Just when it looked like Ming will have his breakout game ...

Bah, the Rockets and Rudy are doing the right thing. I would like Ming to get more minutes, but we're trying to win. If Rudy gives Ming 25 minutes and the Rockets lose because they're playing and inexperienced Ming instead of Cato who seems like he is routinely putting up 9 points and 12 boards, then Rudy is raked over the coals for not winning and missing the playoffs the last 3 or 4 years. The Rockets are trying to win. Ming will get more minutes when he develops and earns them, the Rockets are in a huge blowout, or the Rockets are winning at such a high clip that they can afford to fit Ming into the game. Right now the Rockets are winning and Ming is fitting into the system.

 

Well, are you saying that scrimaging against Cato is not a challenge for him anymore? That's not what I've heard...

I remember this poll here where people were asked to predict Yao's first year. It looks like the few people who answered "will be Cato's b**** at practice" nailed it.

 

I think Ming is playing better than people give him credit for. It is almost like all of his fouls are like phantom calls...just because he is the number one pick. I get frustrated when officials call a foul because it should be a foul...rather than waiting to see if a foul had been committed...case in point: the Eddie block on Richardson (i think it was him), but it was a great block, but since the official thought it had to be a foul, rather than actually seeing the foul...the nba would be soo much easier for me to watch sometimes. but i know they are human and that is part of the game...but darnit..hehe, let Ming play a little more and STOP picking on him!

IF these dumb calls were not being called (of course, not all of the calls are dumb), he would have more confidence to use his size on defense...and on offense..he doesn't want to go in there and take a lot of shots because he wants his teammates to know that he is a team player...imo.

I wish our team would do that more, this team always gets blown out by teams that pass well...and they do very well when they start passing...so Ming has the right idea...funny how the rookie imo is playing better team ball then some of his veteran teammates.

I think everyone hates to play with ballhogs...it makes it no fun. Unless you are the bog hog, then it is all good!!

 

The Golden State C's would've hammered him anyway, so nevermind.

It's good that he only played 7 minutes. You know what that means? That means minutes of NBA action in 5 or 6 days. That's excellent. He needs the rest. Those 7 minutes were just to see what's going on, take some points about his weaknesses, and work on them. Maybe get some of the jitters out.

I would'ne mind at all if Mnig averaged 15 minutes a game till the All Star break. Then he could come on REALLY strong after the break.

 

with mo coming back next game i could see 10 minutes per for ming on a consistent basis. this will give him rest along with some court time. i'm still confident as ever that he will become an amazing player but it won't be this year. anyways, eddie is a bit too small to guard a big mofo like dampier but a combination of him and mot playing limited center minutes will work when cato is resting.

 

Another possible explanation for his shooting touch is all the body building they are probably having him do. All his muscles will feel different, and until he gets used to that, expect his shooting touch to be a little off. Remember, he has never worked out.

As we have seen in the first few games, he is too weak to hold onto the ball in the NBA and not quite quick enough. These things can be remedied with time and hard work, so let Rudy bring the rookie along the way he likes to.

 

Not only behind Dampier and Foyle,but behind Fortson as well!

 

There is one way to stay out of foul trouble that's not being said:

Play out of it.

When Cato first played with the Rockets, he always tended to get into quick foul trouble. Look at him now.

What Yao needs is to feel comfy and confident about his on court decisions. Worrying about fouls is counterproductive to his mental game.

Give him minutes. A rusty sword is the ones that's rarely used.

 

Someone please tell me what the goal is, to get Yao Ming minutes or to win basketball games?

Yao Ming will come along and develope very nicely. He may not develope as fast as if he were on Denver where he would be thrown into the fire but this way we are winning and Yao Ming may get to taste the NBA post season in his first year.

Let Rudy T bring Yao Ming along at a comfortable pace and stop trying to force the issue. The main objective here is to win 1st and get Yao Ming minutes 2nd.

BTW, Kelvin Cato is playing great so there is no reason to rush Yao Ming.

 

Yao is an offensive weapon. A great shooter. He could have taken a shot anywhere in the perimeter. But I didn't see he had the tendency to do that. Maybe he was instructed not to??

 

Ming played poorly on defense, being passive and can't grab the ball on rebounding, hesitant and out of position on offense. Ming stayed inside the paint a lot, which makes the penetrating game for the guards more difficult. He has to grab a lot of rebounds and score more points to justify it.

Boki played very well in the preseason games. Look how many minutes he's getting.

 

If you value that comparison that much, then consider this :

Cato was getting abused down low by Dampier. Dampier was backing Cato into the paint at will most of that game. No telling what would've happened to Ming battling the beef and physical players the Warriors were throwing out there.

Secondly, it's been mentioned before, but this is basically a 40+ win team that happened to get the #1 pick in the draft. They're not out there to experiment and re-build with a "let them come together" attitude. They're trying to win as much as possible now. A player that knows very little of the NBA, muchless the playbook, and is not showing aggression probably doesn't fit in immediately. He will... eventually. It could be this season or next, but he'll fit in...

 

I've been seein a play develop that could be very lethal with Ming in the game...

Basically Cato will flash out to around the top of the key area and he'll receive the ball. Then he'll look look look look for something, anything, and then pass the ball to who ever is open.

