What can be done to improve the bad foul calls on Yao Ming???

BINGO

plain and simple, Yao needs to improve, not the referees.

the last 5-10 games for Yao haven't completely been the ref's fault, but Yao's inability to play defense, make shots, and even shoot ft's.

 

Of course, the most interesting question is:

Why didn't these problems occur in Yao's 1st and 2nd seasons? Why suddenly is Yao in such a foul slump? Anybody wants to explain what happened in the guy's third year?

 

The answer: Get a REAL PF that can clog the lane and block shots to play next to him.

 

the rule changes have definately improved the gaurd's ability to score, both on the perimeter and inside. just touch a guy on the perimeter and theres a foul, then dont touch him, he blows past his man, jumps into your center and gets a foul called.

 

<B>CATO</B>

 

Yao needs to learn that if he can not get over to challenge the shot then feign like he is going to challenge and bail out.....

Pick your spots.

Yao is smart, he is just in a big slump, and I think most of it is confidence related.

DD

 

Nevermind. Someone beat me to it.

 

He is the only big man that is willing to challenge a shot for the Rockets, thus leaving him out on an island against players jumping into him. This is where Cato's absence is felt the most.

 

Yeah I was just telling someone this the other day. It's supposed to be a judgement call by the ref (if a foul occurs inside the circle), but more often than not, they call a block when the defender clearly has position. And unfortunately, Yao often is called for that crap! Get that weak **** outta here!

 

Ok, well let him do it six times a game and he's gone.

It's a stupid foul. One that he should know better on.

 

Clearly he has to be smarter, but I think he only had one over the back call tonight for his 5th foul.

And it was because he was being aggressive.

Yao has still not learned when to turn it on, and when to turn it off.

I think he is still adjusting to the US game of basketball, his day will come.

DD

 

I agree with DD - as long as they call that $hit - Yao needs to at least make those 6 fouls mean something

... if someone comes in out of control and jumps into him - that guy better be on the deck

that is how Shaq does it

... and people think twice about coming in again !

 

I agree with your last post DD.

 

The anwser:
Get the first foul real hard immediately and knock someone down unconsciously in the first second every game.

 

Yao adjust? That's total bologna. He's been adjusting constantly for his whole career. Ridiculous. It's time for Yao to force the league and the refs to adjust.

The call inside the circle is a judgment call and it can be a no call and should be a no call if Yao is just standing there or if he jumps straight up. If the offensive player initiates contact inside that circle, it doesn't have to be called a foul unless the defender disrupts the offensive player by reaching, grabbing, or jumping into the shooter. You are taught from grade school little league that the defender has the right to the space he is in and the space right above him. I still remember going through those fundamental drills of learning to jump straight up with arms vertical to block the shot or create a shooting hazard.

But besides that, the problem with the rule is the fact of how the referees enforce it. They call Yao for the foul outside the circle and then they let the defender butcher Yao on the other end and call Yao for the offensive foul when his defender is inside the circle. That's the ridiculous part of it.

What needs to happen is Yao needs to go out and play his game and not pay one bit of attention to his foul count. And Van Gundy needs to leave Yao in as long as Yao is playing the right way and not worry about how many fouls Yao gets. If they are gonna call fouls, let them call them. If You gets 5 or 6 by halftime, so be it.

I said this already in another thread. Van Gundy and Yao need to quit trying to make adjustments to please the refs and just let Yao go off and play the game. If Yao starts fouling out constantly, the highlights will be on ESPN and TNT every game for the whole world to see and you'll have Charles and Kenny and everybody talking about it. It will be major news in the Sports world especially when they start dissecting tape of his foul outs over national television constantly.

And then if Van Gundy would just back up his player for once and let the media and the fans know that Yao is playing the right way and he is not going to tell him to do anything different, he would put the pressure on the league. Do you want Yao in this league or not? If you do, then you gotta call the game the right way and deal with all the contact that is not called on Yao and all the little titsy touch foul calls and ridiculous calls that Yao has to endure night after night.

What do you think would happen if Yao fouled out 6, 8, 10, 12 games in a row? Do you think that it would get media attention? Do you think the reporters would be asking questions? Do you think there would be 15,000 fans at TC booing their heads off?

Or would nothing happen?

