NOLA.com - Hornets must stand up to 7-6 Yao Ming as he boosts Rockets

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Hornets must stand up to 7-6 Yao Ming as he boosts Rockets



12/06/02

By Jimmy Smith
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune









For sure, the NBA has seen its share of big men.

Then there have been the really huge men -- those 7 feet 6 or taller.

On that list is 7-foot-7 Manute Bol from the mid-1980s. And 7-foot-7 Gheorge Muresan from the mid-90s. And 7-foot-6 Shawn Bradley, who's currently filling the middle for the Dallas Mavericks.

Yet none of the giants who has played in the league became a star -- Muresan has the highest career scoring average at 9.8 points per game.

Yao Ming might change that.

Yao, the biggest thing to hit Houston since Hakeem Olajuwon, makes his only New Orleans appearance tonight when he and his teammates attempt to snap the Hornets' 10-game home winning streak at the Arena. Yao is coming off an impressive performance in the Rockets' victory Monday night over the San Antonio Spurs. Facing the Spurs' daunting front line of David Robinson and Tim Duncan, Yao finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds.

It will be a formidable challenge for the Hornets, facing the 7-foot-6, 296-pound Yao, the NBA's top draft choice this season. Yao, from Shanghai, China, started the season slowly but has been increasingly impressive as he acclimates to the world of American professional basketball.

"He's more of a basketball player than an uncoordinated big man," said Milwaukee coach George Karl.

"A gift from God," said Sixers guard Allen Iverson.

In Houston, the Rockets are marketing their 2002-03 season with the slogan "Be a part of something big."

So how do you deal with such an imposing presence?

NBA teams are still trying to figure that out.

"The thing that has impressed me the most in watching Yao Ming and getting ready for this game is he seems to have an uncanny grasp of handling double-team situations," said Hornets assistant coach Brian Hill, who was an assistant and later head coach of the Orlando Magic when Shaquille O'Neal broke into the league in 1992.

"It's obvious either the Rockets staff or his previous coaches in China have done a very good job with him of reading double-team situations and being able to deliver the ball to the open man."

That, according to Hill, was O'Neal's biggest adjustment.

"What a lot of people probably wouldn't remember is that as a rookie, Shaquille led the NBA in turnovers," Hill said. "He's a very good passer and ball handler, but it was just handling all the different double-team schemes he never saw in college that he had to get used to. Yao does have a very high skill level for a young player of his size coming into the league."

Hornets center Elden Campbell, in his 13th NBA season, has matched up against players such as Bol and Bradley. He said he's impressed with what he has seen of Yao on highlight clips.

But Campbell, 7 feet, said he'll approach Yao the same way he did with other players to whom he gave away a half-foot or more.

"You make them shoot over you. Plain and simple," Campbell said Thursday. "There are no gimmicks. You've got to make them make shots, basically.

"Yao can shoot the ball from what I've seen. A guy like Bol, he was just in there. He did what he was paid to do, and that's block shots. I'll just make Yao shoot over me."

Though he has started only seven of the Rockets' 17 games, Yao has shown he can score. He leads the NBA in field-goal percentage (.648). In his past 11 games, Yao has averaged 14.2 points on 69 percent shooting.

"He's really skilled," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "You can't really double team him because you've got to get him off the block. You can't front him because he's too big to front. You've got to be as physical as you can and get him off the block and contest his shot.

"He's not going to leap over you and shoot. But he has good footwork and uses his body really well."

Contesting him early will be starting center Jamaal Magloire, who'll spot Yao seven inches and nearly 40 pounds.

"You've got to be conscious of boxing him out and try to keep him as far away from the basket as possible," Magloire said. "I'm not sure yet exactly how I'll play him. But he's a lot bigger and a lot longer, so you've got to take that advantage away from him."

Hill believes tonight's game might come down to that old sports cliché: You can't stop him; you can only hope to contain him.

"There's not a whole lot you can do," Hill said. "With any low post player, you try not to let him establish position where he wants to on the floor. You try to get him a little further out on the floor, where he gets into a different assortment of offensive moves, not let him get in his comfort zone.

"You've got to keep a body on him. You have to try and be physical with him, and even though he's 7-6, you've got to try to contest every shot and make it as difficult as possible.

"In our case, we probably need real good performances from Jamaal and Elden to help neutralize him because he's really coming on as a player."

NOTES: At Thursday's practice, the Hornets shot only. Guard Courtney Alexander sat out with a sprained right thumb. He said it was not serious and his status would be determined at game time. Baron Davis appeared to move freely and took his customary 250-300 shots.

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Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3814.