Start him or Lose him

Don't have to start him, but let him play more minutes than 11. Yao was like the third option at center.

 

I think Rudy said he would play 20 minutes, but didn't. I think Rudy realized he didn't have it last night. At least he has it some nights... Collier never has had it.

 

Thing is Cato had 17 boards, which is excellent. He outrebounded any 2 pacers. He also had 3 blocks and 9 points. Very good.
Griffin lost that game for us, he was 1-11 shooting. Yao will get more and more minutes as he learns the system.

 

It wasn't just EG. Collier and Ming didn't do a damn thing either. And Hawkins and Boki are basically guards at this point, neither could hang with the inside game of the Pacers. 18 offensive rebounds!

 

He's only been here what 12 days? Ming will get his min once he gets settled in and gets comfortable. Right now he's just not ready.

 

Yeah... I couldn't believe Collier went in before Yao, but I figured they wanted to show the rookie his place, but then again, the guy hasn't even been in the states 2 weeks!!

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i don't know about "start him or lose him", but what rudy did to yao last night was disgusting. seeing the box scores and the fact that yao only played 11 minutes does not tell the story.

the fact of the matter is that yao never got any consistent minutes strung together. it was 2 minutes here, 4 minutes there, 3 minutes here, 2 minutes there and then out of the game. there is no way any professional basketball rookie can "get out the jitters" by playing in 3-4 minute stretches. just ask eddie griffin about the beginning of last year. he didn't get into a rhythm until rudy played him in long stretches...

it is COMPLETELY unfair to blame yao ming for the game he had last night. he took ONE SHOT. he was NEVER set up for an easy shot by his point guard or anyone else for that matter.

 

i agree..ive always been a proponent of the if you draft a #1 pick, use him philosophy. For instance in football we see how harrington has progressed sinc ebeing in the lineup. And we see that Vicks development this year is way greater than the 16 games he spent watching last season.

You dont learn by watching.....you learn by playing, getting fousl calle don you and getting dunked on.
With that said, the rockets are in a different situation because they should have been playoff contenders last year were it not for the injuries.
therefore, they are a lottery team that has PRESSURE to make the playoffs.

however, if Rudy is only going to play yao Ming 11 minutes, I say not play him at all. The 11 minutes makes him look really bad, and puts added pressure on the guy.

Everytime Yao Ming cught the ball...he felt he had to make a move to score...Thus (he got stripped twice (once for a turnover) and took a off balanced shot another time.

He feels this pressure to put up numbers...
The reason teh rockets drafted him was for his passing ability....
FRANCIS and the othe rguards need to get him the ball more..so he can pass the ball or shoot it...Not be stuck with one option because he caught the ball 4 times all night!

of course he has to learn to move his feet better and rebound..but that will cme with gametime experience....


Yao will have more problems this season with mobile big men like jermaine and rasheed than he will with slow strong ones liek shaq

 

It's just ONE game...It's not like he is gonna play 10 min. every game of the year ..it's painfully obvious that the game is just way too fast for Yao ..give him time, it will slow down and his minutes will increase.

 

I think he played too many minutes. As well as Cato played last night, he should have been on the court for more than 32 minutes.

We all want Yao to learn, and playing in games will make it go faster. But how many wins are you willing to sacrifice to get it done? Because Yao looked terrible.

 

Did any of you go to the open scrimmage the other night? If you had, you would have seen the 11 minutes thing coming. Yao was clueless most of that night and Collier outplayed him and even abused him a couple of times. Yao is by far the superior player but he's pretty raw. He often lost track of the offencive players when he was on defense and wasn't ready for quick passes.

So far, I've seen mostly finesse out if him and to be a successful finesse player, ya gotta use your team's system and he doesn't know the system. Besides that, his court awareness and fundamentals are a little shaky right now. He's a long term investment.

 

JuanValdez:


is there some reason cato and ming could not be on court together? what, was eddie griffin just having too good of a night not to take him out?

 

if all this is true, what happened to the first 2 games, where he looked better?

the guy is going to have ups and downs...no doubt. but, collier proved that if anything, the 2 are equal right now skill wise, with Ming more upside...so play his #SS as the backup and quit fooling around! Cato was strong last night because he could rest. Cato is better with rest--bottomline. Ming and Collier helped this cause...32-35 minutes is fine for Kelvin, but give all the other minutes to Ming! Let him look like a fool now rather than when Cato gets hurt and we need him to start.

 

I didn't get Rudy T last night. Why in world did Collier get any minutes?? Why is he still on the team?? Yao Ming should have played more minutes, sink or swim with him. He will not learn anything by playing 11 minutes a night. Please Rudy T. let us see some of those offensive plays you have thought of in your sleepless nights. I still believe things will only get better from this performance..

 

Montgo, describe better, because I saw the same things in those games. He scored sure but his court awareness was not good.

I would rather see him play over Collier too because he has a higher ceiling and he needs to learn. My guess is that Rudy did not want to ruin his confidence right away or he just thought Collier as he is today provides the Rockets more of a chance to win than an unprepared Ming.