More Yao Video Footage

we are gonna kick @ss with Ming... teamed with Francis, Cat, Griff and a great supporting cast, we are gonna go places... the only thing that should be on the Rocket's mind is WINNING and doing whatever it takes to get there!

Ming's got a hook, a little shake and bake, defense, offense, he can find the open man....

buckle up, fans, HOUSTON IS READY FOR LIFT OFF!!!

 

To me, the three things that jumped out and showed me he can compete in the NBA immediately were:

1. That jump hook. If he masters that, at 7'6", NO ONE will be able to touch it. He already has good footwork on that move and his reach is just sick. The jump hook doesn't require much physical bumping like the spin moves and other low post moves so he could do that against just about anyone right now.

2. The jumper from the right basline over whoever that was (looked more like Mourning than KG to me) is why he can be devastating right now. Notice that in almost every situation he holds the ball up high. No one can get to it there. If he can hit that shot consistently from the side, baseline extended and free throw area, it will be almost impossible to stop. Putting him in the high post has all kinds of possibilities.

3. He is quick to he weak side. Those blocks reminded me an awful lot of early Olajuwon. He has a real instinct for that type of defense.

A couple other observations...

1. The guy has really good court vision. The spin and pass to the corner for 3. The cross-court pass from the post. His instincts about where the opne man is and will be appear, at least from the clips, to be very good. With the kind of talent around him he will have in Houston, he could rack up some assists.

2. He really is physical but not awkwardly so. He got knocked around pretty good. He isn't ready to beat down on anyone and he will probably have a lot of ice around his ribs next season after all the elbows he will get, but it isn't like he was playing with powder puffs. He mixed it up pretty well.

3. I was a little surprised to see as much emotion from him as I did. He looks like a typical NBA player when it comes to responding to plays.

4. He is really quick but not quick enough for the NBA. I can see turnovers in his future this season. He is very quick for a guy his size, but he will really need to be smart also to make that work for him in the NBA. His all out speed is pretty impressive as well. He knows how to make use of those really long strides and doesn't look awkward running. Hell, Olajuwon looked more awkward running than he does.

5. Was it just me or was that a one-handed rebound??? Sweet fancy Moses! I haven't seen that on the Rockets since Otis Thorpe was here.

 

I saw nothing I didn't already know. Ming will be the second best center in the NBA in 2 years as long as you call Duncan a center. The jumper from the right side after the ball fake was over KG. Its the most memorable play for me during that game. KG was right on top of him and Ming just shot like he wasn't there. I don't know anyone in the NBA that can do that to KG. Ming knows no one can block him so he can just concentrate on making the shot. Its like shooting a free throw.

 

that redound looks "evil" . I think I can only grab a tennis ball like that with one hand.

 

Has anyone saw the inbounds plays the lakers run ? All they do is put shaq in the lane and throw it up to him. Instead of all those fancy cuts and zig zags, this is all we have to do when inbounding under the basket. In the lane with no 3sec until the ball is inbounded. Throw it up and let him get it 6ft from the basket. Easy play. Also, teach ming to run down the center of the court and plant right under the basket for early offense and easy baskets ala la. I'm ready!

 

Akeem Olajuwon Part Deux

 

Those highlights are great!!! I just hope you're not using them as a benchmark on how good Yao Ming is. While I'm a pro-Minger, I still am not ready to claim that he'll be successful in his first campaign.

I really liked the fact that he can make low-post plays, and that hook shot of his had me literally drooling. However, it'll still take him some time to implement those in the NBA game.

I think he'll be an effective shot-blocker who'll have to battle constant foul-trouble. He'll hit his shot when he's open. However, I don't think he'll be ready to for Rudy to call plays to him just yet.

I just want to make to sure that you won't be disappointed if Yao Ming takes a lil time to develop that's all.

 

Nice clip Clutch. Thanks. I still have reservations about Yao and don't think he is "can't miss" as some folks here seem to think but I am more impressed with his post game now. There are some things I still think may be a problem for him but I won't interrupt the love fest with any negative observations. Thanks again and I hope by the end of the season all of you guys are able to say "I told you so."

 

Those highlights were unbelievable!!!

There is only one word I can think of when describing that video...


