSE!" And yes, both of those points are part of the problem. During that Clippers game, the Rockets pounded the ball down low like Yao was Zydrunas Ilguaskas, only he's not that type of player -- shove him around and he'll eventually settle for fall-aways and jump hooks. Which he did. I'm not sure how having a 7-foot-6 guy falling away from the basket helps anybody except the other team. Still, I blame the Rockets for surrounding him with the wrong players. In three seasons, they haven't had a single point who could throw Yao an entry pass, plus they haven't had a single shooter who could consistently make threes (and prevent teams from collapsing on Yao). This current team features the worst point guards in the league (although Bobby Sura just came back); three undersized rebounders (none of whom would ever be confused with Maurice Lucas); and only one reliable shooter (T-Mac, who thrives with one-on-one stuff). I like T-Mac, but he isn't a sophisticated enough offensive player to play with someone like Yao. None of these guys are. It's a shame. It's like watching one of the guys from Phish playing in Ashlee Simpson's band. In a perfect world, Yao would be playing on the high post like Walton did, finding cutters (he's an exceptional passer, although you would never know on this team) and draining open 15-footers. Just look at the way Sacramento uses Brad Miller right now. In fact, if you switched Yao with Brad Miller tomorrow, Yao's career would take off and we wouldn't even be having this discussion. I'm just worried that he's starting to get discouraged -- not only is Yao losing confidence, but guys are going out of their way to dunk on him now. In 18 games, he only has 22 blocks and 149 rebounds. The guy is 7-foot-6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After watching Yao's body language during that Clippers game, I would be astounded if he's still playing for the Rockets in three years. One other Rockets note: I always liked T-Mac ... it's a shame how his game atrophied playing with crummy teammates in Orlando. At 6-foot-8, with his athletic ability, he should have evolved into a cross between Scottie Pippen and Doctor J. But since those Magic teams were so dependent on his scoring, the other parts of his game went to mush -- now he only seems to light up when he's getting a ton of shots, like last week's Dallas game, when he came alive with 48 points (on 36 shots), 9 rebounds and 9 assists in a fantastic shootout with Nowitzki. Van Gundy isn't a moron. Eventually, he will realize that T-Mac's offense gives him the best chance to win every night. Which means Yao will be standing around watching him like everyone else. What a waste.
Can't we hire one of the Kings' assistant coaches and have him implement their system for the Rockets?
I don't know if using a near triple double while scoring almost 50 points is a good idea when you are trying to call a guy one dimensional. Also, can you "light it up" without a ton of shots? If a guy goes 4-4, he is shooting really well, but would you say his 8 points lit up th other team? Oh yeah, he points out that he took 36 shots as if that is a bad thing. The guy shot over 50% that night. I thought you only point out shots taken when it is a low percentage.
Simmons logic seems inconsistent; Ok, so I get it Bill, Yao falling away from 12 ft is a waste of size (or else he wouldn't have mentioned the 7-6 aspect) but yet his solution to wasting his size playing away is to move him further from the basket? I don't know if Yao has the physical skills or stamina to play Miller's role on Sacto.
and apparently cuttino and jj draining tons of 3's last year weren't reliable shooters. and it's the teams fault yao barely averages one block a game and so few rebounds. apparently we need a perfect supporting cast for yao to be only above average. and yes, tmac's 48/9/9 isn't the best way to show his bad side. just fire jvg and all will be well. hell, bring in a no D, all offense guy just to get the guys back having fun again. since we're a few ways from the title anyway, lets have some fun. then when they realize offense alone won't do it, they'll play a little better D the way the kings finally did before the title was stolen from them by bavetta and co.
Why does getting rid of JVG and playing no defense go together? Defense is the easiest thing to coah, innovative offense is much harder. JVG has no clue how to use the talented players he has around him. Bill Walton's early style is EXACTLY how Yao should be utilized. DD
Cutter, cutter, cutter, that's what Rockets really need, running the floor without the ball, don't waste Yao exceptional pass skills.
One second people want Yao to be Shaq... another second, people are clamoring for his Hakeem-like moves.... and now, he should be the Chinese Bill Walton. (honestly, I do believe he can eventually become a little of all three) This alone should show how UNPREDICTABLE the guy's career is going to be. Frankly, we don't know. Lets just be patient and let him become who he wants to... rather than say he's not who he is because of a coach, or he's not who he is because of his lack of aggressiveness. I do believe the real Yao will show himself within this year. You'll see.
But the best part of The Sports Guy's column was when he talked about Eddie Griffin being either the difference-maker in the playoffs or in jail come June. Everybody is jumping on this guy's comeback.
I usually like Simmons' articles, but the logic in this one is pretty horrible. A 7'6 guy shouldn't be taking hook shoots and fadeaways, so the solution is for him to take jump shots? And then he points out that McGrady took 36 shots, but he shot over 50% in that game. How's a guy supposed to score 48 points without taking alot of shots? They don't have a great shooter, so that justifies Yao being a virtual nothing this year? Van Gundy is not free from blame. But ultimately, if Yao ever wants to be great (or even justify his All-Star spot at this point), he needs to grow a sack because he has been pathetic this year.
Agreed on the point about Yao needing to step up. I'm sick of all the excuses, "He's tired"...."JVG can't coach offense"....etc. He needs to stop disappearing during games. Stop getting into foul trouble. Stop being so soft and not be afraid to get physical for once. It's almost a joke how the biggest guy in the NBA is also the least feared player. He needs to realize he is capable of being UNSTOPPABLE offensively if he wants to be. His size alone should make him a monster on the boards and be a terrorist defensively. Learning the meaning of the word, "consistency" might not be a bad idea either. Bottom line, we all love the guy but there is no way around the fact that he is underachieving as a player. T-Mac is a great player and may or may not be able to carry this team, but until Yao decides to bring his game up to the next level there is no real "Dynamic Duo" in Houston.
You don't understand the logic of Simmons? A 15-footer from a set position is much easier than fading away from the basket. Fadeaways and jumpshots are much more difficult shots. The only players I've seen pull these off consistently are elite players - Olajuwon, McHale, Duncan (adept at both), Bird, Jordan, Kobe (the fadeaway), Kareem (his own crazy version of the jumphook, the skyhook) I understand what Simmons means.
Great players shouldn't be taken out of their game by ANYTHING... including fronting defenses, double-teams, and physical play. If Yao is truly great, he will be so no matter what "system" he's in. JVG has always made getting the ball deep to Yao a priority... and I'd rather have him work on DUNKING than 15 foot set shots. As I said before, Yao will eventually be a little bit of everything: power, finesse, great passing, good court awareness, and hopefully he'll develop some "intangibles" the more he plays in this leauge. But, he also has to WANT to be great. Yao can be an all-star by default.. he can average nearly 20 and 10 by default... and he will always be an attraction and fan favorite by default. If he wants to be great... he must give it his all, work hard, and trust in himself. The results will come.
I would love to see Yao playing for Sacremento and we get Miller and Bobby Jackson in return. Now everybody is happy!!!
