It didn't, so call me a troll if you wish. I do not think Yao's foul trouble isn't in JVG's priority list. I agree Yao's foul trouble is legitimate and amongst other problems, at this point of time, it hurts our team most since we need him to score for us on the court. So basically I am fine with JVG calling this out. Hmmm, perhaps not so fine with Yao being the first player bashed by JVG in this season. I disagree that it was only Yao "doing things wrong" to get into his foul trouble, the officiating, Yao's physical condition, even JVG's assignments were questionable to me.
I don't know, it seemed like last year that Yao just started letting a lot of things go around the basket. He basically just put up a lot less resistance so he could stay in the game. He was able to do this because the games meant nothing and there wasn't any pressure to win. Now it's a new season, with new pressure. Hopefully he can pick his spots and maybe let a basket go here and there so he can stay on the floor.
As long as the sloppy defense keep letting opponent driving into the paint, Yao is going to get into foul trouble easily or he can stand still and let them score like Shaq
i like bonzi. i know he's not quite there yet but you can see what he's capable of. reminds me of barkley(pre-rockets of course). and i like his attitude with the media. i wouldn't talk to them either. you know their sole intention would be to make him out to be a chump.
JVG is best at bashing Yao, period. There is ONLY one player with the profile like Yao in this league can stand this kind of bashing from coach game after game. Just unbelievable.
He's not the first player bashed by JVG. That's the second false statement you've made in this thread. Seems to me you just have some sort of grudge against the coach. Van Gundy never said it was his sole responsibility. But he has to do a better job, and be smarter. That's obvious, and Yao would agree.
jopatmc: great post. i like the "out of the box" thinking. as others have already pointed out, jvg has been keeping yao in the game regardless of early foul trouble. part of that may be a "protest" of sorts vs the league. more likely, though, is that he is trying to exhibit trust in yao to utilize his fouls more judiciously. my main complaint with yao is the ticky tack reach in and reach over fouls. those drive me nuts. damnit, if you are going to foul someone, FOUL THEM. at 7'6", every foul that yao commits should do physical damage to the opposition. PHYSICAL DAMAGE. that way, opposing players are not so carefree on their jaunts to the rim. how many players do you see that challenge shaq at the rim? ZERO. the reason is simple: they do not want to get hurt with a hard foul from a huge man. yao adopting that mentality would cut down on the # of fouls he gets because their would simply be less physical confrontations. that also means players would be taking lower % shots against the rox, because with every foot you go away from the rim, the lower % shot you are taking. i also would like to see chuck hayes take this outlook. he is an undersized post defender (although the best one on the team), so i would like to see him dish out some hard fouls, as well. i just think we have too many, as jvg says "milk drinkers" in the paint. yao being the biggest "milk drinker" of them all. we need some "knife fighter" in yao (and chuck)...especially defensively.
Absolutely agree. If you're going to foul, hammer them. They'll think twice about challenging you the next time.
Who's that poor guy? I don't understand your arguement at all, perhaps I don't understand English. This is JVG's statement: I think it is always safe to argue what one had never said? For argument sake, can I say "Van Gundy never said it was not Yao's sole responsibility" either? I was just trying to state my opnion there, I may not doing it well due to my poor English standard, but if 2 out 4-5 fouls were bogus calls on Yao, there is more than "Yao doing things wrong" to me.
The overwhelming majority of Yao's legit fouls are those stupid reach fouls. The other few legit fouls are when he is actually going for the block in crunch time and once in a while he moves into the shooter or is not vertical. The rest of the fouls called on Yao (almost half) are not legit. They are bogus calls by officials that do not officiate him correctly, that have a desire planted in them by the league office to keep games close and competitive, to increase viewership and revenues.
Still the same old Van Grumpy. Surprise? Remember last season after we lost a game JVG publicly critized Yao's didn't play defense enough while Yao had a monster game with 36 pts and 8 rbs, or something like that. I guess what JVG really mean was because Yao didn't foul out so he must didn't play good defense.
JVG seldom had a good thing to say about anyone last year. It wasn't just yao. For a while there I wondered if we should start calling Gundy Eeyore. Becuase he couldn't find a positive in anything. I think that's just his coaching method, trying to keep his players "humble" There's no doubt that both Chuck and Yao need to work on fouling less. JVG doesn't need to say it to the media for all of us to realize the truth of it.
I understand your frustration however: How long have you been watching NBA? Nobody challenge Shaq at the rim?
he should more worried why rox failed to win even if they were down only a couple of points during the 4th quarter against utah and NO seems like he's more worried about Yao staying in the game and scoring 30+ points every night and build a sizable lead so he doesn't have to worry about the team executing during the 4th quarter
Maybe, or maybe not. For a person who might be too 'humble' like Yao, is it necessary to make him more 'humble'? Did we including JVG always complain about Yao's lack of aggression? Why the hell suddenly Yao need to be more 'humble'? Start from when Yao get this trash-talking, arrogant big mouth image?