WOW!!!!!

 

After seeing these clips, Yao strikes me more as a Jabbar type than an Olajuwon type. Can one of you who remembers Jabbar's game better than I do to compare the two?

 

A pic I just found.



Look, he can almost dunk on his tip-toes!!

-G'day-

 

Imagine an alley-oop without leaving the ground or tip-ins.

 

This footage definitely changed my views. When I first saw the ESPN workout I saw that he had skills but seemed pretty soft. I later saw some highlights that were alright but I was skeptical because the competition was a joke. I still have some questions but I am much more impressed now. I already knew Ming was better than Collier and had more skills than Cato, but I questioned whether he'd be able to implement them.

First, some of the concerns I have still remain. I don't think he'll deal any better in an 82 game season against much better competition than any other rookie. Secondly, I don't know if he'll be able to stay out of foul trouble. He has definitely proved himself to me offensively, but defensively is still iffy IMO. He got blocks on GP & Carter, but now people know who he is they will take it hard to him. No more finger rolls, only dunks...I don't know how he will handle that because most of the blocks he got are shots that people wouldn't be stupid enough to take anymore. Also, I don't know if he'll have trouble bodying up with players on defense in the post. On offense he doesn't seem to use any force to get his shot off, just his brain and footwork. I definitely think he'd be a great addition, but we still lack a physical presence inside on the defensive end even with him.

Now on to the good things...Wow, that turnaround J on KG was effortless, the play where he pivots on the 3 line and drives and dishes was very impressive, his footwork inside was great and his shot is money. He doesn't really use strength at all to get his shot off, but it doesn't appear he needs to. He has that spin move from the post locked down. He got the up and under, the ugly but effective hook shot that could become unstoppable as well as that jumper. Oh yeah, I was wrong, the fool can pass.

So I go from someone that was slightly anti-Ming, to pro-Ming but not fanatical. I'm not saying he's not going to be ROY or an all-star, but it doesn't seem as ridiculous as it used to.

 

You tell it rH! That animation jazzes me up every time.

My feedback is that my estimation of Ming went even higher than before, though I never had a doubt he was worthy talentwise given the short clips and the NBA scouting reports. Once it became apparent that we were going to be able to draft and keep Ming successfully, I gladly joined the Ming bandwagon.

BTW, I'm keeping my expectations low - if he turns out in the end to be a Rik Smits, that would still be great - he used to foul out Shaq on a regular basis when he was with the Magic.

p.s. Will, I agree. But admittedly I've only seen the young Jabbar on that one game on Classic NBA Games when he was with Milwaukee. Hmmm...that very tall skinny Jabbar guy, he didn't have a long career did he?! And that's the counterexample we should use against those who say Ming is a serious leg injury waiting to happen.

 

He looks like he has a little nasty in him too... hopefully that'll counter the 'soft' talk.

He's not Oakley, but he doesn't look like Charmin Bradley by any means.

 

One thing I like is his shot-blocking is natural, meaning he can block ANYBODY'S shot! Even if you know a shot-blockers coming, it's hard to stop your shot from being blocked. He has thicker legs then I realize, that's a plus when going in the paint. Other then Shaq and Zo, I can't think of a SINGLE center in the recent era to come in who was thick. All the centers were skinny, Hakeem, Robinson, Ewing, Duncan Sampson, they were all skinny. But they were still able to contribute, and learned well their first year. I think Ming will be fine. A Ming/Griffin frontcourt will be unreal. The rebounding, shot-blocking and scoring in the paint will be awesome, even in this up coming year!

 

Obviously that video is great and showcases Yao's talents beautifully.

I'd alos like to get my $0.02 in on the multimedia video with the music and other Rockets players. I just downloaded it. Now that is an awesome video. Why can't the Rockets media people be doing stuff like this? It cries needs to be played at their draft party or on TNT. And some of those Francis dunks on there are sweet - I particularly like the one around the 1:42 mark.

 

Yeah almost everything about that big fella impresses me...but it will only be good if we can draft that guy and put a rockets cap on his head on 6/26/02...the sad thing is time is running out but we are still not sure.....

 

Thanks Clutch. Your Insider Info is definitely trust worthy.