I was watching the game last night and I thought about a post I made in 2002. It had to do with a scouting report by a very well respected coach named Rick Majerus. Well, respected by many. Might not be by some here. In any case, he said after scouting Yao in China (paraphrasing) that he didn't think Yao had it in him to dominate. He just "didn't know" about Yao. The intensity was missing and that he wasn't sure about his stamina. Guess what? The man was right. I decided to post when last night with about 3 minutes left, Duncan took a shot over Yao after posting up on the right block. He missed. INSTANTLY, he went after the ball. Yao? Looking up at the sky trying to find the star of Bethlehem, I guess. Unbelievable. I make my stand today. I am tired of the facials. Not even the best spas on the planet have the variety of facials that Yao has served on his mug. The postirizing is getting so ridiculous after 3 years. Nobody fears this guy. Nobody cares that he is in the paint. Isn't that the point of a center? To intimidate? To block shots? Hell, Dikembe Lavando Smith Rodriguez Mohamed Williams Mutombo couldn't score in his prime but won 4 defensive player of the year awards and maybe some rebounding titles. I am not asking for Olajuwon here. But Yao is looking like he won't even be much more than Rik Smits!! And that sucks. Because at least don't tease the fans about this **** and build the team around T-Mac. The killer instinct T-Mac showed last night is exactly what Yao should develop. You know how many times I have seen Yao get his shot blocked!?!? THE MAN IS ALMOST 8 FEET TALL DAMNIT!!! How the hell does that happen so much? I am off the "all time great" bandwagon and on the "Brad Daugherty/Rik Smits/Vlade Divac" bandwagon. He is not even PATRICK EWING. Ewing was a warrior whether you liked him or not. I believe great centers are like great running backs. You know right away. I think we finally know about Yao. He blocked some shots against Shaq and we got all happy. That doesn't mean diddly scooty squat now. I am very disappointed. I thought that I would be talking about this guy in greatness terms. He is still young. But I think you can see whats up. Centers tend to dominate from the beginning if they are going to be all time greats.
you can have your own opinion but Yao carried that team for 3 Qtrs. 27pts/10rebs/2blks while spending alot of time guarding Duncan. You can say what you want about him getting posterized and yes that does happen alot. But Yao challenges every shot, every dunk attempt, every floater and I respect him for that. Thats heart! truth be told no one wants to be on the wrong side of a highlight reel and would shy away, or just let them go. Not Yao he will challenge.. sometimes he stuffs them sometimes he gets posterized but he is always trying. my 2 cents. J
Again, just do what other Yao haters do, go hide to somewhere after a game like this. Because bashing the guy after he had a great game is just stupid.
Almu, I think you are right. Yao's mental makeup is just not that of a superstar player, he cares too much. Watch his demeanor, if he makes a bad play or fumbles a ball away, he gets down, and it effects the next few minutes of play. His attitude on the court is more fragile than a glass slipper. He is a GREAT guy, very humble, very respectful, and for that he should get credit. He may never be a great player, but he can be a good Robin to Tmac's batman. Did you see how many easy shots Yao got when Tmac and Barrett penetrated and dished to him? That is how Yao will contribute, NOT by being the focal point fo the offense. Yao will be a good player, but probably never great. (I hope I am wrong) DD
Name just one mega-super star in this league that has not gotten posterized. Getting or not getting posterized is not the criteria on how great a player is. Fire? Maybe, but how do you quantify it? We've complained about TMac's lack of fire, Yao's lack of fire. But Duncan doesn't get all hyped up. We've complained about Yao's stamina but he plays the minutes and you can see plenty of players on the court that have played hard minutes in the post, grabbing their shorts in the fourth quarter. Was Kareem fiery? Was Kareem tough? Why sure he was, but he was criticized over and over for not being tough, for not getting enough rebounds, for not blocking more shots, etc. etc. etc. The players in the league will tell you, when Yao is on and really playing his game, he is a force in the middle, and he does change shots, and they do think about the fact that there is a 7 6 presence in the paint. Yao's problem is that he is still inconsistent a lot of nights, and he is trying to please a coach that gripes about every little detail. In time one of two things will happen to him, TMac and the other players on this team. They will either get Van Gundy and his system, and they will have imbedded in them every move that Van Gundy wants them to make, or they will completely turn him off and give up, like they did in that game a week or so ago. Yao has the talent, the drive, and the desire to be extremely successful. It's a matter of a coach getting it out of him. He is not the next Rik Smits. He's the next in the distinguished line of great big man to play this game, men such as Mikan, Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Walton, Hakeem, and Shaq. Every one of those big men are different players. No 2 of them alike, some of them closer to being alike than others but still all of them are unique to themself. Yao will be the same way if he avoids major injury and has a coach that is able to get the best out of him and cover up his weak spots.
That was also during the time when PF's were rebounding machines that can't shoot a lick. Now look at what the top PF's are doing. There is a first time for everything.
