well steve always plays hard and yet he is bashed relentlessly. cuttino always plays hard and he is bashed even more relentlessly. as for the statement, lets just assume it was true and go from there. the kobe part was humor, the other part is exactly the thing that would get steve and cuttino ripped. he basically said w/o shaq we could play more relaxed. now he very well could've meant there wouldn't be a circus atmosphere around the game and thus we didn't have to be all nervous and anxious about the game. but rest assured, if steve/cat said that it would've been taken as "they suck and we don't have to try as hard against them" which people view as one of our biggest problems all year. as for insider's post. cuttino shot 20% for like a 3 game stretch, not the year. how is steve arrogant for scoring 44 and then having a bad shooting game? so what if yao didn't contribute to the loss, his statement was his statement. steve often doesn't make us lose but there are often "getting it" posts and such after every loss. and yao is not our most consistent player.
I think Yao misses some of his shots on purpose because he doesn't want to embarrass his teammates. And he wants to be accepted, not resented.
Apollo Creed You are trying too hard; let it go. And by the way, Yao has an interpreter and we all know it is not easy to translate English figuartively and literarily. Of course Yao was relaxed - Yeah he was relaxed enough to be a factor in the game. "Relax" a bit more Yao.
i think francis 4 prez is reading too much into the statement and even if it were true. yao didn't make any serious dumb mistakes during the game. when steve and cuttino say something stupid, they make it perfectly clear for the other team. like when they dissed the mavericks by saying they respect the mavs, just like they respect bulls and like when say how the mavericks aren't **** since they beat them all the time last year. they make it perfectly clear. that's why they deserve bashing. they motivated the other team by doing that. if they ever talk **** about the knicks like that. the knicks will come out and kick their a$$ also. yao didn't say nothing that obvious or make crucial mistakes down the stretch in the game. that's why he didn't get bashed. he does get criticized so don't even act like he doesn't get his share of criticism. in that mavs game, in the 2nd half, the team obviously played no defense. leaving everybody wide open and when yao missed his first shot in the second half, francis automatically decided to try to find another option, since yao missed a shot. face it, francis has made some stupid decisions because he doesn't trust his teammates. when francis misses 11 shots, does yao stop finding the open man. he still finds a way to pass the ball to steve and get him points. that's the difference dumba$$.
continued from above, read statements above if you haven't read it. also about his statement about relaxing a little more since shaq wasn't there. it could also be interpreted as not having to think about ways to guard shaq. its not easy guarding shaq you know. really what he said is being blown out of proportion by some overzealous francis fans. what yao said is like a compliment to shaq. he didn't do something like cuttino did by saying we respect the mavericks like we respect the bulls and you know the mavericks read that quote in the newspaper and they were motivated. did yao motivate shaq to play or the other team to play better. kobe was unstoppable. he was like jordan. you can't do nothing about that. he's been doing this to every team in the league. some people just try to find things to complain about yao. the guy is a rookie. rudy t doesn't give him the ball late in the game and benches the guy occasionally because he doesn't want to put too much on yao's shoulders yet. rudy t treats his players like babies. he needs to give his players an opportunity to prove themselves sometimes. but he doesn't always do that. instead, he gives it to steve and cuttino which isn't always the best option. francis is reliable if you need a three pointer to tie the game. no question. but when francis has a bad shooting day like he did against the lakers, rudy t needs to get the ball to someone who's hitting his shots. anybody, yao or even terrence morris. that guy can shoot. eddie griffin is also a better option than cuttino in the low post. and about your statement about yao not being the team's most consistent player. just look at his fg percentage, his assists, and his blocks. sure he went through a brief rookie wall period, but i heard that he lost weight so he was kind of fatigued at the time. but he's back at 301 now and he's playing better, so it's not like he isn't consistent. he cut out the commercials and now he's playing better. he's not perfect, but nobody on that team is. i repeat, yao is not perfect. i think some overzealous steve francis fans think people think yao can't do no wrong or something. that's not what people think, if anything, and i repeat, yao is the most scrutinized rookie that i have seen in recent years. but even though yao is not perfect, he is 7 foot 6 you know and he is the team's best low post option and best offensive option because again when you're 7'6, you don't need to shoot the ball, you can just lay it in.
also if yao isn't consistent, how come he leads the team in doubles doubles and how come he's usually the only one getting triple teamed. duh. cause he is the most consistent player on the team. he's not perfect, but he is consistent.
