On the ESPN Rockets Clubhouse page, there's a quote by Yao that's interesting: "I figured we could be a little more relaxed without him on the court. Maybe next time Kobe won't play.'' You know, if Steve or Cuttino or even Rudy had said something like that, they'd get bashed mercilessly. Don't you think Yao deserves criticism for coming out with a lackadasical attitude? Well, I don't really. But I just wanted to point out that no one ever seems to jump on Yao's back when they would someone else's.
The subtext on the site is says that was his response when asked about the game. And as far as humor is concerned, even if it is, you don't think if someone else had said it they'd get flamed?
"I figured we could be a little more relaxed without him (Shaq) on the court. Maybe next time Kobe won't play.'' He was being sarcastic....
Yes, as was the title of this thread. Ah hell. Close it thread, I don't think anyone gets what I was going for.
Man, they gotta get Yao a bigger chair. He looks like an adult trying to sit in on a kid's tea party.
apollo, there's a reason for that. yao didn't contribute to the loss. that's why he wasn't bashed. he was the only one on the court in that game actually playing well and hitting clutch shots(the two free throws to send the game into OT and 24 points). the questionable foul calls on yao led to the loss, but that's not his fault, that's the ref's fault. also he is the team's most consistent player and usually makes good decisions on the court. making a statement saying he thought he could be a little more relaxed and coming out and still scoring 24 points (plus 14 rebounds plus a couple of assists finding open teammates) and hitting on half of his shots and coming up big late in the game is hardly any reason to criticize him. if he said that, and shot like steve then he would have deserved criticism. but of all those people being criticized yao is the only rookie and i'm not saying he's perfect, but he actually doesn't deserve much criticism. it's not like he doesn't play hard. steve, cuttino, and rudy have all done questionable things on the court that deserve bashing because they turned easy wins into losses. i'm not one of those people who bashed them, but they do deserve some of the criticism they're getting. also it's not like yao never gets criticized. sportscenter disses him whenever it gets a chance showing that kobe dunk over him relentlessly and cutting out yao's highlight return dunk in response. sports shows on espn also question whether yao hit the rookie wall every chance they got and also said teams allegedly figured him out and that he would be the bust that he truly is. if anything, no other rookie has been bashed and criticized as much as yao has. so for you to question whether yao doesn't get enough criticism is one of the most r****ded statements posted on this board. no offense. francis deserves criticism because he doesn't always trust his teammates and when he does that, he plays one on one and ignores the rest of his teammates and results in turnovers and doesn't he lead the league in turnovers. also francis is a arrogant player. he scores 44 in his last game against the lakers and then comes out and does what, shoots like john starks did in that famous performance of his against the rockets in the nba finals. he had so many bricks, i thought he was building the new houston arena. if he hit half of those shots, the rockets would have won the game against the lakers. francis is the so called leader of this team. that's another reason why he's being criticized. yao isn't the leader. he's just a rookie. mobley deserves criticism because he misses open shots on a consistent basis and also makes bad decisions on the court. he's shooting something like 20% i think i heard that on a rockets broadcast today. therefore he deserves it. he takes more shots than yao and scores less. also shoots a lower percentage and misses shots at the end of the game instead of finding the 7'6 giant yao who could just lay the ball in. rudy t deserves criticism because he makes excuses for his players saying they're the youngest team in the league and he feeds the already enormous ego of some of his most arrogant players by giving them excessive compliments that they don't really deserve. i think i remember reading an article where they said rudy t said michael jordan couldn't even guard cuttino mobley because of mobley's quickness. i also remember reading an article that quoted rudy t saying steve francis has the talent to be the best to ever play his position. francis is not a true point guard and hasn't even led his team to the playoffs and yet here he is giving him the praise that some hall of famers don't even get. i also remember an article that quoted rudy t saying what yao said. yao said, coach you don't need to give me special treatment and rudy t said that's how i treat all my players. i guess he's not used to that. that in itself shows that rudy t is not pushing his players to play hard enough or getting them mentally prepared to compete in the game.
Remember earlier in the season Yao said something like 'It is easier to win against a better team than a lesser team?' And most people on this board did not know what he meant... This time, Yao was simply repeat that like "I told you so!" Yao does have 100+ IQ.
can you guys read the whole story before posting anything? It went on like this in a Yao interview: "how do you feel today playing Lakers without shaq?" Yao:" yeah, it supposed to be easier for us but, hopefully Kobe will not be there too next time around."
Man that picture breaks my heart, how could you give a guy like yao Ming heat? Did you see him play that game, he played his @ss off and kept us in it, what else do you want? The team is obviously in distress, I think that it would certainly help to give support rather than further distressing the team. Fan consensus is very important to a team and the home-court advantage has not been a real one as far as crowd-support goes. Poor guy , and Steve too, they both are having as tough a time as anyone and people choose to bash them, sad indeed .
Completely agreed. I'm not gonna bash Rockets if they play hard. I don't care about the result, just play hard, that's all we ask for.
Man Yao looks really down after losing that game. I like that, somebody on the friggin' team actually cares. I also like the fact how he's the last one to leave. Sometimes I think the rest of the team doesn't care any more. Are SF and Cat gonna turn us into the next Clippers? All for contract and ESPN highlights and nothing else.