The thing is, when Cato gets the ball at the top of the key, he cannot do anything BUT pass it. With Ming, you have so many more options on the table. First, you obviously have the threat of a jumper, which IMO he really needs to start taking more often. Everything that I've seen leads me to believe Ming's shot is at least as good as Collier's shot... and Collier is given the green light to shoot b/c that's his "specialty". Therefore Ming shouldn't hesitate to shoot the ball in those situations either. In addition, Ming's jumper is much harder to block than Collier's. Then Ming brings much better passing as well, and he can see the floor much better than Cato can. And finally, I believe as Ming gets more comfortable, he can actually drive the ball off of a pump fake or something.

Gutter Snipe brings up a good point... Ming needs to adjust to all the weight training the Rockets have him doing, so his shot will be off for a lil bit. Also, as someone else said, Ming is like a point guard in a center's body in that he <b>looks to pass first</b>, and shoot second. He doesn't want to "impose" so to speak; he wants to fit in with this team and pass the ball well... an attitude that I would like him to keep b/c God knows we don't need another 1 on 1 score only player. He will have to start being a <b>little</b> more selfish however b/c teams will have to start respecting the threat of his shot. All in all, I can't wait until Ming gets comfortable, gets his strength back, and is ready to contribute. Until then, Cato has been doin a fantastic job fillin in for Ming.

 

Personally I'm dissapointed with the lack of playing time for the big guy.

First, I don't believe the gibberish that this is a 40 win team that happened to get the #1 pick. Something happened to this team last year...we lost a crapload of games, and we have yet to show that will change this year. Yes, we're 3-2 but it should be no surprise to anyone that our wins came against crappy team and the two good teams we played beat us.

Second, I haven't seen anything to consistently show that the team performs worse when Ming is in the game. They might have lost a few points off the elad last night, but it is nothing to the 10 point lead they blew when Rudy decided to substitue Cato with Rice in the 3rd quarter and not go with a true center at all.

Third, everyone wants Ming to succeed. Heck, the organization wants us to be part of something big. It is dissapointing going to the games, expecting to see a normal course of developement (Ming gets less minutes and fewer touches on a game by game basis now - way to instill confidence in him ), seeing the exact opposite, and being part of something small?? Yes, its all about winning now, but I don't see that happening with our schemes this year anyway. Maybe we'll sneak into the playoffs or maybe we'll keep playing relatively poorly anyway and barely beat the "scum" of the league while losing to the better playoff teams. Will Rudy play Ming then? Does anyone expect his playing time to increase in any significant portion for the next few months?

 

When we went small, Griffin was guarding Dampier and he was getting absolutely demolished. Cato came in to guard Dampier, and he slowed him down. If Ming would have been guarding Dampier he would have gotten embarrassed. Cato earned all his minutes tonight and then some. Ming did well with his minutes, he'll get more minutes next time. Before Ming didnt even earn the right to sit on the bench. Just because he's the #1 pick in the draft doesnt mean he will get to play, I like how Rudy is making him earn his minutes just like any other player. Get off Ming for a minute and think about the big picture - we want to win games. If Ming had been playing, Dampier would have abused him.

 

Agree, but there is one other way Ming will get more minutes. When the matchups are more favorable. It is no surprise Yao Ming did well against Jelani McCoy & Mamadou N'Diaye. Doing poorly against a healthy and resurgent Eric Dampier is no disgrace...and Adonal Foyle is both strong and fundamentally sound.

The one way I hope Yao Mings minutes don't increase is via injury to another Rocket.

Although it is a delicate balance between winning games and getting minutes for your #1 pick, let's not lose sight of the fact that winning takes some undeserved pressure off of Yao Ming and being part of a playoff bound team keeps his enthusiasm, interest level and desire to learn the NBA game at an optimum.

 

I'll be content "sneaking into the playoffs" for now. Rudy and the others see Ming's game in practice more than any of us do, so I don't know what people expect of Ming. Honestly, the guy looks absolutely lost out there and is getting outhustled and beat on the boards regularly. He actually is thinking out his positioning and placement instead of it coming instinctively. Maybe Rudy thinks it's more of a hindrance on the development of the big man to throw him out there when he's obviously not ready to play yet. Maybe he thinks Ming's lack of NBA knowledge is a hindrance to the team winning. Keep in mind this isn't just a guy who doesn't know the playbook... he's completely foreign to the style of play as well. He also is missing the "nasty" he'll need if he's going to bang down low.

Regarding whether his playing time will increase or not, that's all dependent on him. I'll defer to Rudy on deciding whether Ming's doing well enough in practice or in learning the plays to actually get playing time. If you saw Ming play this past game, you saw him pass up a 15-17 foot jumpshot that I know he can drain. Hopefully during the year he'll take that shot and make himself a threat.

I think everyone's expecting the next Olajuwon... Ming's not that and may never be, but he can be a very good player, and it apparently will take time. I, for one, am willing to wait. It took Kobe, McGrady, etc. a while before they knew what they were doing and they had the benefit of playing in the US.

As for the "be a part of something big" campaign, everybody knows marketing guys' timelines and actual product timelines are rarely in sync.

 

I'm still baffled by those that say Ming isn't playing well now, let's give him more minutes.

I don't believe there has ever been a successful team that rewards more minutes to players who don't perform well.

Usually the better a player does, the more minutes he gets.

I know we all want Ming to progress, but it isn't beneficial to leave a guy out on the court who doesn't know what's going on. At least give Ming time to observe the game, learn the game, learn the defensive rotations, learn what to do on offense, then let him gradually increase the minutes.

 

How many games did the Franchise miss last year?