Yao needs to go out and play like there's no tomorrow and get his 6. I don't care if he gets them in one quarter. And Van Gundy needs to go out and defend his player for once since he claims to be such a loyal coach to his players. And Van Gundy needs to quit dissecting Yao's game and telling what is wrong with Yao's play every time he answers questions to the media and providing excuses for the media, the opposing teams, and the referees to attack Yao with. As long as Van Gundy is blabbing constantly about all the things that Yao is doing wrong and what he needs to improve on, all he is doing is providing ammunition for the referees to continue using against Yao.

The dominant players and their coaches force the league to adjust. Look at MJ. We finally are seeing the results of this league being devoid of MJ with the rule changes regarding the removal of the perimeter hand check. All that handchecking, grabbing, pulling, pushing, and bumping came into vogue with Mr. Michael Jordan. He was good at it, he was the best at it, and the league adjusted and let him play that way for his whole career. Do you think that Jordan could come back today with another name on his jersey and play the same style he played and get away with it if his name wasn't Jordan in regards to the rule changes today? Nope, he'd have 3 fouls before halftime and 4 or 5 before the 4th quarter started. And then he'd have to really lighten up on the defensive end to avoid #6. But he was a dominant player and he forced the league to adjust to his play.

Now let's move ahead to Shaq daddy. Shaq is the biggest offensive fouler in the history of the NBA. He is also the player that has gotten away with the most offensive fouls in the history of the NBA. Shaq's most obvious offensive foul was the back down move where the defender is standing flat footed and Shaq initiated all the contact, and then Shaq would then spin to his left, and hook his left elbow around the defender's kidneys while the defender is standing flatfooted. That foul was never called. Because Shaq was a superstar and he forced the league to adjust. They couldn't call that foul on him consistently because he did it too often and it would take him out of the game and they knew he was going to keep doing it. So they let him have that move, as illegal as it was. I've seen him make that play a thousand times if I've seen it once.

My point is the league adjusted. They realized that Shaq and MJ were superstars that sold tickets. They still realize that Shaq sells tickets and he still gets 7 or 8 fouls a night before he has to sit down. If you don't think this is true, just harken back to our playoff series against them last year and the no calls that Shaq got when he finally got up to 5 called fouls. The league adjusted and the league will adjust for it's superstar draw attractions.

In this case, we have the double whammy. We've got a player that everybody wants to see and not only that but he is representing a foreign country which if penetrated by the NBA could add hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of revenue stream to the NBA. And on top of all that, he is actually a very nice gentleman and a tremendous role model for young men. The league wants Yao in the league! They wanna make money. So, you gotta force the league to adjust to Yao. You don't force Yao to adjust to this league. He is an extremely gifted, skilled, savvy, basketball smart GIANT. We need to quit hearing about how many adjustments he needs to make and start hearing about the adjustments that the league and the refs need to make.

 

I am not sure about that any more. Don't want to bring in the racial card but I am not sure whether the refs want Yao in the league.

He always gets his fair share of calls in the international games. IT's a different story in the league, and it seems that it's getting worse and worse. The absence of Cato is an issue, but the double standard used by the refs against him is ruining his game. I have pointed out lots of times that if PJ were out coach, he would have called out the media about how ridiculous the whole situation is. For JVG, all he knows is to ask Yao to be more aggressive. This guy is clueless and a coward. Why should Yao play for him if he never sticks out his neck for Yao?

 

EXCELLENT Post Jopatmc! Great points.

 

Yao needs to take over a game. Like most have posted here, Yao needs to impose his will on a game for once. Stop crying to the refs and just play through the crappy calls. Yao needs to work on getting his hands stronger. I keep watching him loose passes and rebounds because he doesn't have a strong grip.

When will Yao not be in foul trouble??

 

Good post jopatmc.

Another thing that would help keep Yao out of foul trouble is a PF that can block shots and play defense. Cato did a great job last year helping out on guards/small forwards that drove to the hoop. He also picked up alot of the fouls that Yao is picking up this year. Rockets are going to have to find a PF to take Cato's place and someone that can help out Yao on the defensive end.

 

Yao plays for Rockets, not JVG. The Rockets drafted Yao, not JVG. Yeah, Yao may leave due to JVG.