scutmb I think that forcing Yao played more inside actually will help him in long run. Its' his weakest aprt, he needs to improve on it . Point taken. I was thinking that as I typed. But JVG was too rigid about it before. I remember last year when the whole offense would grind to a halt when Yao couldn't get out from behind a front. Having Yao post up is great against some teams, but it can be counter-productive against others.
Gotta say, that GARM is beautiful right now! So much optimism. It's amazing! Everyone is so dang happy!
His stamina is a lot better also, running the floor, rotating on the help defense. I hope the league doesn't do any suprise drug tests, might find out Yao's mother is using some illegal herb in Yao's soup.
Say, didn't Will make some bet back when about kissing a donkey's rear if the Rox made it over 30 wins by the break??? theSAGE
Looks like I will join the apology bandwagon as well... I was furious at Yao not performing 20/10 before the winning streak started... It's time for me to eat some crow as well... We don't need him to reach that number just yet... we should enjoy what we have so far in a good team effort by the Rockets... I hope they will continue to achieve new heights in the future...
Yao is a dual threat who should play the game as he feels like it. When he wants go inside, he goes inside and vice versa. Forcing a square peg into a round hole never works. Let Yao play a natural game at his own pace. Force feeding works against Yao as well as the Rockets.
One good turn deserves another, Will. I apologize for calling you an impatient yahoo. I wasn't really aiming that at you so much as I was making an appeal to everyone's sense of perspective. Be patient, I was saying, remember the Yao of the past two years; he hasn't suddently become a bad player. IMHO Yao hasn't been learning so much as he has been declaring his independence from JVG's (and Ewing's) heavy hand. I think this happened near the middle of January, when for a couple of games in a row Yao scored almostly exclusively with middle range jumpers. (It was also about when he finally got rid of his arm brace, and I'm sure that wasn't a coincidence.) He was hitting them at a very high percentage too. When I saw that, I told myself, "this is Yao's declaration of independence!" I think his teammates, most of whom had never played with Yao before this season, had their eyes opened, and they've been trusting him ever since. And of course, the team has gone on a rampage.
I dont totally agree terse... check the games from before he "broke out" and compare the plays used to free up Yao from the defensive pressure.. They have gotten much mroe creative in how they use Yao....I dont think it is a matter of Yao deciding he was gonna do that as much as the coach figuring out new ways to get it to him....and his teammates getting better at doing the things necessary to get him the ball in a position to score. Of course it doesnt hurt that his shooting has improved....and he seems to be more aggressive on the offensive glass...another factor is that with the other players finally hitting their shots, teams are forced to layoff of Yao.. there are many factors involved in his recent surge....not the least of which is Yao's own mindset.
Damn..I remember that so vividly and I was still in elementary school! Even at that age I was so so mad. Brings back a rather painful memory.
LOL. I love Barkley, but if I ever make a bet that I'll kiss somebody's ass if I'm wrong, and the other guy gives me the out of kissing a donkey, I won't be dumb enough to kiss the donkey on the ass.
I think Bob Sura is a big part of why Yao has improved. Sura showed Yao that he needs to suck it up and play and Yao has done just that. Good example Sura.
