The Rockettes suckcess isn't all about Yao. They haven't gotten the "I" out of team yet. Ok, so it is a fact that Yao is in a slump. We should never support a slumping player ever again. We'll let him claw out of the hole on his own, and then be there for him, but only if he performs. Sure, whatever. You seem like you've been taken hook line and sinker, by the image that the media and the hype has put in front of us: That Yao is Superman. He's not, so quit expecting as much from him.
I do not get the point of this thread at all. I don't blame Hawkin for not scoring 30 points, nor do I blame Kato for not dishing out 10 assists. What is the point since it is beyond their capability. It is pretty clear to me that Yao is both physically and mentally exhausted, i.e, he is no longer capable of playing anywhere near what he can do two weeks ago. I just don't understand what purpose does it serve to critique a player for something he can't do.
Homesick?! That should not affect his playing. He should be able to shake that off. ....I can't believe it is homesickness.... Being homesick is harsh...but should not affect you in any way. I have felt it...and still do. Being in another continent then my fam. Half the world away,..
I can't imagine why Yao is not playing well other than the pathetic offense Rudy is having on the floor. If Yao is not playing well i am blaming the coach for bad coaching, for failing to trust him on the floor. I think Yao needs encouragement from coaches down to his teammates. What? he got ONLY 4 shots tonight? Is that encouragement? Hell no. And then to sit him at the San Antonio Spurs game??? WHat is that all about? Sending a message to Yao by benching him is not an encouragement. Yao had said before that the reason he play well in the beginning is cuz his teammates support him and ran more plays through him and he likes that, that's the reason he's exploding in the beginning. But now they don't even trust him anymore and didn't even care to let him shoot as much as he likes, that's no encouragement, that's bringing down a person spirit. Even in Lakers game, Yao didn't take much shots. Rockets need to change the way they run the offense or this playoffs hope is going no where. I have not seen a game where Rockets completely believe in Yao, that is running a majority of plays through Yao just as Lakers completely trusted in O'neal and running more plays through him and looking for him. Didn't Kenny Smith said in the beginning that if the Rockets are going to make the playoffs, it will be the big fellow that'll take them there? And that Steve and Cat need to believe in Yao? Well, they still haven't done so.
Yao did look extremely frustrated throughout the entire game. He looked like he was about to cry after he missed though ft's. Hopefully he will be able to work through this, he really needs to get his confidence back up.
At the present time Yao Ming is used like a garbage time player to support the Mobes and Franchise Show.This situation has its limits and it might take 'Les' to enforce the required changes.The Coach cant see that there is a serious problem or does but wont do anything for fear of offending his Stars!
Now I for one hate to see people bashing other posters, but you sir, are an IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1) You cannot blame Rudy for Yao shooting 2-6 from the free throw line. If you have something to say about Rudy, there are plenty of other threads available. 2)Yao was not benched, he was fatigued, having a horrible game, and needed the rest. 3)Yao is extremly talented, but he is not at the level yet, where a team can run their offense through him. He may be starting in the all-star game, but realistically he is not able to take over a game and control opposing defenses like Shaquille O'Neal. Ughhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!1
It pains me to see Yao struggles like this. It pains me even more to see people bashing Yao for his struggles. NBA is never easy for a rookie, even for a professional player like Yao. Heck, NCAA has a more intense schedule than CBA. Yao is give every thing he has. He just has to fight through it. Rudy and teammates' help would definitely be nice. If I remembered corrected, Paul Pierce hit his wall just as hard during his rookie season. He finally broke through and so can Yao. He just needs time, everyone's patience and support. With Yao's struggle, I can almost smell the media hounddogs just around the corner. The last thing Yao needs is fans turning on him. YCCNORTH
How can you blame Yao if he only got 4 shot attempts? OK, granted he didn't make the free throws (2/6), but he did not do so poorly tonight. Just finished watching Lakers-Nets. Shaq only made like 3-12 in the first half, but his team mates keep feeding him the ball in the low post. How about Yao?? Hell if he missed 2 in a row, Mobley and Francis will stop feeding and take many ill-advised shots. I'm not sure if coach is to blame. But Rocket's real solutions are either: 1. Trade Yao Ming for a good power forward. They become a run and gun team. 2. Trade Mobley and several others to get a good Point Guard. Offense go from inside-outside. The way Rockets is utilizing Yao now is so pathetic.
