It's like that nagging little dark cloud that hovers on the horizon, never really letting me forget that it's there.. the scary part is, the nicer things seem to be getting, the less able I am to put this nagging worry out of my head. What is it? My 'Yao Fear'. No, I am not askeered of Yao. It's just this: Yao has not only been playing much better lately. He's been stepping into some larger shoes, and filling them well. Seemingly coming along hand in hand with this change in Yao is a change in the Refs' attitudes where Yao is concerned. We have all remarked on it - Yao has not really been in serious foul trouble in weeks. And while there will always be fouls commited against him that are left uncalled, we have seen a greater amount of respect for his game lately, and a corresponding increase in his trips to the line as a result. The thing is, this creates a situation that could be ripe for a backlash. Like the tides, so too can the calls recede as easily as they have come. However, the really nagging little dark cloud is Yao's pet offensive move: his nifty little baseline spin move to the basket. He always does this from the left baseline, and always spins to his right, when he does this move. And he always always ALWAYS (and I mean ALWAYS) 'hooks' the defender with his right arm when he makes his spin. Now it's not a horrific foul, it's not overly blatant, but still, frankly, the refs could call him for an offensive foul 99% of the time when he makes this move (and even if he is not really fouling the defender, if it even LOOKS like it, that's bad news). Has anyone else noticed this? I worry that eventually all this sudden love for Yao may trigger a backlash against him, with people from other teams crying and moaning that Yao's best move is an offensive foul, and that the NBA community may start to react against it, and therefore him, and therefore the Rockets suffer as a team. There are times when he makes his move that I Tivo it in slo-mo to watch and see if he is getting any better about not at least making it LOOK like such a hook move, and it looks like he may actually be approaching the point where he can make this move without having to swing his arm out around behind him. I am crossing my fingers that he gets this thing down pat before other people around the league catch on and start howling. As it is, he has only been called for this a handful of times that I can remember, so hopefully the Rox coaches are on top of the situation and are working with him to reduce at least the appearance of impropriety. Yes, I am afraid. Someone send a Power Dancer to hold me.
It's a very slight hook. He will not be called for it if he keeps putting up 20/10 numbers. In fact, he'll never be called for it. There's no foul. His moving screens, though, are a different matter. I love Yao, but we all have to agree that he's not always set on those screens. And by "not always" I mean never. It's all good though.
Shaq always always always has so many moves under basket much more justified to be called an offense foal, but it nevery happens. (he was called, but only a very few of the total) I am not saying Yao can get the same treatment as Shaq, and it is partly becaue he is a Chinese. However, he will get more respect from ref if he keeps improving. So take it easy, and don't over-worry.
Hook or not, he's never got called for it. That means it is already established that this particular move from Yao is legal. It's much easier to maintain what's established than experimenting what's not. If all of a sudden, one day that the refs start to call it, it will become inconsistancy that goes against an establishment, which probably won't happen.
Those aren't really 'hooks' per se. He basically just uses his hand to feel where the man is behind him. He has used hooks in the past, and got called for them. The move he is doing now is not as blatant, or really a foul for that matter.
that won't happen. 9 times out of 10 the nba will allow superstars more leeway with the pet moves. eventually, it just gets to be accepted. shaq runs people over. jordan travelled (a lot). hakeem travelled (yes, it's true). pat ewing travelled (every time he went across the lane). but the league "adapted" to their moves. they allowed it. there is only example i can think of were the league took away a player's pet move, and that is with iverson's crossover. don't worry. yao can play hooky all game long.
Don't be skeered . Folks complained about Hakeem travelling too. Never stopped him. Same with Shaq - it was an offensive foul each time he bulled into the paint. Nevermind the fact that Yao is virtually getting fouled all the time and doesn't get a call. In some circles accusations of cheating are a sign of "making it" because folks can't believe you've actually out played them and therefore need to point at something to explain how they got outplayed and can't come to terms with the fact they were just schooled.
Don't really think it's that big of a deal. I've seen a lot of players do a much worse hook move on thier spins, esp. Shaq and not get called for it.
Speaking of Yao's pet spin move. The thing I love most about it is that it's usually an agile, quick move, but Yao is also starting to use it as a Power Move. If he gets contact, instead of reversing for the hook shot, a lot of times he'll just keep going, banging and go up strong with a layup. That's led to a couple of 3 pt plays lately. And it's much harder to call an offensive foul if he's running into the guy with his chest than if he dipped his shoulder like a normal Power Move. Also, I noticed him doing that move on the other side yesterday. He basically spun, and bull-rushed his way to a pair of FTs (Memory's a bit hazy, but I think he got fouled), except this time on the right block. That was pretty cool. If he can add the spin move going right, the defense isn't going to know what hit 'em.
First of all, it's not a hook...he doesn't wrap his arm around the defender to push him back...if he did, it would be called...and it has in the past when he has. What he is doing now is just feeling where his man is. It's minimal contact that the league has always allowed. Besides that...every player in the league, especially bigs, have always gotten away with something...way more than Yao has ever gotten away with. Ewing litterally traveled every time he did his pet turnaround, Olajuwon traveled many a time on his spin moves without being called, and Shaq charges multiple times a game and is not called. Yao's recent surge is due to figuring out doubleteams and being more aggressive. The officials have yet to bestow ANY special treatment upon Yao.
I think Yao has finally earned some respect from the ref. Sure, still a lot of those obvious hacks from the opponents are still not being called, but at the same time those tic tac fouls on him are are getting less and less too. As a huge Yao fan as I am, Yao would have fouled out if I was the ref from last night's game.
I know if we face the Mavs in the playoff, Mark Cuban will complain on national TV that Yao hooks Dampier every time he spins to the basket and the referees should call the fouls. The best center in the West needs some help to stop Yao, you know.
how many times a game does he do his baseline spin move? 1 or 2? i notice the hook you're talking about because everytime he does one it's one of the in game highlights. even if they (NBA/refs) were to start calling him for it he has so many other ways to make up for those 2 or 4 points. just my opinion.
In his first and second seasons, I think I saw him called for it around three times. But since then no problems. Part of it is that he doesn't really hook the guy with his arm, but sort of with his body. I think of it in the same way as how great receivers like Jerry Rice were able to ever so slightly push-off, but it wasn't called because he was Jerry Rice.
If Cuban starts mouthing off about Yao's non-hook, we'll just show a movie of Dirk the Travelling Man. It'll be a long movie.
Exactly what I was thinking. I saw the "hook" last night and I've noticed he does it every time he does that spin move (that move needs a catchy name, BTW) but it looks to me like he's just feeling his man. He doesn't push off at all. It actually looks like he's just using his right arm for balance. Refs reward aggressive players, especially big men. That's the way it's been in the NBA for 40 years. I think we're seeing him getting the benefit of the doubt lately because he's being more aggressive.
He has gotten called for it for whoever said he hasn't. It came at an inopportune time of the ball game too, when the refs had not called it on him before. That was last year. It looks like this year, they are letting it go. I'm not too worried about it. If they started calling it all the time, he'd just figure out how to improve it or come up with another move probably even better than that spin. I'm worried about a big ole knee blowout and then another one, and then another one.
Yao's ok with the arm guard, as long as it doesn't meet the neck or head of his defender, and he doesn't blatently pull himself by wrapping the defender up.
HIJACK! The Shanghai Spin. Now Yao see him, now Yao don't. Foolmaker. The Tornado. That's all I got for now.
