(1) I promise you: I will not ask you that question. It has not crossed my mind. (2) Agree. I'm comparing him to Smits at this point, which seems about right. I never said he should be able to put the team on his back, but people have had those sorts of high hopes. The bottom-line most disturbing thing is this: he is rarely tenacious, and he seems passive. Maybe this is just Yao being shy in a new culture in the shadow of a new language. But I doubt it. I've seen plenty of lesser players enter the NBA with little to no English, and some of them played high energy, in-your-face basketball.
Smit averaged 6.3 rpg playing 27 mpg for his career. He never averaged more than 8 rpg in any season. Yao averaged 8.2 rpg playing 29 mpg for his rookie year. This year, it's 9.1 rpg at 31 mpg. Yao is clearly a superior rebounder than Smit. Yao's rebounding number is about the same as last season. So, he has not gotten worse, as some has suggested. Losing more rebounds this year by tipping the ball rather than grabbing it doesn't take away the fact that he grabs the same amount of rebounds. If anything, that just indicates that he has his hands on the ball more this year while he didn't even got to tip the ball as much last year. People say, "Don't give me the numbers. I see him rebounding and it's worse than last year." Well, the numbers are what matter. How he gets those numbers is irrelevant as far as effectiveness is concerned. The only valid argument to me is that there should be more rebounds to grab this season because of the poor shooting percentage of the opponents. But then, there is also the argument that Cato is there to take away some of the rebounds. No, I'm not saying that he has no problem rebounding. He has lots of work to do in that department. But losing rebounds where he almost has them is not worse than not even in position to "almost" have them.
Yes, I agree with most of your opinion. Yao's weight is now 310 lbs which affect his quickness.But his strength gets improved this season, you can draw from increasing his offence rebounds. I think both his teamates and he should be confident that he is great shooter in/or out of paints. Attack is the best weapon of defense. Offense! Rockets!
There is a lot more to be good at rebounding than just height. As a matter of fact, many great rebounders in the recent history are all under 7 feet. It has more to do with instincts, boxing out, a strong base, explosiveness etc. I had said it before, but I'll say it again. Despite his great height, Yao has quite a few deficiencies that will most likely stop him from ever developing into a great rebounder. His balance is poor. Thats understandable, the guy is a freaking 7' 6" giant. Guys like him, such as Bradley, Smits all could fall down pretty easily, unless you are as solid as Mark Eaton. His lack of leaping ability along with his relatively short arms don't help either. Most of the people here complaining about him of not "aggressively enough" as far as rebounding is really missing the point. If Yao is not chosen to jump for the opening tip in the beginning of the game, what makes you think its easier for him to go for those rebounds during the game when the direction of the ball is much more unpredictable.
i just dont see how you can disagree with that... Yet people will get their balls all fired up when they see this.
By the way some of you talk about Yao Ming you would think that you were not arround at the time of his Draft. Because we got exactly what we Drafted:- A very tall Basketball Player from China, a Finesse Player that has Basketball Skills but no experience of the NBA style of play. A player that was very strong in the legs and weak in the upper body and arms. The Rockets picked Yao Ming #1 because they believe in his potential. Everyone knew then that he would be a project. Fans he is still that project!You need to stop thinking like you have an American Player. Yao Ming is Chinese and its a whole different Ball Game, physically and mentaly. Yao Ming will never be a Power Banger Type Center! He will never be another Shaq or Hakeem! You will never be happy if you think of Yao Ming in this way! Yao Ming is a finese player, he should be given room to develop his Game here in the NBA.He might surprise.......
Yao's culture/country encourages conformity. Not individuality. So, it's no wonder why Yao is passive. Sigh...Yao needs a big dose of testosterone! No "girly men" allowed!
You guys are harsh. He's 7'6" for Christ sake! Other than Shaq and Wilt, how many people that big are as quick as a 6'6" SG? The problem with a lot of you posters is that you buy into the hype so much and then when somebody doesn't live up to it, you dump all over them. Yao is what he is; one of the better centers in the league. Isn't that enough?
No. Because the fans wont have it. It's about potential. And the fans should be able to voice their opinion, dump or no dump. Why should we go easy on him? We pay his salary (NBA League Pass, Jerseys, tickets, caps, posters, books, etc...). No fan in their right mind would just allow him to coast. Criticism comes with the territory. He's getting a nice $$$ income $$$. He has no room to complain about "being dumped on."
What's so hard about asking a 7'6'' 300+lbs giant, who gets paid millions to play a little more aggressive?
I agree Yao should learn to be a little bit more aggressive to play through all thos fouls and ref BS calls. But I don't think it is an issue of being hard on him allowing him to play soft. It is just the best use of his skills. As he is a fitness player, you could never expect him to be like Shaq. Yet he can be as effective if we use his skill effectively. How could one argue when he can constantly hit higher than than 50% face up outside? How could one argue the effectiveness of his Pick and Roll in the Laker game?How could one argue his defensive presence in the paint when his plus minus is so significant like last night? How could one argue when he can see the court and set a number of treys for Mobley and company last night? I think it is stupid to force him completely like Shaq and not use his other skills. If we do, we shall burn out our property reall quick.
It's about potential? You mean how YOU see his potential, which could be based off bias, hope, expectations or, for that matter ignorance of the game. You are asking someone who you don’t know personally, to do things that may or may not be part of the game plan or his set of skills. Don't judge a player on potential and hype. Right now, it's not about Yao anyway, it’s about preparing the team for a run at the playoffs. Maybe in the 1st or rounds but this team could progress faster than others. 32 teems in the league? How many have the same problems as we do. I say we are turning a corner to championship level playing within 2 years with basically this team. We music have faith that these playeres witl grow and understand the love f the game. When Akeem did this the early 90's, koo what happened? He lift the whole team up.
reading some of the posts I agree with most of you. Yao has offensive capabilites that he has not put on display yet because so far he is indeed a soft center. Cato at the power forward position is what Yao should in a way strive to be. Cato however is all defense/rebounding with no scoring. If Yao took a chapter out of Cato's game, Yao could be the center that the rockets envisioned him to be when they took him with the #1 pick. It is frustrating as hell to watch Yao at times even fall down getting rebounds or trying to when instead he could use his size and weight (his weight isn't bad either) to control the boards. I hope Yao can indeed get over the soft hump that has so far plagued his overwhelming potential.
Spare me the b-ball lecture. Yao will continute to get the criticism as long as he does not live up to his potential. There are quite a few poster that have been basketball fans for over 25 years. And they know what Yao is capable of. So, do give me this "how YOU see his potential." It's not only me. It's sports writers, coaches, other players and fans. And get this. No matter what you say, you can't stop the criticism.
