If so, why didn't the refs treat Shaq the same way? Yao is too nice, maybe because he is not playing in his own country. There is an American saying "nice guy finishes last." But in Chinese culture, it's believed that being nice will be rewarded eventually, or is a reward in itself (even though less and less people believe in that these days). In my own view, Yao's gental personality might cost the Rockets a few games, but by staying true to his roots instead of adopting the de-facto NBA mentality, he is acting as a great ambassodor of his own culture and becomes part of the cultural exchange between China and the US. For that, I am most proud of him. After all, basketball is just a game. Now, being gental cannot be taken as a sign of weakness, that's why I am also hoping that Yao can take his game to another level, earn the respect of his teammate, opponents, and even the refs, and one day be a champion! No matter what happens, I love you, Yao!!!
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I wanted to watch him for awhile before saying this, but yes all of you who said Lowry needs to be the starter appear to be right. He runs the team as good or slightly better than Brooks right now and given that Brooks has been in the system two years and Lowry has been in, what a month? That is pretty amazing. On the negative side, he also appears to be the other Rocket besides Yao that can't get a call unless its against him.
the starters didn't play very well, but the bench picked it up in a big way. that's what we are going to need if we're going to do good in the playoffs. the bench has to be a big factor. great job to landry, wafer.
and please stop complaining about calls over yao. it is what it is. he should get more calls. EVERY BIG MEN should get more calls, esp. for a 7'6 guy like yao. look at how the league changed the game over shaq. look at how shaq complained quite often earlier in his career for how he was officiated. but instead of keeping on complaining, he just obliterated his opponents. yao just gotta keep staying aggressive.
When you see racism everywhere you don't accept it and keep quiet. A foul is a foul regardless of anyone's height or stature. Shaq always lowered his shoulder and bulled his way against his opponents - literally an offensive foul everytime- but he was rarely called for it throughout his career. He elbowed and banged his way against opponents and was hardly called for those. Give me a break. Shaq was allowed many things that Yao is not. Just on free throws alone the discrepancy between Shaq and Yao is not. You may argue that Shaq is more agressive than Yao, but opponents just liberally bang and swat away at Yao, even when he is stationary, that there is not even a basis for comparison. Yao is even called for offensive fouls even when he is just moving or pivoting. This is already beyond ridiculous! I am an American citizen and I am ashamed of what the racist NBA is doing to Yao who has represented his country and people with grace and dignity that shames us Americans.
Yao's too nice. Last night when he pulled down his 9th or 10th rebound it was in traffic. He had his elbows pulled in tight to his body. I couldn't believe it. He's been in the league 7 years now and nobody's told him about using his elbows? Deke's been negligent. If Yao wants to play in the NBA he should play NBA style basketball. When in Rome do as the Romans do. Other than that I loved the balanced scoring--Landry with 22, Yao and Scola with 20. That type of basketball is tough to beat.
Great game by Yao and Scola We're 3rd seed in the west baby! wow just a week ago we were 5th! the rockets are moving fast! (like real rockets would)
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I really liked the Lowry/Scola pick and roll set up the Rockets were using at the end of the game last night that resulted in a few layups and a dunk for Scola. That is something I would like to see the Rockets use more often going forward.
I think racism is a so overused as a charge that it is begining to lose its value as an adjective. BUT, I'm running out of sensible reasons for why Yao is called the way he is. I'm down to the refs don't want games with Yao in them to be free throw fests that end up with three or four opposing players fouled out. It's that or ineptitude.
Having Landry back is such a blessing. I love watching him play on offense; I loved it last year and bought a jersey with his name/number on it! It does seem Scolandry is back in full force and is taking full advantage of teams fronting/doubling Yao, utilizing the void in the paint. It'll be a great challenge against the likes of Boozer/Millsap tonight, so we'll see if they can continue the success! I really like our rotation. As much as I enjoy watching Lowry draw fouls, get to the hoop and distribute, he really synergizes better with Landry/Wafer/Barry in the second unit. Did you notice the +/- in our second unit last night? Even if our starters have a +/- of 0 with the other team's starts, I'm confident our second unit will obliterate almost any other teams' back-ups and that's where we'll win the game. Anything we can get out of the starters is gravy.
Oh, and about the foul calling on Yao... I agree it's stupid, but the NBA has been pro-guard (instead of pro-center) ever since they started allowing zones and doubling down low even without the ball. Calling every foul on Yao would slow the game down and his points would skyrocket, and the NBA just doesn't want that for any big man (this would include Shaq and Dwight) because previously, in the Hakeem/Admiral days, centers were just TOO dominant.
