Its time for Yao to step up or sit down!

if my understanding is correct, you actually mean whether our role players step up or not. if they can make open shots created by yao or know how to fully utilize the twisted opponent defense (like scola laid up 3 shots in similar way in the last game), we will win some games.

 

Absolutely ... is Yao a man or a mouse?

I'd bet mouse .... Prove me wrong, Yao!

 

yao will dominate like it's 2006!

 

Yes, Yao will create fine, his teamates have to take advantage, he is not like Tmac who can create his own offense.

Yao needs to have shooters around him to succeed.

DD

 

you have to give a reference to say whether he is man or mouse. you have to give something, such he score 50 pts, rox win, or something else.

 

If we had to play 41 games (half a season) without Ron and Tracy, my guess is we would win about 15-18 games with Yao and the current supporting cast.

 

18-23....Nah.....with Yao...and if Brooks and Wafer continues to play well, I think they would go about 25-16.

DD

 

I don't know how this is even really debatable. People expect the best players to step up in the absence of other good players on their team all the time. It's pretty basic in sports.

I'm sure the only reason people are outraged is because leebigez is perceived as a Yao hater.

 

They are currently 5-6 w/o McGrady. 25-16 is a reach don't you think?

I say with Ron healthy and no TMac the Rockets could conceivably win a 1st round series depending on matchups.

Without Ron and TMac, the Rockets don't make the playoffs. The West is too tough.

 

"No excuses about lack of talent"
errr... TMac, Ron and Shane were all injured. Von Wafer is our starter and yeah we are not lack of talent.

 

You know what,sometimes nothing seems right to you

 

this thread is unbelievable. it's an absolute setup for a no win situation for yao. with expectations like this, i don't see how he can pull this off and still look good. look at who they're playing in the next 4 games... lakers, denver, utah and heat. without a second scorer, it's going to be a miracle if we take half of the games. and i mean a real, bonafided consistent scorer. no, i don't mean waffer, scola, ab or landry. a second banana all-star putting up at least 15pts per game to help out, not just a role player with a some great games.

here's my prediction:

-yao will have some bad moments but pulls up 20+ points in most games.

-someone besides yao (likely waffer or scola) is going to score around 14-18pts with some highlights plays. he's declared to be the player of the game. the board is going to demand he get the max contract. all this while ignoring yao's 20pt 10rbs.

-rafer shoots something like 4-13 but we're too sensitized to it, so it's just rafer being rafer.

-scola turns the ball over about 3-4 times and gives up 6pts because of shooting fouls. yao's t.o.'s are more noticeable because they're done in slow motion, but still...

-rockets are going to lose and yao gets declared soft and this board goes crazy.

tmac in his prime couldn't alone with this crew against such teams. he would've put up 30pts but would've still lost. everyone has already admitted he's got faults and that he's no shaq or lebron. it's been a year since i've heard yao been called a SUPER star(when he was consistently putting up 25pts before the injury). why put him in a situation he can't win? there are other ways to point out his so called "softness" or whatever.

 

So you are saying we are a 50-win team in the West without Tracy and Ron for an entire season? Seems way far-fetched to me.

 

Here's the thing. What if Yao doesn't have a big game, but plays efficiently on both ends of the floor? What if he draws double and triple teams, thus getting open looks for his teammates? The double teams and the open shots don't show up on the stat sheets. Shoot, he won't even have many assists since the kick-out isn't the best available shot.
If he plays like that within the system and facilitates the offense, would he still have to "sit down?" Under JVG, Yao looked to score alot more. I think Adelman wants a more team-oriented offense.

 

I think or I would say I hope Coach A's system and players do not rely on TMac as much as JVG's.

You look at JVG's team: hayes/howard/battier/wesley/deke/head/alston ... those guys could not do anything without TMac.

This team is totally different, Landry/Scola/Wafer/Brooks/Artest, they can all do something with the ball, especially Brooks. The reason we won that Boston game was because Brooks drew so much defense attentions that Yao had room to operate. If it's old JVG's system, no way we won that game.

This is a good thread that related to most TMac's threads. I think the reason TMac is not happy is that this new team does not rely on him as much as JVG era and it goes further and further in that direction.

 

In what? Do you honestly think Yao is holding back? That he doesn't work hard enough?

He's not going to will himself into having above average lateral quickness. He has nothing to do with the fact that most refs still allow defenders to carry out hate crimes against him with no call.

He can improve in areas - mostly in establishing early, deep position. But he can't just flip some imaginary switch and become the BBS' pipedream.

Let's not get too carried away about the quality of this bunch.

Again, we're trying to replace around 40/12/8. There's no way on the planet Yao could even average that, let alone replace it on top of his own 19-9.

Yao needs to give us a reliable 22-10. Scola needs to give us a reliable 15-10. Brooks and Wafer need to be able to chip in at least 12 a night. Landry, Barry, and Head could stand to greatly increase their contributions. Rafer will feel the urge to become our #2 scorer, but that typically results in his infamous 4-16 shooting nights. He has to be an efficient scorer and focus on getting others involved.

Maybe Dorsey stuns and explodes onto the scene.

But again, looking for Yao to do it all himself is foolish. McGrady wasn't averaging 30 a night in his absence last year. In fact, he scored 30 points only 5 times with Yao gone last year - and only once in the postseason.

For those yelling that McGrady stepped up when Yao went down - don't be hypocritical and insist Yao start ringing everyone up for 30.

Evan

 

I think you and a bunch of other posters are right. Shoot, I'd be happy if Yao is aggressive and doesn't give every other ball slapped out of his wimpy hands.

 

I am just concerned that his minutes, which will surely increase, won't create foot problems. That would be pretty much the end of the TMac/Yao era.