Yeah, in today's NBA everybody challenges Shaq and Yao at the rim......because they know they are going to get the call if they just get contact. Doesn't matter who created it, or what position Shaq and Yao are in or whether they are vertical. The call goes against them and the whistle blows regardless. The officials don't even make it a noncall. They blow the foul on the big man regardless. There is no longer the principle of the vertical plane in the NBA.
The most annoying fouls from Yao are the over and back fouls. Those are avoidable and out of frustration most times when he misses a hook shot and tries to get his own rebound.
Look around the league, Yao isn't the only big man getting into foul trouble. Notice a recurring trend? http://www.palmbeachpost.com/heat/content/sports/epaper/2006/11/02/1102heat.html Early foul trouble continues to dog O'Neal By Chris Perkins Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Thursday, November 02, 2006 MIAMI — In the Heat's season-opening loss to Chicago, center Shaquille O'Neal continued a troubling trend from last season: getting into early foul trouble. He picked up two quick fouls and played just 24 1/2 minutes, finishing with seven points. O'Neal frequently had foul problems in the playoffs this spring and three times was held to single-digit scoring. In the past, he scored fewer than 10 points only about once a year, on average. Fans at AmericanAirlines Arena will be watching closely tonight to see if he can bounce back against the New Jersey Nets, whom Miami eliminated from the playoffs the last two years. O'Neal, 34, is aware of questions regarding his declining numbers, but says he ignores them. "It's something I never really look at," he said. TNT analyst Steve Kerr, who worked the Bulls-Heat game, offered a couple of reasons. "The two things that have hit him the last couple of years are, No. 1, age, and No. 2, the allowance of the zone (defense), because now teams can defend him before he gets the ball." Kerr also said that new rules on defense — specifically the elimination of hand-checking on the perimeter — favor quicker players, which could be a catalyst for O'Neal's defensive fouls. "Guys are getting to the rim faster," Kerr said. O'Neal averaged 3.9 fouls per game last season, his highest total since averaging 4.0 as a rookie. In the 2004-05 season, his first with the Heat and the first year hand-checking on the perimeter was outlawed, O'Neal averaged 3.6 fouls per game. That tied for third-worst in his career. O'Neal likes to say that he can switch to a "finesse game" when necessary, but guard Gary Payton said Shaq needs to be even more careful. "When you know you've got two fouls you've got to start to adjust your basketball game, and that's what I think Shaq needs to do," Payton said. "He needs to ... keep himself in the game, pick his spots." In the NBA Finals against Dallas, O'Neal had foul trouble and fewer than 10 points in Games 2 and 6. Combined with the opener, that means O'Neal has encountered both problems three times in his last six games. Still, Payton is confident that O'Neal will begin dominating again soon despite the disappointing opening game, a 108-66 blowout by Chicago. "Everybody was emotional," Payton said of Game 1, which was preceded by the defending champions' ring ceremony. "It was one of those things. (O'Neal) wasn't thinking a little bit and I think he knows it. I think he knows what he does and I think he'll be in the games more." ---------------------------------------------------- http://www.rotoworld.com/content/pl...ngnews.asp?sport=NBA&id=243&line=70157&spln=1 Mourning struggles in Shaq's stead Alonzo Mourning started in place of injured Shaquille O'Neal on Sunday, but failed to record a block. He had just six points and two rebounds, and was saddled by foul trouble for much of the game. If Shaq is going to miss time with his knee injury, Mourning should be a nice source of short-term blocks. ------------------------------------------------------- http://slamonline.com/online/2006/11/the-day-with-philly-and-atlanta-on-top/ ATLANTA 95 ORLANDO 82 The Hawks held the Magic to 11 points in the first quarter in this battle for future supremacy of the Southeastern division. Dwight Howard was in foul trouble and only played 24 minutes. Carlos Arroyo picked up what slack he could, going 9 for 9 from the field. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 31, Zaza chipped in with 17, and Lang is celebrating because the Hawks are in first place and above .500 for the first time since 2002. ----------------------------------------------------------- http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix1026,0,1092568.story?coll=ny-main-bigpix Thomas' reasons for trying to motivate Curry also have short-term importance. With Curry's history of getting into foul trouble and injuries to Jared Jeffries, Jerome James and Malik Rose, Thomas sees a dearth of effective big men on his bench, a notion that was underscored by the signing of backup Kelvin Cato Wednesday.
