WHen the ****ing refs are calling fouls on Yao the whole night, there isn't much Yao can do. You don't want Yao to be fouled out, do you?
With the way refs were calling the game, Yao would have been fouled out long before the end of 4th quarter if he didn't back away a little.
I don't want to sound too negative, but when our midget point guard is one of our leading rebounders, we're in trouble folks. Great game though. Al Jefferson is seriously a beast.
If Yao isn't getting calls after 6 seasons in the league, then he is doing something wrong and it's on him and therefore nothing but an excuse. The refs aren't out to screw Yao no matter what JVG or any CF thinks. He obviously isn't doing something that other dominant bigs do to force refs to blow their whistles. Is it possible that he just doesn't play aggressive enough consistently? Is it possible that he prefers to shoot fadeaways and hooks too often instead of playing physical and using his size advantage? Yao is a slow-footed, finesse player with poor hands and a weak upper body. It's hard for officials to see all the little slaps and grabs. If Yao wants to get those calls, he has to play more aggressive ALL THE TIME. After 6 seasons, it's obvious that isn't part of his DNA. He will always be up and down when it comes to taking it to defenders and forcing contact.
I don't care who dominates who. Win is the most important thing, along with nobody gets hurt. Yao needs to save energy for the whole season and play-off.
Yao didn't back down from AJ... he kept at it. He struggled and shot below 50% for most of the game but ended the game shooting above it. However I do agree with your observation on his rebounding the last few games. I don't like the trend developing either. He's just being content in boxing out and not really putting much effort in actually adjusting to where the ball is ricocheting off the rim. He needs to have the same intensity in all aspects of the game.
Do you believe it is normal that Yao got 0 call a game? They push Yao or hit his hand many times today, but no call happened. AJ only got a call which is not for Yao in whole game. Hater is and will always be a hater.
people just gotta have a realistic expectation of yao. he's a really really good player that will look great for stretches, good for stretches, mediocre for stretches. msot of the time, he'll have good-great games. so be happy. right now, our offense is more dependent on yao and he's delivering. when tracy and artest get healthier, the load won't be as heavy and he might be even better. but as you can see, yao struggles against physical play. if jefferson puts his shoulders onto your chest, you do the same, even if you get a foul call on you. you send a message. the great centers would have started the game with physicality and let the refs know how aggressive they are.
People are in denial. Its another reason why I say get camby. Its alarming when teams get physical, the big guys backed down. Smith bulled scola, jefferson punked the whole front court. That can't happen.
What logic is that? Sounds like if robbers keep break into your home but cops doesn't do anything because you are rich, it's your fault to get robbed repeatedly? The truth is, some refs simply don't give Yao his fair share of foul calls no matter what because he's too big or for some other reasons. I remember Shaq had the same problem, but not to Yao's degree. Shaq even called out refs after one of the game in press conference. Yao is treated better compare to some of his previous years, but this game is a huge exemption.
The more Al pushed, the further Yao faded. I don't care about the refs, what do that have to do about 4 rebounds? One night it was scola, one night it was landry, now its brooks. There is a thing called feel the bump then release. You don't have to look for someone to box out because then you take ur eyes off the ball. You just feel the body and use their leverage to help u get the rebound. The refs had nothing to do with that. People can look at it as a win as will the record, but not paying attention to fundementals and not standing up the pressure defense will take this team down. I mean Utah isn't even a good defensive team and they've done the rox in during the playoffs.
You can't compare the treatment shaq got to yao. The only difference is shaq still bullied and bullied until they called something one way or the other. Yao gets timid. When he plays aggressive, he gets calls, when he fades and plays soft, he doesn't. They always reward the aggressor.
Jefferson had an incredible game while it was definitely an off night for Yao. Yao was playing the second of a back-to-back and he really looked it. Yao flat out missed a lot of shots that he would make when he's not tired. And the Timberwolves weren't really playing good defense on him either. Still, the Rockets as a whole did a lot better with Yao manning the frontcourt. His +/- ratio of +12, second only to Battier, shows it.
We would've won this game by 30+ with Camby in our frontcourt. He not only would have limited Jefferson but would have stopped some of those drives by their perimeter players who were burning the living crap out of Artest, Battier, McGrady and Brooks.
