Yao played in 52 games this season so far, and if you look at his stats grouped by min he played...... 17 games over 35 min: 21.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg; 18 games between 30-34 min: 20.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg; 17 games below 30 min: 13.2ppg, 6.4 rpg.
You could make many assumptions from this. I believe what it shows is that when he is ineffective and/or showing signs of fatique Gundy sits him for long periods of time.
Yao is a 20/10 guy.. maybe more... only fouls and fatigue are holding him back... thanks for the stats
If Yao managed to AVG 35+ mins per game and avg 21.8/10.5.. Only shaq would be above him (playing Center)... in those categories
VEry true. Obviously he is a 20/10 guy now... if only he can play at least the regular mins of a starter in the NBA. Star players like KG play almost 40 mins a game. The thing is we want to keep him fresh for the playoff.
If we can win with Yao averaging 31-32 min a game in the regular season, that's great. However, he needs to up his average to 38-40 min in the playoff for us to have a chance to advance.
2004-05 Regular Season Efficiency Rating Per 48 Minutes Efficiency Formula: ((PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK) - ((FGA - FGM) + (FTA - FTM) + TO)) / G Player G EFF48 1. Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) 54 39.86 2. Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) 51 35.99 3. Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) 54 35.07 4. Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) 50 34.45 5. Shaquille O'Neal (Miami Heat) 53 33.96 6. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) 49 32.89 7. Chris Webber (Sacramento Kings) 45 31.53 8. Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns) 51 31.46 9. Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns) 54 31.04 10. Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) 52 30.64
Most of those bad games occur in 2004. Obviously he still plays less than 30 min in blowouts (against Phily) or when he is limited by foul trouble (against Pacers on the road) even if he is very effective on the court. BTW, I got the stats from a friend via email. Thought it was interesting and wanted to share with you guys.
Yao ming was like 7th in efficiency per 48 last year. The point is we know he is good, but HE needs to find a way to stay on the floor.
I agree...if he could stay in all of those overtime games and one of them was a double OT from last year's Hawks game, there's no reason why he can't play more minutes. Its obviously a foul problem the reason JVG don't play him much, not b/c he gets tired.
Fatigue is still his #1 problem no matter how anyone slices it. He plays very little because he gets winded very easily. He commits some unwarranted fouls in part because of fatigue as well. He doesnot rebound well consistently in part because of fartigue issues. He does not finish strong consistently in part because of fartigue issues. Call it whatever - Yao #1 problem is tiredness/fatigue/low stamina. I believe with time it will continue to improve. Yao is learning more and more how to push himself even when the tank is empty at least for now. I hope the offseason training program with Faizone continues just like last summer's. I also percieve that JVG is doing a great job in managing Yao's stamina during games.
i dont think its all fatigue and foul trouble thats keeping his minutes down. i think alot of it has to do with jvg wanting mutombo out on the court for his defense...theres no question that the rocks improve defensively when mutombo steps in for yao and given that jvg is a defense first coach he tries to play him as much as he can w/o hurting us on offense which is usually like 15-17 min/game
I agree. Yao's minutes this year is even less than last year even though his stamina appears better than last year. Motumbo plays a big role here. Some nights Motumbo played out of his mind, so JVG left him on the court longer. Yao's flu, Montumbo's presence and Yao's foul trouble are bigger reasons than Yao's stamina.
Yao's stamina does not seem to be a big problem this year. JVG is doing a great job in not allowing Yao play big minutes and thus get burned out during the regular season. He usually leaves Yao on the bench whenever there's a blow out or when Mutombo was playing well. I think it's a great idea to keep Yao's minutes down during the season as long as we're winning. And it also kept Yao fresh and effective when he's most needed in close games situations.
