You guys kill me, YAO can do no wrong on this site. I think some of you guys need to learn how to be more even handed in your assessments . Like the other guy said, its never Yao's fault - if it aint JVG's its P.Ewing's then SF, then Cato's then Mobley's then his aunty, sister, momma's, uncles fault. Yao should get some of the blame for him not getting the ball (OR SHOOTING MORE). Just keeping it real baby...
Yao deserves plenty of blame, but you are one of the few that blames him for the guards getting beat by their man EVERY time.
Sorry buddy, I never blamed YAO for that. Can you find an quote me on that statement. Get your facts right bro....
Did anyone notice that Yao was pretty darn aggresive against the Spurs, and it resulted in him going 11 for 16 from the field. The guy was awesome on the offensive end against San Antonio. My biggest fear is that Yao leaves because of the guards, but in the end i dont think Alexander will let that happen, and JVG would just quit anyway. There has been times where Yao has been inconsistent, but that is because he doesn't know each game how often he will touch the ball, where as Hakeem knew he would get the ball a lot.
Look at the Lakers game last night. I think it proves my point. Yao took 21 shots. And we blew the other team out. Why? Because when Yao is hot, it is impossible for the other team to keep their attention focused on Steve, Cuttino, etc. It is just flat impossible to deal with Yao with only one defender. Even SHAQ. I hope last night's game will help some of you who don't agree with me to understand my point.
Hmmm...Yao is single covered, Yao has a good game... AMAZING how that works... Yao would be an MVP candidate with no zone defense...
Huh? Your assertions contradict themselves. Yao is not a great rebounder - for a 7'5 center. Yao is probably not a great passer/ball-handler... per your average NBA starter. He's a great passer/handler for a center - elite, in that respect. So, you either need to evaluate it from how he compares to good NBA players in general... or players who play his position. Doing both is contradictory.
One reason Yao did so well against the Lakers is because they weren't throwing double teams at him like all other teams do. Most teams use one man in the post and then bring a smaller forward or guard to swing underneath and put pressure on the ball forcing the slower Yao to make an awkward move or pass.
So what happens when Yao is "tired".... do we just blame a loss on china or make up some other excuse? If Yao doesn't get great position and has an off night, we blame the guards for not dumping it in properly? There are only 2 people that can be blamed for Yao not taking 13+ shots a night.... and they are JVG and Yao himself....
Do you honestly never see the guards ignoring Yao open in the post? I find this really hard to believe. I believe people when they say that Yao gets very tired quickly. I believe them when they say he needs to work on post positioning. But when they tell me that they don't ever see the guards blow him off, while he's open in the post, and instead dribble around and jack up a bad shot... it makes me doubt the rest of your post. Tell me it doesn't happen enough to be serious. Tell me that you approve of Steve doing it now and then because he's such a superstar and needs to assert himself sometimes, even if it's not "rational." But don't deny that it happens.
so yao cant have a bad game? Is he sudenly wilt. I notcie that you NEVER blame yao, but the gaurds fotr yao's bad games. Couldnt you once blame the the person who had the bad game himself?
Last night's ballgame had to be encouraging. Efficient shooting from the gaurds, and LOTS of attempts for Yao, but he didn't really get the ball all that much more than normal. The reason??? Some people really need to freakin realize that when Yao takes fewer shots in one game than in another, it's not always because he got fewer touches... in fact it's USUALLY not. Last night he was being aggressive, though, and he was looking for his shots - all night, even when it wasn't there, which is good. He showed confidence and balls. The gaurds got plenty of assists, and hence came out looking unselfish. IMO, they usually look like that, but it won't show unless Yao plays the way he did yesterday (not to say that I've never seen them ignore Yao before). So those stats of the Rockets records when Yao gets various amounts of shots needs to be modified to the Rockets records when Yao gets various amounts of touches... ... Of course no one here will probably ever go through the trouble...
What the hell are you talking about, can you read!?! Did I post at all there that Yao doesn't have bad games? No. And he does sometimes (just far fewer than your boy). Did I post that Yao is the best player in the NBA? No. And he's not close to it, yet. Did I say that he should always take more shots than Steve? No. And depending on the circumstances, he shouldn't. I said that sometimes Francis ignores an open Yao and takes a really stupid shot instead. That's it. Please be responsive.
You know what, Rocketguy? If the guards always thought like you, this Rockets could go nowhere, and in turn you will never see a play-off, let along Finals!
If the guards aren't passing to Yao it's either Yao's fault for bad position... or JVG for not coaching his players to dump the ball to Yao. WHEN it is an easy pass for an open dunk and the guards don't make the pass... that is when it is their fault...
Actually you and A-train have it right. When he's been played man on man, he doesn't seem to have any trouble getting off his shots or dominating, but when he's double teamed he either doesn't have the experience to beat the double team or he's not quick enough to do it. Either way, although he's making progress, he's still not in the elite class where he can do it night after night, yet. I'm also a bit curious why there's so much bashing of this team. I don't think anyone with a realistic view thought we would be in the top 5 of the West this year, yet if you would have told me we would be 3 games behind Dallas and just 4 games behind San Antonio in the loss column at the all star break, I would have thought we were having an outstanding season before the season began. An they have achieved all of this with Steve Francis having what would be considered for him a horrible year so far. Smell some roses this Valentines Weekend. Steve will shoot much better in the 2nd half of the year and the team will continue to improve, some more. We will make the playoffs this year and even if they end up first round fodder whoever plays them will get a scare. This team will not go far into the playoffs until Yao is able to carry the wagon. I don't think he's ready for that yet, but he's definetely heading in the right direction.
I can count many instances where Yao is wide open (unguarded even) in the post that he doesn't get the ball. That fact alone makes the rest of your post irrelavent, as it disproves the basic assumption you are operating on.
So, essentially: players are never at fault for tactical errors, regardless of whether they're induced by selfishness or stupidity, as the coach should either beat it into their heads or bench them? Seems a bit harshes on coaches everywhere...
