Here we go again...

I can actually read that post without cringing.

I think what we all need is to stop expecting championship level play out of Yao, and the team, when many on this team are new to playing together. Our coach is new. Our style is new. Yao is new to our whole way of life, the NBA, the people, the fame, fast food.....

Even if Yao, or Steve, or whoever, play great, top notch basketball, there are always other players out there to counter their efforts, be it individually, or teamwise.
There is no God in basketball, as much as Mobley and Doug Christie want to believe, so the team that wants to win the most, and plays the best together, and maximizes their strengths as a team, usually wins.
As far as strengths, natural talent varies, the learning curves are different for every player, and the plateau is never at the same altitude.....

 

Have I missed something? Sure, JVG has attempted to make Yao the focal point of the offense. But when did JVG sit down with Yao and tell him this is his team?

He absolutely hasn't. That's why some of the arguments being made here are not registering with me.

And I'm not talking about Juugie here either.

Rocket River your perspective is just scary. If you want to see Yao get criticized more, stick around - it will happen a lot more next season.

But right now the burden of of this team's performance falls squarely on SF's shoulders and he accepts that. He's also the damn pg which carries specific responsibilities for how this team performs.

This whole Yao vs. Steve thing is stupid. If you look around this board now I don't see anyone that's happy Steve's failing.

Most people are taking it as a bitter bill, but the truth is Steve failing is a tragedy for this franchise.

And directing criticism at Yao because he's had 2 subpar games is one thing. But equating Yao's situation with Steve's is insane and should be insulting to any Rocket's fan.

What's surreal about this is people are calling for Yao to be criticized more because people are mean to Steve???

If that's how these people react to criticism they don't like in real life - my God, how sad.

 

Here you go again, Juggie Troll.

I believe you are such a Yao hater that you can lie straight into other's face.

Let's see how you lied from some of your quotes:

after THREE bad games by Yao? If you call 29,19 on 11-16 shooting a bad game, can you name me one single GOOD game by any other Rockets this year? Can I say hating?

No single thread discussing Yao's declining play? Look at this:
Yao Should be blamed this time!!!

"We"? Even a blind guy can see you've never done that. Not only that, you are trying so hard to drag other people off the wagon.

I don' have to mention how many lies you've made in other posts, you know there were plenty. I can understand you are a Yao hater, but I just can't understand when you make those lies trying to prove you are a fair person, how can you not look into mirror and not be ashamed by yourslef.

Maybe you never look into a mirror.

 

Like Nick said. Yao is not ready yet. But he will be. He might reach 18ppg before this year is done. He's been consistently improving from 16, 16.5, 17, 17.5...etc...

But think about this. IS Francis holding this TEAM back? I think so. The ball has to be in Francis's hands for him to be a factor. He's not that good w/out the ball (screens, cuts, back doors, pick and shoot, etc...). So, he HAS to have the ball in his hands in order to contribute. But having the ball in his hands also means impacting the team in a negative way, i.e. Yao doesn't get the ball as much as he could due to bad passing by SF. Like I said in another thread. It's not like Francis doesn't *want* to get the ball to Yao. He can't. He just doesn't know how. This "passing skill" is not in his brain. And I don't think he'll ever figure it out. He just programed to be a "shoot first guard."

Now, imagine how much Yao's game would improve if we had another "star" that COULD get the ball to Yao (good, clean, crisp passes...). Yao would get the ball *right were he wanted it* and put him in a *better* position to score. That would improve his average and you surely would get your 20+ppg.

 

Welcome back, Juggie. We have expected your return

I have to say, yes, Yao is not ready to carry this team day in and day out. yes, he shows his inconsistency last week. yes, he is not a 20/10 player yet. yes, he is to be blamed for the last two games as well as others. (I thinke he is lack of intensity and fire for the last two games.)

HOWEVER, he is improving (from 13.5/8.3 to 17.5/8.9) season to season, he is improving after ASG, he shows he can fight with most elite guys in this league. The point is obvious here, right? His improvement is not denied by a week of slump. IF you look at the long-term curve, he is still on a promising upward trend.

Most of people here don't think he is in the class of TD, KG and Shaq. However, many of us truly believe he can be in that class in a couple of years. I think, the track of his performance enforces our confidence.

Make your point clear, plese. If you say yao should be blamed for the loss because he is regarded as the future franchise player, I concur you. If whenever yao is in trouble, you jump out, trying to convince people he is not qualified for a franchise player, you feel the reaction.

-Littlefish

 

You don't see anything wrong when fans find way to critise the team when it's down and suddenly become invisible and never cheer for the team when it's winning? Oh C'mon, Rockets are really pathetic to have such "fans"...

 

friends don't let friends spell phonetically.

 

Comments like these would have a lot more credibility if not for the Phoenix game.

A question for Juugie:

If we get rid of Yao do you think that will make us a better team?

 

were is juggie now when yao has a excellent game.

 

you know Juugie, the whole YOF versus Rox fans is so like last year. How about moving on with your life? Most of us here have and have found quite a nice balance between those who root for the Rox before Yao and those who root for the Rox because of Yao. What a surprise that noone saw you during the winning streak. Snore, troll

 

What a surprise, after a loss, someone who has only posted 3 times shows up. Tsk tsk, the things some people will do to "win" an argument

 

great game by our 2 stars.

J

 

Very well said!

 

I am a big Francis fan/supporter and I used to be a Yao basher in this forum. People used to blame to Francis for everything, they claimed he was the problem and they cried for managment to trade him becasue he couldn't co exist with Yao. I would spend hours upon hours trying to defend Steve and in the process I would bash Yao and blame him. I have now realized that Yao is not to balme and neither is Francis for thier lack of 4th quarter offensive execution, its Mobley, but that another topic for another day. Yao has proven himself, especially in the Portland game when they were down 6 and he took over to send the game into OT and then led them to victory. Francis and Yao should be together on this team until they retire and together I know they will led this team to a championship.

 

This is a good attitude, hopefully a truning point to convert you. Give you some props

 

Juugie:

Your argument inherently fails. Why? Because your argument only functions if a franchise player can carry a team to wins regardless of the level of play of everyone else, no matter how poorly.

So, let's put your theory to the test by applying potential fact situations.

Let's say Yao shoots 60% in a game, scores 44 points, manages 18 boards, 9 blocks, and 7 assists. Has he succeeded? Well, maybe.

The Rockets lose, and:

Let's say that Francis shoots 1 of 13, turns it over 15 times, and misses a buzzer beating 3 after dribbling for 23 seconds despite Yao screaming for the ball in the low post. The rest of the team plays quite mediocre, scoring 35 points and shoots 42%.

By your definition, Yao failed in this game, while Francis' performance is irrelevant. The fact that no Franchise player could have won in the same situation is irrelevant, by your standard.

You can't judge a player by saying that the result is determinative of that player's performance, regardless of the complete suckitude of the complementary players. Hell, by that standard, T-Mac blows. Vince Carter isn't a franchise player. Allen Iverson isn't a franchise player. Hakeem stinks (his teams had some bad years, early on). Hell, there are many players that are considered franchise players, historically, who have been on losing teams. And the same players have done their share in many of those seasons.

This is clearly unreasonable.