Let me start by saying that I wish Yao could be a beast like Amare and Shaq, and just take it to 2 or 3 fools camping underneath the basket, but I wont even go there. The thing thats bothering me are these little rebounds Yao gets almost directly underneath the basket, and the he proceeds with a LAYUP!!! from point blank range!!! He goes up with one hand and is usually fouled or sometimes blocked!!! and winds up missing the layup!!! And what could have been an easy dunk and sometimes even a 3 point play, is turned into an embarassment. I mean what is it going to take to get this guy to go up with both hands at point blank range and just JAM a la Shaq's donkey kick dunks!?!?
So far, Yao has poor vertical leap and hands. One also needs stamina to be able to dunk consistently with sonority. All of these Yao lack at an optimum level at this point of his career.
Let me clarify, I am not talking about taking two steps and leaping toward the basket. I am talking about point blank, directly under the rim, put backs. I noticed that when he lays up the ball from this spot, he is already high enough to dunk it, he just needs to use both hands to ensure that the ball goes in the basket. He is alreay 7'6", and I'm pretty sure he doesnt have to jump very high from this spot in order to dunk the ball. A few inches at most. He has made these dunks before, this year he is doing them more often. But when there is 2-3 people camped out under the basket, there is NO reason to follow up with a one hand layup. Even the tinyest player can prevent this shot as I witnessed last night! He hit Yao's arm, forcing him to miss the layup. Sure Yao got two freethrows, but if he would have went up with both hands and dunked, it could have been a 3 point play.
it still takes stamina and leaping ability even though its point blank range.after running up the floor and planying defense movin his feet I just don't think he has the energy or will to want to flish down the basketball.
It's not that easy for a big and slow dude to jump quick. Remember guys like Hakeem or Rodman? When they played, they could jump a couple of times before other black dudes jump once, never mind the slow white guys. Did all coaches require their men to jump as quick, as often like them? It's asking the impossible. Yao is slower than most. Amare is quicker than most. You can't ask him to do the same. When Yao gets an easy rebound, he can jump and dunk but if he was pushing, fighting to get a rebound, his feet are not in the position to support a jump for a big guy. I believe if he stands straight up with hands reaching as far as they can, he is 2-4 inches below the rim. To dunk, he needs to elevate at least 12 inches. If he hunches down, or leans either way, he will need to gather himself to even start. The more I see Yao, the more he looks like Eaton, a little quicker and with more skills. How often did you see that guy jump?
I had the same complaining before, but after watched more closely, I realized that Yao cannot dunk without jumping, and it takes longer for him to bend his knee and jump, so he simply put put the ball back with lay ups, and it is quick that way. He did tried to gather himself for the dunks sometimes, but that often resulted ball stripped away from the smaller guys.
The layup that I saw, I think he could have easily dunked. He had the ball in one hand, and that hand was above the rim. I belive if he had both hands on the ball, he could have easily dunked it. I know Yao doesnt have hops, but he is already 7'6", his arm span has to be enough to where he can almost touch or touch the rim standding on his toes. Do you guys honestly believe it is that dificult him to jump straight up and dunk the ball??? If Yao is ever going to be dominate he must learn to dunk on defenders. I know Amare and Shaq lead the league, and then there is a long distance between Dwight Howard and Yao. Again, Im not looking for Yao to become a dunking monster, but I just cant see why he cant/wont dunk those little put backs. Am I asking too much?
Is JVG a good dunker? Certainly not! Is Ewing a good dunker? Never really seen it. I say it's all coaching staff's fault.
Well Yao trys to dunk but he gets blocked or cant finish the play. Why hes 7 '6? Because the guy just dosnt jump. For some odd reason he just take a little baby jump and expects to slam it down. Jump high so you can, "THROW IT DOWN BIG MAN!"
Even Shaq got stripped all the time when he tried to gather himself under the basket, because there are usually more more than one defenders there. Amare could do that because he was too fast for most big guys to react; Shaq could do that because he was faster than Yao, but more importantly, defenders weren't willing to get too close to him when he was ready to go up, that's a time when you could be seriously injuried. For Yao, players don't have that worry. Things will change fast if he hurt a couple people when he free his mind, not that I want him to hurt anyone.
Dunk = dominance? um...Not. You can be a dominant center in a variety of ways. Can you dispute their domiance: Hakeem (not Akeem), Kareem, Ewing, Walton, Russell, Robinson, Mouning, Mutombo, ... Yao's go-to move should be hook shots rather than Dunks. Granted he's already a league leader in # of dunks, his game should not be limited to dunk only.
I agree with this right here ... Yao can be a dominant offensive player with his hook shot alone. When he is going well he is sure to score many of his points with the little jump hook, but there are other times when he just seems to go away from it. I think he is trying so hard to be "dominant and aggressive" that he goes away from what works best for him. I've been complaining for him to be aggressive and dominant for a long time, but when I say that, I mean I want him to be aggressive in demanding the ball and agressive in taking shots.
I read somewhere that Yao had major surgery on his left leg in 1997 or 1998. He used to be able to jump 2 feet but can now barely clear 1. The same article (it was Chinese) mentioned that he has a short Achilles tendon which impairs his jumping. His smoking habit (6-8 cigerettes a day) doesn't help his general stamina either. I guess when you're 7'6" - freaky things can happen to your body because you are, essentially, a genetic freak. I'm just joking about the smoking.
wasn't there a list posted not so long ago saying that yao was near the top in most dunks this season? yes he needs to dunk more, but im seeing less pansy layups that he used to pull last season. he needs to put more whammo in his blocks too.
yes, Yao was in the top 5, but there was a HUGE difference in number of dunks between Yao and Shaq/Amare. Not that I want him to be up there, or to be dunk only, I just honestly think that he passes up easy dunks for layups. I think if he were to go up with both hands for a put back dunk it would be much harder to miss or block that a single handed lay up. Again, I have seen him do it, so I know he is capable, allthough it takes a bit more energy. Again, I am only talking about directly under the basket. I dont mind seeing him Shanghai Shake, Hook shot, or even shoot mid-range jumpers. I think this would be a simple way for him to improve his game.
IMO it's not about energy or desire. I think he just panic a little bit when he gets the ball under the basket. May be it is because he has been stripped the ball in that position a few times before. Everyone knows Yao is not the quickest basketball player in the world. So instead of having to use the additional split second to gather himself and go up for a dunk, he lays the ball up right away to minimize the chance of a turnover. The tradeoff is that a lay up is not as high percentage as a dunk. So I agree with the thread starter that he can do it. The question is whether he should use the extra split second in order to do it. It's a decision not as easy to make as some people think.
Yao Gets TOO Deep in the Paint That's what I think. Those power dunks we've come to oooh and ahhh over with Shaq usually come a few feet away from the basket where Shaq can pivot, plant, and then BOOM SHAKALAKA. Yao doesn't really take that explosive step or hop to really get some juice into his jump. Don't know if it's b/c he's just too heavy but what I DO know is that when he's so deep in the paint, there's probably little space for him to take a step w/o getting away from the hoop. At his size, Yao should be measuring his steps and getting ready to dunk from anywhere just beyond the "blocking" circle. Yao can easily extend and dunk over most centers in this league. He just needs better footwork. I also think Yao may suffer from a little lack of confidence b/c he's been blocked before by shorter centers. Pulling the ball down into his chest, while normal, also costs Yao some seconds. With his layups, he goes straight up with the ball. What Yao needs though is a few "power" jumps where he literally powers his way up and through an opposing center. This is where Yao needs to get stronger. JMHO. theSAGE
