S. Florida Sun-Sentinel: Nasty isn't in Yao's nature

Posted on Sun, Jan. 25, 2004

Nasty isn't in Yao's nature
BY IRA WINDERMAN
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

MIAMI - (KRT) - This time there will be no fortune-cookie fiasco when Yao Ming arrives Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

No, the Miami Heat marketing department has shown restraint after last season's much-mocked giveaway - and seemingly the entire NBA has wised up when it comes to the 7-foot-6 Houston Rockets center.

Make no mistake, Yao, averaging 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds, remains an impact player, a remarkably skilled big man. But the hype has been muted this season, what with LeBron James taking over as the league's resident phenom.

Last season's Next Great Thing now looks like the next very good thing, a player, who, at 23, certainly will have an influence for years to come, but one who most likely never will tread in the same pantheon as Wilt, Russell or Kareem.

Be it cultural or personal, Yao has stood as imposing mostly because of his stature. His aggression is limited. There have been no flying elbows, no chest bumps, none of the nasty streak many expected first-year Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy to foment.

``You're aware that he's there,'' Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett said after a recent meeting. ``But you don't go in there thinking, `I'm going to change my shot.' If anything, you are going to try to put it down his throat - try to dunk on him or something like that.

``If I drive to the basket, if he's there, he's there. I'm not the least intimidated.''

Nor is the Shanghai native viewed as particularly athletic. What he is, what he has emerged as, is a marvelously talented player, an elongated Bill Walton, if you will. Sunday, Yao had his way against the Orlando Magic, with a career-high 37 points, with nine of his 15 baskets coming on jumpers.

``His execution is exemplary of the fact that basketball is really a game of skill, timing and position, not so much size and strength,'' Walton said while working as an analyst on ESPN2's coverage of Rockets-Knicks last week.

The countermeasures have been nagging double- and triple-teams, tactics that have had the Rockets' staff moving Yao even farther from the rim, a compromise opponents willingly accept - reducing the game's most imposing presence to a 16-foot jump shooter, albeit a darned good one, and a superb passer.

``I'd much rather have him doing that than pulling another Shaquille O'Neal,'' Heat center Brian Grant said.

Of course, this also is not ``the second coming of LaRue Martin,'' as ESPN's Dick Vitale predicted in 2002.

While the numbers are up across the board, they are not LeBronesque. The only area Yao ranks in the league's top 10 is his fourth-place standing in field-goal percentage, at .531. Otherwise he ranks in the teens in rebounds and blocked shots, and not even that high in scoring, with Sunday's effort his first of 30 or more this season. Point guard Steve Francis remains Stevie Franchise, the Houston player most likely to beat you, as he did last season at AmericanAirlines Arena by converting a crucial 3-pointer.

``You're going to see him really take off in the second half of the year,'' Rockets scout Andy Greer predicted. ``I think people are going to come to realize he is the dominant force that everybody expected, it's just taken him time to adjust to a new system.''

For his part, Van Gundy has been pushing Yao to push himself. Having staked a reputation by attaching himself to Alonzo Mourning's leg like some sort of pit bull during the height of Knicks-Heat, Van Gundy issued his challenge earlier this season.

``He needs to elbow somebody in the face when they come down to double-team him the first time,'' Van Gundy said, as if Yao ever could turn into Mourning. ``He's very kind when people come down there.''

Yao has taken it in stride.

``He's teaching me to be more aggressive and the whole team is encouraging me too,'' he said.

Then there is Francis, who said he wouldn't mind a turn on the U.S. Olympic team in Athens, if only to get in a shot on Yao and jolt the center.

``I want him to dunk the basketball a lot more than he does and just think more aggressively in general,'' Francis said.

Former national team teammate Wang Zhi-Zhi said the shift from the international game can be an eye-opener.

``The NBA is hard,'' the Heat reserve center said. ``A little foul is no foul. In the NBA, the defense can push.''

Another factor is the constant movement between commitments with the Chinese national team and the NBA schedule.

``The one thing people don't realize is that he's been going for three years straight, without a break,'' Greer said. ``I think now he's starting to get into better shape. The level of play over in China and the expectations are certainly different than they are here.''

Listed at 310 pounds, Yao is up 20, after an offseason of weight training.

Grant said he noticed the difference in the first game of the two-game season series.

``You try to stay underneath him and keep him off balance,'' the 6-9 Heat center said. ``It worked last year to do it that way. But this year I tried and his legs got a little stronger - or I got a little weaker, I don't know.''

Yao closed the Rockets' Nov. 11 90-70 victory over the visiting Heat with 16 points, eight rebounds and a career-high seven blocked shots in 32 minutes.

As much as anything, Yao's game-by-game statistics are telling.

Teams that play a physical style, such as Detroit, can limit his impact. Teams that lack aggression, such as New York and Orlando, have had problems, especially with Yao developing an upgraded hook shot.

To some, it is unfathomable that someone so immense can produce outings such as these: four points, five rebounds against Detroit; nine points, six rebounds against Boston; 13 points, six rebounds against Memphis. All have come in the past three weeks. All have come in losses.

After scoring a season-high 29 last week against the Knicks, Yao mused, ``Something good has fallen out of the sky.''

When Yao entered the NBA last season, few expected such future adjectives as docile, respectful, nice. Perhaps the league should have known better. This is, after all, a player who had been taught that dunking was a sign of disrespect for the opposition.

Take an incident earlier this season, when Wizards 7-footer Brendan Haywood, considered one of the softest big men in the league, slammed Yao to the court.

``He was just trying to protect the basket,'' was Yao's response.

Earlier this season, Yao reflected on what was and what will be.

``I think it is harder than last year,'' he said. ``Last year people didn't know my game, so I could take advantage of that sometimes. Now, everybody has studied me and knows how I play.

``I'm trying to learn how to be more aggressive. That isn't exactly in step with my original style of play. I have to figure out how to mix the two.''

He is making the transition in relative anonymity. The pressure is off. Teams are not offering packages that guarantee tickets to Yao's appearances, as the Heat has with appearances by James.

``Earlier this year,'' Yao said, ``I was asked what I was thankful for this year, and my answer was, `LeBron James.'''

As for what the Rockets could be thankful for, the outlook remains unclear, although Sunday offered a tantalizing hint.

``If he's to reach greatness,'' Van Gundy said, ``it will be at his own pace.''

 

This guy sounds like a true Yao cynic and a devout LeBron w****. He's pretty high on Stevie too, and I hope he turns out to be right about him at least.

He would have had more credibility putting this out before the Orlando game. Yao's had a string of good games, with the Orlando one being the exclamation point. This guy must have been too busy jerking off thinking about LeBron James and missed what Yao did the past few games.

 

Quote from Associated Press Game Recap:

"Yao took advantage of a matchup against the undersized Andrew DeClercq, eight inches shorter and 55 pounds lighter, in the first half. At one point, Yao delivered a quick elbow to DeClercq's face, caught a pass from Mobley, knocked DeClercq down and dunked to give the Rockets a nine-point lead. "

Brian Grant is next.

 

IRA WINDERMAN: 100% USDA-certified LeBron w****