The Oregonian: Yao Ming He's on His Way Up Now

Yao Ming: He's on his way up now

11/26/02

GEOFFREY C. ARNOLD

HOUSTON -- Patrick Ewing was standing, watching players working out on the court, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Ewing whirled around and was startled, unaccustomed to being forced to look up at someone. But Ewing, who stands all of 7 feet, had to crane his neck to exchange greetings with Yao Ming.

"I'm not used to looking up at somebody," said Ewing, now an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards. "Man, that dude is big."

Initially, that was about all people noticed about Yao, 7-foot-6, who got off to a slow start. But now, he is beginning to find his game and fulfill expectations the Houston Rockets had of him when they made him the top pick in the NBA draft.

Yao is not only displaying flashes of brilliance, he is showing flashes of dominance. He has converted 44 of 65 shots for a league-leading 66.7 percent going into tonight's game against the Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden. He made 31 of 35 shots (88.6 percent) during a six-game stretch ending Thursday, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's six-game NBA record for field goal accuracy (63 of 72 for 87.5 percent, from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7, 1966).

"My confidence is growing and I'm happy I am playing better," Yao said through an interpreter. "I am learning a lot, but I still have a lot to learn."

Included in that six-game stretch was Yao's best game, a 30-point, 16-rebound effort in the Rockets' 103-90 loss at Dallas on Thursday. Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich rewarded that performance by starting Yao against Washington the next night. Yao responded with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks to help the Rockets win 93-86 at home.

Some Rockets fans are comparing Yao, 22, with Chamberlain, but that's premature. And the rookie's style of play is far removed from the legendary center's. Chamberlain's offensive game was primarily dunks and finger rolls; Yao has a varied repertoire -- feather-like jumpers, drives to the basket and oh yes, dunks.

His scoring (15.2 points a game in the last six games) has attracted the attention of opponents, forcing them into more double-teams, with defenses hoping to force him into decision-making mistakes. However, that strategy of clogging the middle is opening up the perimeter for Houston shooters such as Steve Francis, Glen Rice and Cuttino Mobley (currently on the injured list), and Yao is proving adept at finding open teammates for uncontested shots.

"The guy has been getting double-teamed since he was 14 years old; he has a feel for it and finds the open man," Tomjanovich said.

Yao's emergence eventually will force Tomjanovich to adjust his guard-oriented offense.

"We're really in a skeleton offense right now," Tomjanovich said. "Later, we will put in some more things on the weak side where he can pass to someone. He still gets us really good shots."

Yao also is producing on defense. He is averaging 2.5 blocks in his last four games, and that doesn't include the number of shots altered because of his presence. He swatted away three shots early in the game against the Wizards, and with him patrolling the middle, the Rockets switched to a zone defense. The Wizards wanted no part of attacking the basket and settled for perimeter shots.

Adding Yao "plugged a lot of big holes that they had last year in terms of productivity in their center spot," Washington forward Michael Jordan said. "Defensively, he blocks shots and clogs up the center position. It's going to help them a whole lot, because they have the perimeter taken care of."

Considering he missed summer league, training camp and all but two exhibition games, Yao, who is averaging 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds, has progressed rapidly.

"He missed all the key stepping stones that a young player has to take," Tomjanovich said. "Then your building blocks are the first two weeks of training camp, where you put in all the fundamental things. He missed all that. His training camp will probably go on the whole year. It's just like life. You've got to go through adolescence. You can't skip it. You've got to go through all the pain and the lessons and all those things. He's in the middle of that process right now."

Yao was tentative when he started the season, showing reluctance to shoot, then settling for fadeaway jump shots. His teammates started telling him to be more aggressive and that a player 7-6 has no business taking fadeaways. Now they're running the offense through Yao more often.

"All I can say is. it gives me a lot of confidence," Yao said. "I've gotten to know all my teammates pretty well and my confidence has been built up by them."

Still, Yao continues to show that he has a lot to learn. Facing a zone defense and his old nemesis and Chinese national team teammate, Wang Zhizhi, Yao took just four shots (making one) in the Rockets' 90-89 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Conditioning is another problem. Yao was visibly tired after playing 33 minutes against the Mavericks, then ran out of gas after playing 32 minutes against the Wizards.

"I have to work on my endurance. Toward the end of the (Dallas) game I was pretty tired," he said. "(That) game was the fastest I played in so far. I'm still so-so, still not great."

Tomjanovich and the Rockets drew some criticism for drafting Yao, from those who said he was a project. But the naysayers are quiet now, and the Rockets insist they knew the process would take time, and they were willing to be patient.

Yao's big games have led to something more problematic: the increased pressure on him to produce more games like his effort against Dallas. But the Rockets said they are on guard against heightened expectations.

"When you deal with sports, you know that expectations are usually too high or too low. The truth and reality is always somewhere in the middle," Tomjanovich said. "That's the approach we have tried to take as an organization and we're happy with it. We know it's going to take time. He's a human being. There are going to be ups and downs, but the things that we saw in him are becoming more and more evident." Geoffrey C. Arnold: 503-221-8556; geoffreyarnold@news.oregonian.com