first off, I'm pumped about tonight's game. I'm going to be there, and I can't remember when there was this much excitement about a Rockets game. it's cool. now, my concerns. . . 1) I think shawn bradley's resurgence this year has everything to do with yao ming. all summer long, about 10,000 times, shawn bradly heard some variation of this: "wow, is yao ming going to be decent/good/worth living, or is he going to be like shawn bradley?" feel free to disagree, but I think every man has his breaking point, and I think shawn got sick of hearing this this summer. I think he decided that he didn't want to be known for the rest of his life as the worst #1 overall pick in the history of mankind. and he's playing like he wants to change all that. now, it's nothing personal against yao. to my knowledge, yao ming has never said anything one way or the other about the praying mantis. but I'm betting that shawn bradley will come out tonight with the biggest chip on his shoulder of his whole career with an intention to prove that he's not the worst 7'6" center in the league. 2) this game has got an inordinate amount of hype on it for being this early in the year. because of the Mavs' undefeated record, because of the already present hype about yao to begin with, because of the even greater degree of hype that comes with barkley's bet, and then finally because of the natural hype that comes with any houston/dallas rivalry. . . the spotlight will be as hot as its been for yao tonight. based on his improved play, I don't know if he'll rise to the occasion or not. I hope he will. I'm more hopeful he will based on his recent play than I would've been a week ago. tonight could be a really, really intriguing game, not only because of yao but also the fact that his teammates should have their hands full. it's got great matchups. - nash has typically outplayed stevie in the games I've seen. - griffin is one of few players with the kind of game that can match up well with Fine German Hops. - ming vs. bradley - cuttino mobley vs. billy ocean--oops, I mean mike finley - the wiz vs. glen rice to see who's the better decrepit old 3 pt. jacker living in dallas, I know that don nelson has great respect for rudy and the Rockets. I think the Mavs know this is a game they could lose, so I don't think they'll come out overlooking the Rockets. what does all this mean? it means that it will take the Rockets very best game to win tonight. if they can do it, and if yao fares favorably against the big stick, I think the Rockets will be getting a lot more positive pub from the national media. make no mistake: the nation will be turning in tonight to get their first real glimpse of yao ming. many, many, many first impressions will be formed tonight of Dynasty. if bradley blocks yao, or if bradley dunks on yao, it's going to take years for some people to change their mind about yao. what else does all this mean? it means: a) I'm pumped. it's so cool that this game has worked out the way it has with all the extracurricular stuff [the record, the bet]. b) I'm a little worried because, as a Texas Longhorns fan, I don't know if I can handle having another of my favorite teams embarrassed on national television this week. and c) because of my shawn bradley theory, I think this game is a part of something very big for yao "I don't know how to miss shots" ming.
Point of information... Bradley is a high first round pick, but he's not a #1 overall pick. From the NBA.com bio: He's also playing extremely well, so I do agree that the Yao versus Bradley matchup (If Rudy lets it happen) will be really interesting...
great oveall post chievous! This truly is one of the more exciting rockets games to come along in awhile. I totally agree on the Bradley/Yao matchup. I hope Yao looks good tonight or we'll be bombarded by trolls upon trolls for the next week or so. I've looked at the 2 mavs bbs' and they all have the rox losing by about 10-15 points with Bradley "schooling" Yao. Truthfully I am going into this game thinking we will lose. The Mavs are tough and if Francis plays Nash the way he always does than we'll definitely lose...I always believed that Nash was the rocket killer in the past. Sure Dirk puts up the numbers but controlling Nash is the key. I have a feeling Yao will play at least 20 minutes this game, we'll need his high percentage scoring to keep up with the Mavs today. Damn its only 1pm and I'm already getting giddy! GO ROCKETS!
I am pumped too. I am leaving work early for this bill. I hope both teams live up to the hype because every casual BBall fan on earth and Mars that has an opportunity to view this intriguing match will do so. Yao is gradually building a reputation - good ones I might add. I would love to see him bring it even more tonight. It is on. 2 young deep teams - both with added incentives to win it. A mini playoff game for the rox {ending our 3 years playoff-lessness }.
yeah, you're right. my bad. SRF-- I feel you, dog. I can't remember the last time I was this pumped about a Rockets game. I could handle us losing. I just want to play somewhere near our best and have people talking about what a good game it was. I want respect as much as I want wins. obviously, nothing would get us as much respect as beating the undefeateds in their own building. with TNT being there, this is a tremendous opportunity for the Rockets. p.s. TNT sure lucked out with the way this game ended up. not that it's going to be the super bowl in terms of ratings, but they couldn't have imagined when they scheduled this that the mavs would be undefeated and that Chuck would've gift wrapped a larger than usual audience for a 6p thursday night game.
don't worry, the Longhorns will get embarrassed next week, as well. Don't feel bad....... I do agree with your assessment of this game, nonetheless. Good points.
boy oh boy oh boy.... I can't wait to get off work and watch tonight's game. I think I am going to sneak out of work early so I can beat the traffic (Chicago traffic sucka$$). Tonight's game bewteen Houston and Dallas will be the first time I see Yao play in the NBA. On top of all this I get to see Charles Kiss A$$ on national TV. WOW! LOL. Two thumbs up for TNT. Go rockets!!
