I'm not much of a poll posting kinda guy but I think Yao has officially earned the right to start for this team.
He has started the 2nd half before, and still hasn't started. But after tonight, I think you have to start starting him. He was awesome!
If Rudy doesn't start Yao tommorow, then he just doesn't want to do what it takes to win, plain and simple.
Hey lookie, what a coincidence... ... the % of yes votes is almost equivalent to Yao's FG%. That means something, I'm sure of it.
Keep him on the bench ,till half way through, he needs more experience and time to develop chemistry. During this time as a starter Cato might develop into a worthy NBA backup.Do not RUSH Yao Ming, let him come along naturally this season.If we do this, he MIGHT last through the whole Season and blossom even more in the Playoffs. Please consider the long term.
Of course it will happen. I think it will be later because Rudy has been bringing him along slowly. Why rush him now? He has been coming along great. I for one want to keep that rolling . This is still a team that is building and finding it's self. I wish and hope it will happen tomorrow. But I don't think so cause, while I think they are great, every player still needs to find his role in winning games. I like the power that is coming off the bench. That is one problem that has been clinging to the Rockets through the last couple of years. Kato has been playing with a force I haven't seen in a while. (Well, from him anyway) As long as he is playing like he was before the death in his family, let him start and Ming can come off the bench. Then he can show them how great he is. GO MING GO ROCKETS . Championships are on the horizon, just wait. Off topic-- Why is it so difficult to post or start a thread? I have to always login two or three times just to make a post. Is it because I am a newbie?? Blatz
I like Yao off the bench right now. Cato should still be the starter. Yao will have his time soon enough.
I agree, let Yao come off the bench. Bringing him slowly has been working so far, Yao's been improving and you don't want Yao to hit the rookie wall so soon. Let Cato start and let Yao learn so more. However, don't bring Yao too slowly else he could fade away.
I don't care who starts the game, as long as Ming gets starter minutes when he plays as good as he did in the Mavs game.
imo, cato will start when he gets back. the rest of the minutes will be divided up based on who plays well. going on tonight, yao might be playing alot. btw, is cato with the team? i thought he came back for last game but they just held him out because of no practice time or something. he was playing great before he had to leave.
Even in the much slower paced Chinese CBA league, Yao always had fatigue problem in the fourth quarter when he was playing for Shanghai Sharks (some Chinese fans who followed him for a long time said so). It also should be noted that Yao also has been playing non-stop for more than a year now. So, I think Rudy should let Yao off the bench for a few more games. I saw Yao was directing his teammates on the offence end during the game. He has been played against zone defense in China and in international games all his life. He may have a better understanding on how to break a zone defense like the one Dallas played last night. While Yao is learning much from his teammates, his teammates could learn a thing or two from him as well.
Yao is obviously talented enough to start right now, but IMO, part of the reason he's doing so well now is because he's had the time to watch the flow of the NBA from one of the best seats in the house (if you've ever seen an NBA game from the 1st or second row you could appreciate the vantage point; I saw the Rockets at the Staples Center a couple of years ago, and man, it is intense) Also, give Rudy credit for keeping Yao out of foul trouble and if he were to start right now he could easily pick up a couple of fouls in the middle of the 1st quarter which could interrupt his flow of continuity with his team mates by sending him to the bench prematurely, as he still is learning to not get suckered by head fakes and the craftiness of veteran players who know how to draw fouls, and not to even mention the rookie treatment that Yao will face by the NBA refs with regards to charging/blocking calls and other borderline calls that will favor the veteran player. Continuity and quality minutes is the objective at this point IMO as his confidence is, no doubt, growing with each game and starting shouldn't be a priority at such an early stage in the season and it may be more significant to Yao's developement that he finishes games and plays significant minutes during crunch time to get a better feel for the pressure of an NBA game, which could be hindered by early foul trouble if he starts right now. peace from SoCal
Ming is a great player, and if he gets better conditioned, I'd say he should start. But immediately, no. Maybe I'm greedy, but I'd rather have a Ming rested enough to play the 4th quarter than one who plays the first 15 minutes as All World and the last 15 as a man trying to conserve his energy. They do need to increase his minutes, so he can develop better conditioning.
Not yet. Coming off the bench, Yao can watch the game and get mentally prepared. Although Dallas was a statistically great game, let's not forget: 1) Bradley isn't that great of a center and wouldn't even be starting except for the injury to LaFrentz. 2) Yao was not productive in Q4 even though he was mostly covered (in the middle of the zone) by Najera. IMO, this could be a number of factors one of which is fatigue. This is lessened by not starting.
RudyT didnt put Yao in until Bradley had two fouls and I think this is one of the advantages in not starting...Yao has definately earned maximum minutes now, as many as he can get without being winded. The beauty of this game was we got a preview of the future..Yao is a monster...LOOK OUT GODZILLA.
He was really tired in the 4th last night..I think we should keep using him sparingly in the 1st so that he has some gas in the tank for crunch time.