You know, apart from Yao being tired, another reason is the way the play was run. After the Laker game, it appears to me our guards felt they need to score 40 points each to win a game. So, they dribbled and jet up shots quickly. Or if they couldn't go anywhere, they simply dumped the ball to their big man with a few seconds left. In any case, the rest of the teammates were so used to the ISO and the guard-oriented play that it was always one guard handled the ball while the rest (i.e. four other players including the other guard) stood still watching. Not only no movement of the ball, but also no movement of bodies. When the ball was passed at panic, that caught the target ball receiver by surprise. Here came the turnover. And of course, that came with the low shooting percentage for everybody because he either shot with the defender(s) in his face or even didn't know the ball was coming and he had to force a shot right away. It must be a human nature that after being frustrated several times running for position and calling for the ball but in vain (not getting the ball), you would stand still watching all the time without intensity. Yao's poor shooting percentage and high turnover, just like his teammates, was largely a victim of the system. In the last few games, I noticed he was not prepared to take a pass down low. In fact, he stayed at the three point line most of the time. I guessed that is pick and go (I meant disappear not roll). Yes, sure, we need to place Yao on IR and play our fresh players like Boki and Collier. If we lose, too bad but at least we shall get a fresh Yao back to start our winning streak again and train fresh legs for the future. If we have adequate gas in our tank to beat Bull and Grizzlies, that is the bonus. Maybe running shothands will force the team to pass the ball around and get everybody involved!
Do you think Yao is happy being selected as an allstar starter even if he's playing well? Yao has to deal with an unbelievable pressure already. Now here come the new pressures, the rookie wall and the bashing of not being allstar worthy. Who should we thank for creating this new allstar pressure for him? Most of you people would have been in the mental hospital for severe nervous breakdown had you gone through the same thing as Yao. I don't feel any shame about Yao. I feel proud and admire his strong character. I believe his hardwork ethic and his gifted mental strenght will help Yao overcome anything. If you are his fan then shame on some of you for starting to shoot him down when he's trying to overcome yet another tough obstacle. Yao doesn't need you to support him most when he's up but when he's down.
A more likely outcome if we are running shorthanded is that SF and Cat will jack up 30 shots each and we will be back in the lottery picks.
Once again, Yao doesn't take over games on a consistent basis to warrant being the go to guy every time down the floor. Shaq can get the shots because he shoots fifty something percent from the floor almost every game while taking over games on the offense by his presence alone. Yao while showing he can do that every now and then, is shooting about 30% the last ten games. We can clearly see that he's not the same player he was 3 weeks ago therefore he doesn't deserve the ball. The goal of the rockets is to win, and the guard oriented offense, as painful as it is, gives us a better chance to win as of right now than if we run it through Ming, who with his current fatigue and problems, doesn't give us a good chance at winning.
I am sorry. But the matter in question is not guards-oriented or Yao Ming-oriented. But the game is played INSIDE-OUT. If we would have a half decent offensive inside outside scheme, it wouldn't matter if the inside player is an out of form Yao or Mo Taylor or an inexperienced EG. A ball/player movement and passing system is the key. A guards dribbling and taking all shots until they can't shoot system wouldn't get you anywhere. See the Kings. They can put a Keon Clark into Chris Webber position and still be effective and win games. And I bet when Lakers sub Samaki Walker into Shaq's position, they would still play the game inside out.
The goal is to win the game?? Someone forgot to tell Cat and SF that. Cat was 5 for 20 tonight with 3 TOs but he keeps on shooting because he and SF handle the ball all the time while Yao relies on others to get him the ball in low post. Sure Yao has not shown much lately but part of this poor showing can be attributed to the fact that he was not put in the best position to succeed. If we slow down the game and run more plays for Yao, he will be more successful and so will we. Let's not forget that we have not won anything with this "guard-oriented offense". So if we ditch this game plan, we are not losing anything worth keeping unless you are Cat or SF.
It is still not too late to jump off the Yao bandwagon now! pls feel free to leave and make sure you never jump up again. Byebye!
some of the rox players' objective on the court is to show what THEY can do not what their team as a whole can do. plain and simple.
