Ming is totally into the team... do you ever see him on the sidelines? Whenever someone makes a basket, he is always clapping and generally showing positive encouragement. Like when Francis nailed that jumper and got fouled, Ming was ecstatic, throwin his hands up and clappin and everything. Often times he'll be the only one doin anythin on the bench... the Chinese concept of team is truly prevalent in Ming's behavior. Griff is hurtin our offense right now. When Francis does the pick and roll with Griffin, and Griffin receives the ball, he can only shoot, or pass back to Francis... this totally negates the flow of the offense. And now when Griffin shoots, I'm startin to get the same type of feelin that i got when Shandon started to dribble, although it's not comparitively as bad. With MO/Kenny, you not only get the ability to create the shot after receiving the pass from Stevie, but you also get much better passers... this would add a lot to our offense. I luv Griff and his defense (btw, Cato and Griff 4 blocks each!) however those who think that he would start this year over Mo/Kenny are sadly mistaken - what he brings on the defensive end is negated by his offense. Although our fg% (especially in that 2nd quarter) wasn't too good, I liked our attempts at running the 5 man offense. Especially in the 4th quarter, the ball movement was better than I've seen it in a long time and I was happy with Stevie and Mobley givin the ball up. As Bill said, the game was ugly but I don't mind it being ugly as long as they are tryin to run the new offense - they have to work out the kinks sometime dont they. I can't wait to see how well it works with Mo, etc. Ming's defensive presence is much less than I had anticipated it would be. LIke when Posey bumped Ming outta the way and scored over him - that should not be happening. I realize Ming has lower upper body strength, but the man weighs nearly 300 pounds regardless. People should not be able to just move him like that. Good news is that the Rockets seem to becoming a great shotblockin team even w/out Ming. IMagine what it's gonna be like once he gets everythin together.
I disagree the Posey thing. Posey did not bump him out, Ming was just way deep under the basket. If he could take a step forward little earlier, Posey would not have been able to make the basket. Bring on the rewind.
I would have to go with alaskansnowman with regards to Yao getting pushed out by Posey. Yao totally got smoked on that play. A guy who is 6-8, 215 should not be able to do that.
I think Yao just needs some NBA time remember he got here like 2 weeks ago. Didnt have Summer league and much other practice. I know you guys know this but I just wanted to remind you in case your getting bummed out about it.
I don't think the Ming thing, is that huge of a deal, I chalk it up to a couple offactors. Ming is trying not to pick up fouls which of course doesn't allow for him to be his agressive shot blocking self, MIng has not yet become comfortable out there, he's probably caught a bit off guard because people are taking it right at him, in China he may have been more accustomed to being respected as a shot blocker. I feel that once he gets into the flow of things, he'll be able to block the shots regardless of a bump here and there.
Alright, everyone who thinks Ming needs some time to develop before he shows us he can really play, on this side of the line....all those who opose, on the other......
we need to drop all the hype about Ming now. I am hoping the media stops following him soon. He is small up top and this will be a work in progress, but we can see he is worth the gamble. He has game, just needs to adapt over the next year. we will see flashes and flickers this year. But, we have to be prepared for more schooling by veteran players. He did get pushed by Posey, but that is okay. Hell, I have seen shaq get shoved out when he does not want to foul. Ming does need to get his hands up more. I watch little 8 foot jumpers fly up there and he flashes out, but does not get his hands up. I would like to see him challenge those mini jumpshots more. Overall though, I thought he took nice shots last night and once he learns to dunk, he will be fine...... and yes, I did notice, he is totally into this team and game. very active on the bench, even doing some smack talk from the bench to players on the floor.
