Last night when he was doubled teamed and still immediately went strong to the basket with no fear he got the call. It was great. This really could be the start of something really good.
I totally agree. The two turnaround/fadeaway jumpers he missed near the baseline in the 4th quarter were NOT forced and low percentage shots, but rather straight from his offensive repertoire. These shots didn't merely hit the front of the rim, which would have been a sign of fatigue for Yao. In fact Yao completely cleared his defender(s) when he took the shots. If he had made them, they would have been a thing of beauty. I hope Yao will not be discouraged at all by these missed shots in last night's game, instead master them to perfection and shoot with zero hestitation whenever such occasion arises.
I never got down on Yao b/c he showed us so much even in his rookie year. There's no doubt that he has made significant progress this year, in confidence and aggression, but I chalk a lot this up to finally having teammates who can consistently get him the ball in a good position to score. I think if this had been the case in past years, his trajectory this year wouldn't look nearly as steep. Coming back from the toe injury at the same time that Alston returned also really played into this.
Yao dominating is starting to become the norm instead of the occasional occurance. People aren't talking about what he could possibly do, they are talking about what he is doing.
"Nauseating" is the word I would use. Hey, I hear Jon Barry is a free agent -- he's a pretty good shot.
It seems his butter finger fumblings have gone down dramatically. Great to see him snatch the rebounds in traffic. The next few years should be exciting.
The thing about Yao is that he has always been a very efficient player. He shot a great percentage, and his per-minute averages were excellent. But you can't project efficient per-minute averages to a 40 minute average and conclude he's a "superstar". I'd say he was at least a "star", because his 32 minutes a game was at least as good as any other player in the league. But he wasn't a superstar at 18 and 9 a game. The difference with this 5 game stretch and actually the whole time since he's come back from injury, is that he's playing big minutes and putting up "superstar" numbers. Since he's been back, Yao is going about 21 and 11, which are Duncanesque numbers. And in the last five games it's 25 and 15 which are out of this world type numbers. Yao's never put up pure stats like this. He's only put up efficient, per-minute numbers that look great when projected to 40 or 48 minutes. I'm most happy, and surpised at the way he's rebounding lately. Even if you just look at how he's doing since he's come back from injury. Yao is averaging over 11 boards a game in 15 games. 15 games is nothing to sneeze at. That is a big enough sample size to really prove something. Yao is rebounding much better than he ever has before. And I've always secretly been disappointed in Yao's rebounding. I understand that he's a one-space rebounder without the lateral quickness to cover a lot of ground, nor the explosiveness to reach the rebounds first. But I always looked at a guy like Deke, who is in no way quicker or more explosive than Yao and wonder how he does it. Well Yao is doing it right now, like Deke. He's getting good position, using his body and elbows to open up space, and finally, FINALLY tipping the ball effectively. Yao isn't just playing volleyball out there, he's tipping with a purpose and getting those boards. Right now Yao is setting the bar. With him producing this way now, I will never accept him regressing. Maybe not 25 and 15, but the 21 and 11 since he's come back from injury is his new benchmark. Yao needs to keep this up, because I and hopefully he will never accept less.
It's just easy for him to score. Pure and simple. He does a good job now to catch the ball and seal off his man. If he continue to be better at it. I dont see a way for anybody to stop him. He is also learning playing multi-teaming, dumping the ball to open player with poise. All the right things a great post player does. Rebounding wise, he is also showing improvment. I wonder if Ewing is taking sometime off and that cause Yao to improve. Imagine, if he can knock down mid-range jumper consistenly like he did in the first year, no reason why a 82% foul shooter couldnt do that. Yao should be our 1st option to open things up. That's going to make Tmac's game easier. Not a kock on Tmac. But with the deline of his physical condition, pressure on him to score as 1st option will shorten his career.
I couldn't agree more. He must have done some serious thinking during his injury when going through videotapes, and finally thought something through. He now understands NBA better including the way players play and the way referees whistle. He is not only a very hardworking player but a very introspective smart guy that always learns. This is a truly wonderful news for Rockets. Imagine when T-Mac becomes burden free, Yao keeps growing in the current direction, and we have the right role players (especially good shooters that can knock down wide open shots), how good Rox will be then ?
Agreed, I wasnt bothered by those two shots at all. A lot of people complained about it, but look those were good shots that he makes more than 50% of time. They were all in-and-out, bad luck, that's all. Sixer got the better end of luck yesterdat. Webber put in a prayer and AI banked in a forced shot. It happens. It happens to MJ, happens to Kobe, happens to Tmac. Keep shooting those Yao next time.
One more thing. I wonder if Yao has an even higher gear. At least scoring-wise. I mean last year, he went one whole month shooting 58% from the field, and another whole month shooting a jaw-dropping 63%. And he was doing it with the exact same shots that don't seem to be falling for him now, turnaround jumpers and jump-hooks. Throughout Yao's career, it always seems to take him a couple of months before he gets into a groove and plays as well as he's capable of. What if his insane play lately is just a precursor to what he can really do. He's in probably the best shape of his life, but it can probably get even better as he continues playing games and he keeps getting into game shape. Just a little bit more energy for him down the stretch, to help him focus can either sustain the "super-duper star" play of the past 5 games, or even push it higher into "MDN" (Most Dominant Now) territory. Just something to think about instead of our dwindling playoff hopes.
A case could be made that Yao's improvement is not the silver lining, but the result of this disappointing season. -forced him realize his importance to the team -forced him to taste total humiliation against the Suns -forced him to realize that things can change fast and you better be ready to take advantage of your situation
It's pretty obvious that Yao is entering his prime. The next five will be his best years and we have to take advantage of it. The primary objective is to get a dependable 3rd scorer who can share the offensive load of our two stars. I am still hopeful that Swift can develop to become our starting PF who provides the defense, rebounding and shot blocking at his position. Our window of opportunity for championships is the next 5 years.
As I said in another thread. First big test coming up will be this Friday against Denver. They outrebounded Detroit: 59-35 on Wednesday night and Camby had: 20rb, 5blks. "Good" thing is Denver's outside shooting is bad too, I HOPE they won't suddenly light it up on this Friday. HOPE I didn't just make a correct prediction. We will see.
Remember Hakeem, he had a sixth gear that he reserved for the playoffs. That is Ming's next logical step; day to day greatness and then take it to an even higher level in the playoffs. Hakeem seemed like he jumped a foot higher in the playoffs, he became truly dominant.
That's asking a little too much from Yao. Although I hope he can do that. I was looking at the jump from regular season stats to playoff stats for some of the players and Hakeem's numbers were off the charts. It was insane actually. Almost all the player's stats drop in the playoffs because of added pressure, coaches preparing to shut down key players, and familiarity with the system to defend players in a series. That is why I think it was remarkable how he took the 93-94 team to championship. The fact that Hakeem was the main focus of almost all the Rockets offense, and everyone knew it, yet no one could stop him, AND his numbers got better in those pressure situations instead of going down. Not just his offense, but his defense too. IF Yao can do the same, he will start tearing the league apart in couple seasons.
Damn right, I'm really lovin' Yao lately. I couldn't agree more on the championship(s), just read the sig - it's happening.
Like I said, I think Yao does have another gear. He's only shooting about .500 from the field right now. That's a big dip from his sophmore year and last year. And it's not like he's taking any harder shots than in the past. Once he gets his killer turn-around J, and jump hook rolling again, the league better batten down the hatches, Ming Kong will be on the loose.
