Yes.... I have noticed that they are getting Yao the ball much more quickly in the low post and if he doesn't have the position he wants he kicks it back out, adjusts and instantly the ball is thrown back into him an he goes right up with the shot. If they can master that we/he will be very effective.
I don't know about the 10. Yao still doesnt' seem to be quick enough or have good enough hands to gobble up rebounds. Remember last year how he'd have 6 or 7 at half time and finish with 8 or 9? I think he'll be 20+, but not 10+.
yao's stats from last year put him at a 22/11 guy if he plays 35 mpg. you don't need to look at preseason stuff to show what yao could do if he played normal starter's minutes.
At least against the teams we played so far Yao seems to be able to score at will. When he begins to realize that and gain confidence I would not be surprised to see 25 PPG this year. Rebounds, different story. With JHo and Stro rebounding well there are only so many to go around. JVG has been fiddling with the line-up so much it is hard to tell exactly where we are as a team. TMac is not playing well, but he is also out of position at PG. His 2 bad games have come there.
Actually that computes to 26.7 pts, 8.2 rebs, 1.03 blks on 35 minutes. But 4 preseason games do not make a season unless you are Kelvin Cato and then it equals a $42M contract. I would be happy with 22/9 from Yao.
Yeah, but did you see this quote from the Chronicle? So if you apply a correction factor... Ah someone else do the math.
I'll stick with what I posted in thacabbage's "The Obligatory "What Will Yao Average" Thread," http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=101073&highlight=season+average which was 20/9, with a caveat that I hoped that his points per game at season's end would make my prediction look too low. I wasn't sure about his blocks. I'm still not, but I expect them to go up. Yao should average at least 10 rebounds per game, but he seems to have a knack for not grabbing the ones that are going through his hands, bouncing off his body, and so on, which we've all seen too often. I really think that his ppg is going to make a significant jump. With Swift raising hell with the game plans of opposing coaches by giving the Rockets such a damned fine weapon that we didn't have before, and more height in the backcourt with Anderson, a real point in Rafer and, perhaps most importantly, McGrady having Swift, Anderson, and Alston making his job easier, opening up his passing opportunities (not to mention scoring opportunities), Yao is going to be an offensive monster. He may average 25 ppg this season. If we really click, and stay healthy, he is going to have the occassional 30+ ppg as often as Tracy does, imo. Cabbage might want to bump up his thread, so we can make revised predictions based on what we are seeing now.
Yao can score 20+ points as well as grab 10+ rebounds a game. All he has to do is STAY in the game! Watch the fouls Yao!
Whats also surprising to me is that he's getting good percentages playing against high temple/run and gun team with the exception of San Antonio. He usally struggles against these types of team in the past. Then again its just pre-season so who knows...
I am going for 22 points and 10 rebounds, I think there are too many assumptions that Stro will "steal" away 2 rebounds, but I think having Stro will only improve Yao's rebounding numbers, by causing chaos not only on offensive rebounds but by tipping defensive rebounds, therefore giving a taller-than-99%-of-the-league-Yao a better chance at grabbing the rebound. Also, about 2 blocks and 2 assists (mostly for attracting attention and passing off to Stromile for dunks). Stuart
i think he'll be 20/10. he seems to keep getting better and hopefully he can stay on the floor a little more this year.
I think this is the year JVG has 2 20+ point scorers on his team. God I hope I didn't just jinx it. KNOCK ON WOOD!
I don't see Yao blowing up this year, but I do see his points going up considerably. I expect his assists to go up, and his rebounds slightly. I expect him to increase his minutes and his FG%. 23-9.5-2-3-60% POINTS: I think they will use him better than ever. Instead of forcing everything to go through him, I expect a lot to go to him at a high FG%. The PNR will continue to be killer with TMac, Alston will get the ball to him better, he'll get less fouls due to Swift, and the team not forcing it into him early, so he'll stay in longer. I still expect his stamina to be problematic, since I believe its due to his height. But, I believe he'll be even stronger in the fourth when it counts, so it'll translate into more wins. (last year 18.3 - this year 23) REBOUNDS: Since he'll probably have more minutes due to less fouls and having rested this off-season, his rebounds could go up, but I believe Swift will take away a couple he would have gotten, so it'll average out. He'll probably get more offensive rebounds, since he'll be under the basket more, so maybe his rebounds will increase by one. (last year 8.4 - this year 9.5) ASSISTS: With more scoring options, I believe he'll kick it out more, and with his growing chemistry with TMac, I expect his assists to go up 1 or 2 a game. (last year .8 - this year 2) BLOCKS: His increased strength and confidence should increase his block by at least 1. (Last year 2 - this year 3) FG%: I expect it to increase considerably, since I expect more plays ending with him, betting passing into him, and better comfort with all the players. (Last year 55.2 - this year 60%) MINUTES: I expect his minutes to increase. He's stronger, will get less fouls, I expect the ball to go to him, not through him, tiring him less in fighting for position, and his off-season rest will help. I still think he'll have some stamina problems, purely due to his height and lack of off-season training habits. He'll also have Swift to back him up, along with Deke, so JVG will pull him out quickly to cut down on fouls. But, I still think his minutes will increase. (Last year 30.6 - this year 35) PLAYOFFS: Actually, Yao COULD blow up in the playoffs, barring injury. His experience last year was invaluable, and he knows if he has strong games, the Rockets win, period. He picked it up last year, and he tends to get up for the bigger games. As iritating as that is during the season, its great in the playoffs. I think his off-season rest will have its most impact post-season. It really would not surprise me to see us head to head with San Antonio to decide the NBA champs ...