Yao has an All Star game last night and you write this crap. Next thing you know you'll be saying JVG is a good coach. You clearly don't know much about basketball.
on that note, I noticed several plays over the course of that game where AB or Sura or Tmac would drive and dish to Yao in the paint.....but Yao wasnt expecting the ball, and it just bounced right off of him. He needs to be ready EVERYTIME a guard drives, he needs to expect that they will pass it to him (sometimes in sneaky ways) and take advantage. Its getting better...and I must say I am very pleased with the play of Andre and Bobby at the point....Lue and Ward are so TOTALLY REPLACED. now if we could just get some production out of our PFs...
Agree. bad timing. might be a five star post a week ago. 27/10/2 against Duncan and Rasho was quite an achievement. Not mentioning Duncan was held to 7-22 shooting. Please let Yao be himself. He will make his own name. In Almu's logic, you can find faults in most players: Dream: he was on quite a few all-time posters. Kareem: soft, no fire. Duncan: soft, no fire. bad FT Shaq: bad attitude, bad FT Walton: high post center, enough said Wilt: non-clutch. dropoff greatly in playoff. Russell: notice his FG%? Ewinglenty. good poster boy. Robinson: soft, no fire
Yao is learning the mental side of the game (emotional side) he came from China where you are indoctrinated to be part of the collective not an individual. Individual domination is not easy to grasp if you were not raised in the USA or Europe. But he is getting it more. You see the games he tries to impose his will on the other team. He does it inconsistantly but last night you saw him go hard a few times to the basket. If he develops the killer instinct he will be a great center. He must get stronger hands also. He does get stripped and lose his handle to often. It has caused turnovers and hindered his rebounding. He is young. If there is a tiger lying inside him. It will one day come out. When that happens I hope he is wearing a Rocket uniform. If he stays healthy he could move towards the Jabbar type player. He has the skill set. The rest is in maturing as an NBA player mentally and physically. The jury is out. Don't rush to conclusion. The scouting report is on target so far, but since he came from China don't give up, he could develop into a much better player.
you shouldmake sure to give credit where credit is due. Yao wasnt the only one guarding Timmy D....as I noted easrlier in another thread....one of the few good things Mo and Howard did was bodying up TD and making it difficult for him to get his shot off. Yao did a great job on TD when he guarded him, but he was hardly the only one that made Duncan work hard for his points.
I agree 100%. Yao can be really good if he is put in the right system and used correctly. Yao shows moments of greatness (like he did last night) when teams primarily guard him one on one (as the Spurs did last night). If every team guarded Yao one on one... he would be in the hall of fame already. The problem is that most teams will front him with a smaller, quicker player and send double teams immediately. That is when Yao struggles. Dream struggled with this for many years before he reached his prime. Once he learned to ROTATE AWAY from the double team and make the quick, easy pass out of the double team... he was no longer double teamed as much and he dominated. Until Yao develops that part of his game... he will only have nights like last night when he is matched up one on one (think Spurs, Pistons, Heat).
You guys are missing the damn point. First of all, I am a YAO lover. My 3 year old and 6 month old have his t shirt. So, get a life. My point is that I am tired of him looking so damn soft. The stats don't mean shiznet. Its the sense of domination that you don't get from Yao. Do you see people who fear him when he is in the paint? Do you see when he takes a shot and barely gets off the ground he gets it back in his face. Its not about the facials literally. Its about the sorry looking way he plays. Its against Duncan. Fine. But what about all the other 8 points 2 rebound nights? Call me what you want. Its my opinion on what I see. He is soft as hell. How many offensive rebounds does he get on a nightly basis? How many times does he get the ball knocked out of his hands when he is going for a rebound? How many times do you see other players go up on him? Yea, posters happen. But how many have you seen just THIS YEAR? Nobody gives a f@@k about Yao or his blocked shots. And if I would of wrote this when he does his customary 8pts 2reb games, then you would of said that I was a Yao hater. But last night...despite the stats...he played SOFT. Think RIK SMITS. Nice stat line. Congrats, Yao.
I'm not going to bash the author of this thread because he is correct. Remember that Yao is young and still developing. With conditioning, his stamina improve. With experience, his shot proficiency will improve. I know this is not the thread, we need a damn PF. There, I feel better now.
I agree Dakota. But you said it yourself. The man is WAY too nice. Like he is afraid someone is going to yell at him or something. He need to realize that he is a huge human being with unbelieveable skills. When he dunks, doesn't it look like he barely made it over the rim? WEAK! I know... Someone know Yaos address? Maybe I can send him some of the "clear" or "the cream" to his crib. Not necessarily for developing strength. But maybe he can get some 'roid rage going.
I dont agree. I dont understand why people say Yao is soft? or had no fire? do you have to yell / scream and taunt players to play with intensity? Duncan / TMac / Lebron are many others that I cant think of right now dont do that. Heart is trying your best even though your exhausted. Playing through pain and competing to the best of your ability. I think when people say Yao needs to be more aggresive they assume he is not being aggresive at all. Yao is aggressive and has heart he just doesnt express it the way we do. J
