Just trying to draw some positives from our start. I know its only 2 games and there is only so much you can draw from it, but some signs appear to be encouraging for Yao. Obvious better interior defensive teams will test him out as we play more games. Right now, Yao Ranks #1 in the NBA in Efficiency Ranking Per 48 Minutes(41.81) Eventhough we know he'll never play close to 48 minutes but this is encouraging so far. Ranks #8 in the NBA in Efficiency Ranking(27.0) Ranks #4 in the NBA in Rebounds Per Game(12.0) I now have hopes that maybe he can keep his rebounds per game above 10. His offensive rebounding appears to have improved. Ranks #1 in the NBA in Blocks Per Game(4.0) Not sure if last game was an abbreviation with his career high tie in blocks (7), but hopefully he can improve upon last season and block shots instead of getting silly fouls. Ranks #5 in the NBA in Field-Goal Attempts Per 48 Minutes(29.42) Despite his misses in the fourth quarter, Yao last season shot something like 60% FG in the last quarter, thus the law of averages will go his way the more games we play and continues to go to him late. I think it was actually great that his team mates believed in him to continue to go to him eventhough he kept missing. This was not the case in the past years and it will only help his confidence in the long run thus benefiting the team. One thing I've noticed is that he has not gone to the free-throw line as much as he did in the pre-season, but in these 2 games he has got the ball more and is racking up more assists. Ok, like I said, this is only 2 games, but T-Mac being out for the early part of this season can be a blessing in disguise for Yao to lead the team for a short stretch of the season which he has never done before on the Rockets. Maybe after another week or two we can really see whether Yao has improved upon his past seasons and draw a more rounded conclusion. -G'day-
I seriously think Yao could and will do much better than what we saw so far in 2 games. His scoring will go up, so does his rebounding as well as his assist numbers. Here's my estimate of what Yao could do: 25+ PPG, 12+ rebs, 4+ assist, 4+ blocks.
here's the biggest stat of them all! W-L 1-1 (should really be 1-3, since a loss to the Hornets should count as two losses, plus add another for losing on your homw court)
yao had 2 great games. if he just keeps it up (let alone to better in everything) he will have a very successful season at 22-10-2. the great part is he is still getting less minutes than he should. if he played 36 minutes a game then your prediction might come true.
Rvpals, not even Tim Duncan has had a season like that before. Duncan's best season is 01-02 when he averaged 25.5 pts, 12.7 rebs, 3.7 assists, 2.48 blocks. But he also played 40.6 mins/game in that season. To put in in perspective, Yao has only played an average of 31 mins in the last two games. But I wouldn't mind if Yao could meet your expectations by playing only 31 mins/game though.
Maybe. But, if he had two bad games, this whole board would be demanding he be traded and that he is officially a bust. Yao has showed great strides so far with obvious room for some improvement. I can't imagine much of a drop off, if at all, from what he has done in the previous two games PLUS preseason.
These per 48 min stats are the stupidest thing to ever hit the internet. They are especially misleading for Yao, whose play regresses the more minutes he has to play. We witnessed that the other night. Batman goes down and Robin could only muster 20 points. I hate to think that this is the Yao we will see if he has to play more than 28 minutes. He failed his team the other night. If he doesn't feel like that loss was on him then he will never have what it takes. If Yao was out, Mcgrady had better gives us more than 20 points for us to have a chance. I'm afraid Mcgrady will have to rush back because Yao doesn't have what it takes to carry the load. Them are just the facts.
The facts are Yao has usually been clutch in the 4th qtr. T-Mac has had umpteen 35% shooting nights when he doesn't have two 250 lb.+ guys leaning on him and elbowing him on every offensive possession. Oh, and a prediction, if T-Mac gives us 20 pts., 12 rbs. and 7 blocks in a game when Yao's out we'll win 99% of the time; and if T-Mac's out and Yao shoots 24 shots in a game and hits anything near his career percentages we'll be sitting pretty. Your quote that Yao can't play more than 28 mins. and still be effective was proven wrong 18 months ago, but in the context of last Saturday's game this was beneath you, man.
LOL. No, it's not really like that. People are just freaking out right now and next week it's probably going to be worse. I'm merely trying to formidify my hope as well as my stomach.
I'll repeat the "it's only two games" mantra and preview the "it's only three games" mantra. The Kings, Hornets and Magic are all below average defensive teams. Yao is likely to have another huge game tonight. Let's see what his stats are after the upcoming road trip.
