"You're aware that he's there," Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett said after a recent meeting. "But you don't go in there thinking, `I'm going to change my shot.' If anything, you are going to try to put it down his throat -- try to dunk on him or something like that. "If I drive to the basket, if he's there, he's there. I'm not the least intimidated." This is from a Miami Heral article. If you see that last few games that they have come at Yao hard and strong: Miami, Detroit and Memphis, we have lost each of those and Yao has been taken out of the game mentally and physically. When I see Yao Ming at 7'6 325 pounds getting slammed in the face by Lamar Odom, when I see Brian Grant clutching his jersey and throwing him down without a call, I think I get more pissed of than Yao is. When Brendan Haywood threw Yao down, Yao responded "He was just protecting his basket". Lamar on two or three occasions fouled him damn hard, but just not enough to have a flagrant called. Do you think he would do that if Yao had gotten up with all 7'6 and 325 pounds of him and stepped in face and told him he was gonna get beat if he tries that again? The comment from KG tells me that there is no intimidation by Yao. If they take it up strong against Yao either they'll dunk on him or he'll give them a light foul. If someone tries to throw it down on your head you knock that person to the ground. They will respect your defense and caution when they enter the lane. I know that he is still 'new' to the US and is still not completely comfortable, but unless he makes that mental transition, I don't think he will ever be THAT dominant. I liked that the guys got pissed and that Kelvin Cato had to be restrained and got a tech for their play, but Yao needs to step up himself. The reason Karl Malone gets every call is because he whines like a bit*h on every play. I don't want Yao to do that, but he should yell a bit and tell the refs if he's being clobbered. He seems to be getting it much more lately in terms of asserting his offense from anywhere, but the increase in offense is more him shooting from outside as well. While I like that he is a threat out there and that its saving energy, he needs to intimidate on defense more.
Funny how KG talks to the newspapers like he's all tough, but if i'm remembering things correctly, Yao made him badly alter a shot of his in the paint. Also, KG did not go right at him inside, and ended up with under 20 points. Yao affected the game enough for us to win, and KG didn't dunk on anybody. Hard fouls are gonna happen if they can't stop a player. Shaq is big and scary, but that doesn't mean they don't foul him hard. Odom hacked hard on the ball, and ended up hitting Yao's arm and head as well. Yao got up and made 2 free throws. He kept his cool and went about his business. If the foul is flagrant, the refs will call it as such. There is no need to go throw sucker punches when the opponent has his back turned. Tim Duncan's never gonna punch somebody after a hard foul, yet he intimidates within the confines of the game, as Yao has been doing the past several games. You can use untruthful quotes as your central argument, but it comes down to Yao's teammates stepping up when they have the opportunity. Sure, schmucks like Ira Winderman can write articles about how Grant's physical play took Yao out of the game, or you can actually watch the game. Yao drew 3 defenders for most of the night, and not a single Rocket could hit a frickin jumpshot. Not a single Rocket could make a decent lob pass to the big man. Sure, it was a physical game, but I could see that Grant was taking just as much punishment as Yao. After one of Yao's strong moves, Grant fell over in pain, and struggled to get back up. Look at Jeff Foster's face while running back up the floor on offense. Same thing for Andrew Decleurq. Yao does not need to get in someone's face to intimidate them.
U should've read comments from Tracy McGrady after the Magic game. No, seriously, Yao is getting better, even mentally. Read some of his comments after games and from the Sina website that many Chinese bbs members post. Even in the Chronicle he is saying he is looking to attack first before the other team attacks him. And Yao is getting a little more physical. Did u see the look he gave ZaZa when he fouled him hard? Against Grant, it was more the fronting defense again that killed him. When he was 1 on 1, or had good looks, he made shots. B.Grant didnt have much to do w/ it then. 1 on 1, Yao can do anything he wants with u. How is B.Grant gonna stop that turnaround jumper on a 7'6 guy? And dont think Yao has to back every one down and dunk on them. Hakeem almost never did that. On single coverage, he would go w/ that jumphook or dreamshake. On double teams, he would just fade away. What Yao needs to be aggressive with is taking more shots. Finding ways to take more shots, even w/ the double team. U cant take 6 shots when teams double. Yao has to get better at not getting intimidated by double teams and hard fouls. Instead, he should give some of his own
