Hi, http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/1735031 Yao's play eye-opening By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Yao Ming's greatest potential might be that he can be artistic, without being pretty as a picture. We've seen the artistic side of Yao, and it has indeed been something to behold -- soft, floating jump shots, graceful moves under the basket, beautiful no-look passes. It's all been so impressive and spectacular. Even Yao has admitted that his rise to superstardom has come quicker than expected. It's been like watching a Larry Bird in his early days, or a young, raw Hakeem Olajuwon discovering something new almost every night he took the floor. Unless you haven't heard half the league humming a few bars of the Yao Ming song, you know there's just something about this kid that makes you want to watch his every move. But if you were watching Monday's entertaining 101-92 victory over the Celtics, you saw something else. You saw the reason the Rockets drafted Yao. You saw why all the Sportscenter-worthy moments Yao has provided so far have been only a nice little bonus, like digging for iron ore and finding gold. "(The Celtics) completely committed to Yao, sending a guy in front and a guy in back of him," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said of the Rockets' throwback performance. "We were having a hard time just getting it in because ... nobody's ever done that with him." It was a throwback not just because both teams decided to shoot the ball -- the Rockets' hitting 50 percent of their shots, and the Celtics 42.4 percent on 33 3-point attempts. It was, because that easily could have been Olajuwon drawing so much attention and so many double-teams on the low post, and Kenny Smith and Sam Cassell knocking down clutch shot after clutch shot. This was the iron-ore side of Yao, not the golden side, shining through. Nothing he did was dreamy or beautiful, except perhaps one nice touch pass to Juaquin Hawkins early-on. But Yao earned every bit of his 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks, walking off the floor with scratches on the backs of both his arms, and teammates slapping his back for a job well done. As much as the Rockets clearly have tapped into a gold mine with Yao's production, flair and personality exceeding all expectations, this is what they hoped to get out of him -- and will need from him, come playoff time. The Celtics' inside presence might not be invisible, but it's close, with less-than-classic big men Tony Battie and Vin Baker manning the middle. They clearly did not want Yao to beat them with a double-double in the 30-20 range. So they doubled-teamed him from the start, as most teams will do in the future, and Yao made them pay by playing big, swinging the ball to the open man on the perimeter and making plays that don't show up on the box score. The heroes of the night were Steve Francis (26 points) and Cuttino Mobley (24), but they knew exactly why the shots were so open and the basket looked so big. "Yao's been consistent with the way he's been playing," Francis said. "That's helped everybody. They were doubling him, tripling him. That opened up a lot of things." Said Tomjanovich: "It was just smart basketball. We just kept saying, `Look in to Yao, get them sucked in, swing it and get 'em on the weakside." Suffice it to say Yao's nicked knee is as healthy as his reputation for being a potentially dominating inside presence. Early on Monday, Yao hadn't even touched the ball in nine minutes of action, but made a difference drawing in the defense, rolling off screens and bringing defenders with him and setting up his teammates for wide-open looks. The Rockets bolted to an 18-10 lead as a result. Through the middle stages when the Rockets led by as much as 15 points, Yao scored most of his points, tossed a pair of assists to Juaquin Hawkins and Francis and earned four of his five blocked shots. Late, after the Celtics pulled to within two points, Yao again was the center of attention, and Mobley and Francis took advantage, combining to score 13 consecutive points from the perimeter and putting away the game. "That's something I should do," Yao said. "In this kind of situation, my best use is to suck in the defense and get open shots for my teammates. "Not only that, but I can get a lot more rebounds. The only thing tonight is, Steve and Cuttino shot so well, I didn't get as many rebounds." Naturally, the Rockets will take the spectacular from this spectacular talent. But that's not what they envisioned when they drafted this 7-5 center with wonderful post moves, keen court vision and great passing abilities. They envisioned this: 10 points, five blocks, six rebounds, two assists and as much a reason for the win as the All-Star caliber guards. Is this guy a homer? What's the opinion of you guys who was watching the game? But I like Yao's quote anyway.
I don't think so. My interpretation of this article is that the writer wanted to say when Rox drafted him, they expected Yao to be a complementry player to Mobley and Francis but Yao exceeded Rox's expectations of him and proved he could be better than that. So when Yao does put up "role player" kind of number, we should still applaud him not bash him because that's just Rox's expectation and what they wanted him to do.
No he's not a Homer, atleast not in this article. Yao was doubled, tripled, and zoned in the first quarter just to not allow him to touch the ball. Even without touching the ball, Yao made some effective picks, rebounds, and blocks. It was also noticeable how Boston was forcing or shooting their layups faster because of Yao's shot blocking. Yao makes a big difference even when he doesn't have the ball or isn't shooting well. He also had some nice passes from the top of the three point line; making quick decisions with the ball to catch the defense sleeping. And as the writer said, Ming was a focal point for Boston's defense: "sucking it in". Alot of what he does is not on the stat sheet and I think that's the biggest compliment a player can get. On certain nights, Ming has had brilliant and complete performances, giving fans a firm conviction that they are witnessing something special. Last night Yao had a solid game that helped contribute to a Win even if the stats don't overwhelm the fans.