Your post sum up how i feel. Yao's gotta out play Bradley or else the media will be on him. Bradley is playing alot better and rebounds very well. It's ok for Shaq to outplay Yao( expected), but for him to be outplayed by Bradley would be disasterous. I can see it now, headlines like " Yao is not even the next Sean Bradley" will show up. Of course, Yao will have more chances to prove himself, but i just hate to feed the media what they want. Thers's no shame to losing in Dallas, but there is definitely shame in Yao being outplayed by Bradley today. It doesn't matter that Bradley is a veteran and Yao's a rookie. The media will not care, they will eat Yao alive. That's what I'm worried about.
I hope it will be a good game. I do want to see how well Griffin can play against Dirk. I like Dallas a lot, especially with how hard their players work, but I have a feeling this new "Defense" is a bunch of early season BS. Not saying they haven't improved, but I'll wait 'til the middle and end of the season once they've been tested on a NIGHTLY basis by good teams before I give them their defensive props. Side Note: If a team(with a somewhat realistic shot) does beat the Lakers this year, I hope it's them.
Bradley is talking trash too. From DMN: Yao's tall tale has a doubter 11/21/2002 By MIKE McALLISTER / The Dallas Morning News The Houston Rockets list rookie Yao Ming as 7-6, making him the same height as Mavericks center Shawn Bradley, the tallest player in the league. But Bradley, introduced to Yao in the summer of 2001 when the Chinese National Team trained in Dallas, thinks otherwise. "I've met him. He's not as tall as me – unless I'm taller than 7-6," Bradley said. "If he's 7-6, then I'm 7-10."
Bradley worked hard in the off-season because of Don Nelson! Don said that last season, Bradley was a waste! Nelson temper reached its limit. If Bradley didn't show improvement then heads would roll (trade/waiver?). There a few things you need to be able to discern about Bradley and Yao. Bradley plays basketball because he's tall. Sometimes it seems like he'd rather be doing something else. At the moment, Bradley is playing for his job security. He's a tall player that has become skilled. He's motivated by Don Nelson. Yao plays basketball because he loves the game. Sometimes it seems like the only thing Yao was created for was basketball. It's in his blood! It's in his family. Yao is playing basketball for the love of the game. There's nothing he'd rather be doing. He's skilled player that has become tall. He's motivated from within.
I've had this in the back of my mind too, and I can't believe I haven't heard much talk about this theory to this point. Perhaps because it's harsh, but I bet it's true - Bradley was ripped to shreds because of Yao all summer long. Enjoyed your post, cool references! And TNT doesn't deserve their good fortune the way they spurned the Rox. I'm sure they didn't foresee a game whose teams' combined record is 17-3 either. I know we stunk last year, but even without Yao we were probably playoff-caliber, and with the big hype engine with the #1 pick, I can't believe the networks weren't keen on televising Houston more.
Anyone who's been in the league for 10 years must have developed some kind of skill. He was due to break out from osmosis alone.
Are you kidding me? Is Bradley actually claiming to be 4 inches taller than Yao? You know, I actually had some sympathy for the Mantis going into today's game. Like everyone already said, he's faced a LOT of insults with the comparisons to Yao... and he's obviously working hard to improve this season. But that comment comes across as cocky as hell. Now I'm hoping for Yao to not just do well, but to embarass the hell out of Shawn "4 inches taller" Bradley.
True... That's the scary part about Yao. Even if he didn't try, he's still become pretty good just because of being in the league 10 years or so...like you said...osmosis. What's the scary part? Yao is good NOW!
yeah, I agree that Nelson had to do with it as well. Nelson has pretty much been trashing his own guy for most of this year. but I think all the other people holding him up as the worst possible situation for Yao has contributed to bradley's improvement. how he plays tonight might shed some light on the matter. if bradley comes out and hangs 25 points and grabs 15 rebounds, we might be able to tell that he was especially fired up for Yao.
I agree, Im hoping RudyT plans to get a couple fouls on Bradley before putting Yao in the game.....Just to take the edge off this Battle of the Giants....So far Rudy has kept Yao out of unfavorable situations,,,,,,,,,
I'm interested to see how Yao does against someone his own size. I hoping for the best, but I'm not sure if he's had much experience with someone as tall as him - though he should be able to spin move on him pretty easily and back him down (do a little cb on him).
