What do most superstar players have in common? ... They dominate in the 4th quarter. Remember Hakeem, Jordan, Bird, & Magic? And look at Duncan and Garnett. These guys take over games in the 4th. Kareem may be an A-hole but he's right about Yao having to learn to step up his game in the 4th quarter. When he can dominate the 4th quarter on a consistent basis is when Yao will finally prove that he has reached true elite status. It's a different game in the 4th. During the first 3 quarters, the defense is less physical (players try to conserve fouls), but in the 4th quarter it becomes much more aggressive and rough ... and the refs will generally let them play. It will be much more difficult for Yao to get and maintain position in the low block (since this will be late in the game and fatigue will be a factor along with the heightened physical play). I'm in favor of the Rockets running more pick and roll to free Yao up for easy outside shots (as some have suggested). This would help him conserve energy for the wrestling match he will encounter in crunch time. Why is 4th quarter domination an important indicator for Yao & the Rockets? .... 'Cause it's the closest thing to play-off basketball intensity. If Yao can handle the 4th quarter, then we'll know he can bring it when the real season starts.
agree whole heartedly. i think the main problem for yao is his stamina. most of the time he was tired. not to mention that he was double/triple teamed and had to fight extra hard for positions, and that definitely jeopardize his effectiveness at the offensive end at least. having said that i strongly believe that he'll overcome this as he's been progressing so much and this is only his second year.
While I agree that at times Yao looks tired - I don't think it was Yao's stamina on Sun - as much as it was the fact that he had four defenders on him at times. In fact, he scored five points in the final minute (including the three point play with four Mavericks around him) - I have also seen him go off for 15 in the fourth - when he doesn't have to work too hard in the 1st half.
I don't get this thread. Someone posted a statistics conglomeration a while back which demonstrated that Yao is actually like the 5th most effective and efficient 4th quarter player in the league. He is shooting something like 80% in the fourth, and only about 43% of his baskets were assisted on, which means he is creating most of his scoring opportunities himself.
It's not that he's not efficient when he gets the ball, it's that he has a harder time getting position to get it, on occasion, like on Sunday. But this is not always true, against LA and New York and G-State he was able to get position and dominate in the 4th.
Hakeem will go down as the greatest center in Rockets history by a landslide. That being said, he didn't face the double and triple teams that Yao gets (before he receives the ball). In the 4th quarter, many teams will pack it in and dare players other than Yao to beat them. Kind of hard to take over consistently when team have that sort of strategy.
Yes. I believe Ym will score-----if he can get the ball in 4th quarter. However many teams double him before he gets the ball. It is a big problem for us.
what's this? compare a hall of fame player's career with that of a 2nd year player? if you want to diss someone find a better way to do it. this is just lame.
Dude, please wait another 12 years to make that comment. To compare a legend with a sophomore is just plain ridiculous. Time is still out on this one. Based on what we have seen from Yao recently, I think that he can make people say "Dream who" when his career is over. He can be that good and it's not even funny.
With all due respect to Yao, he will never be able to surpass Hakeem in the Houston sports pantheon. Hakeem, owing to both his college and pro career and being hte first player to lead a team to a title, will always have his own special spot. It's not fair to compare Yao to Hakeem, but compare their first two years if you want to, it's not even close.
There is no way to make the comparison. Zone D was not allowed then, and doubling before getting the ball was illegal D. These are two issues that significantly limited Yao's contribution so far in his young career. If Yao retires as a Rockets, eventually he will be measured by how many rings (also regular season and PO MVPS) he brings to the Rockets. If he is able to lead the Rockets to 3 or more titles, he will be bigger than Dream, plain and simple.
Zone D or not, Akeem was a simply an unstoppable force underneath the basket. He was just a straight power player who could run and jump like hell, sort of like Amare Stoudemire, but on steroids with supercharged turbo speed on fire. The rockets won 14 games the year before they got him, and were in the playoffs the next. Then they knocked off the Lakers in his second year, one of the great teams of all time. If Yao played in the showtime era with 140 point games and endless break after break, he would have to be in a hyperbaric chamber There's simply no comparison, Hakeem was a dominant force from day one; his 3 years at UH (back when NCAA ball was actualy good) simply made him much more "nba-ready" than Yao could ever have been, plus the fact that his early game was based on athleticsim, speed, and power, rather than positionning, shooting touch, and finesse.
Umm... What Yao has done recently, Dream did for entire seasons, while playing better defense. Look, Yao may become one of the greatest, but you have to be patient and wait for it to happen. You are jumping the gun to say he will make people forget about Hakeem Olajuwon. Its unfair to Yao Ming.
I have to agree that the new rules of Illegal Defense and Zone Defenses severly hamper Yao's ability to score. If the the rules were relaxed back to what they were, Yao's effectiveness would undoubtadly increase immediately. Yao has demonstrated that there is nobody in the league, including Shaq, that can guard him one-on-one. I don't like the new rules. I'd prefer they go back. If they did: Go Yao Go Steve
I think every Rocket fan wished they never started the Charles Barkley rule or the zone defense rule to slow down the quicker backcourts (like our Francis-Mobley "best backcourt in the league" tandem). All along, big market teams have been keeping us down by changing the rules just when we break out. And we still find a way to kick @ss. In your face, space coyote! Go Rockets! P.S. Why argue about Dream vs. Yao? Can't we just be happy to have a nice, long legacy of great centers? And please don't leave Moses out of it! Maybe even give Sampson (pre-injuries) a little love.
This has to be the craziest statement I have ever read on this board. You can't take anything away from Yao, he's had a great week. But when Dream played, zone defenses may not have been legal, teams still played them against him. And also, look at the centers Dream played against. Robinson Ewing Zo Kareem Moses Daughtery Shaq Eaton Just to name a few. If Dream played his entire career against the scrubs Yao get to play against, he would have averaged 30ppg for his career. Yao has one main advantage - he's tall. Dream was faster, quicker, more agile, and could jump higher than any center he played against. Also, the man had the heart of a lion. He would simply not be denied. That to me is the biggest differnence between Hakeem and Yao. Yao doesn't have 1/4 the will, determination, and desire that Olajuwon had. PS. Let me save the next 10 Yao fans from having to reply to my post - I know...I'm a troll...
