R0ckets03, great post! I need to rejoin the "Fire JVG" club. T-Mac's 13 points on 35 seconds has made JVG his b*tch. JVG did what he need to do to save his job for now. But it is evident that teams are beginning to figure out how to stop the T-Mac offense. Actually, everybody KNOWS how to stop the T-Mac offense. Once they take out Yao's game, Rockets are nothing but the Magic of last season, which is EXTREMELY EASY to beat.
Yao has a bad habit of jumping to soon and him not having a big vertical really hurts him there. He would be better suited to wait until they commit to the shot and then block it. One other thing that is never discussed is the way that teams adapt the way the guard / play him in games. Now that he has been in the league a while there is a lot of game film to study and build strategy from. So it is up to Yao to understand this and improve / adapt his game to counter this. I do see more aggressiveness in his play but think he still gets a bit tired and has some work to do before he really begins to just flow on the floor and not think to much about what is going on.
Agreed, he didn't jump to soon, he jumped too late, not his fault really he's just not that quick. He should have not jumped at all. Judging by the fact that he's giving Swift's chin an uppercut with his bicep, he's fortunate he was not whistled on the play.
i don't dislike yao. as long as he has a rockets jersey on, i will root for him like crazy. and i definitely like him, personally. i think he's clearly a nice guy.
Yao needs to look inside himself for help. He needs to decide if he is going to stand up and start playing like a man or become a poster waiting to happen night in and night out.
Yao is making tons of money for the NBA. How many young black high school ballers are buying these posters where Yao is getting dunked on? How much do these go far?
I haven't seen any your post sound like it. Whatever, man, we need calm down. I feel a little bit sorry for my strong words
i am a Rockets fan, first and foremost. have been since I was a very little kid...10 years old or so. I was at both championship games...I went to the games in the early 90's, before the franchise turned the corner...watched the Rockets my whole life...and cheered like crazy at a big sports bar when they drafted Yao. Yao is the face of the franchise right now...and I'm proud of him from the standpoint of what he represents as a person. I have some concerns about his game...but I have no concerns about his character or who he is, as a man. No concerns at all. Yao will never do anything to make me be anything but proud to be a Rockets fan...you can't say that about a fair number of NBA players out there. And there's definitely value there.
I notice Yao's stats are going down. I said before that Yao's stats will go down even as the team scores more points. It looks like my words are true. The sage has spoken.
I'm glad Yao doesn't have as low a self-esteem as some of the posters here! This is not to say I would mind if he turn that right arm into a upper-cut punch.
Well, Stromile Swift who was playing center, was Yao's man, wasn't he? Donyell being here wouldn't have changed that.
Team play fast pace will score more but yao will have less impact of the game and play less min, his stats will definately down. Team play slow pace half court game, yao will be more effient and play more time to get better stats. recently we was playing uptempo game, result was so obvious, so what's your point????
On that play, I thought Yao covered Swift well, and I thought Swift would use a pump fake and then try for a layup. In that case, it could have been a easy block for Yao. I don't think a lot of ppl anticipated Swift went straight for dunk and he moved this quick. Just back luck for Yao.
I feel the same way as you. Read the bold print It's not a good thing that we overlook Yao even though we won some games. We're no where close to being a good team without Yao's offense.
I love the effort. Yeah, it's frustrating to see Yao pick up useless fouls when his PF get beat time and time again. Yao should just stick to his own man and not worry about trying to contest every shot.
Yao is playing like a robot and if he extends this string of bad games, I'm concerned about the damage to his confidence. The league has Yao's number now and JVG has to counter that. More motion by Yao, more PnR, more screens anything that will get him some space from the defenders. In the off season, he needs to make a personal committment to get to the next level and he needs to tell the Chinese sports system authorities that he is going to take time off from the China team and do what he needs to do in the states to get to the next level. If China gives him a hard time, Yao should say f**k 'em and defect. Team Yao needs to recogize that if Yao goes down in NBA history as a 7'6" bust then there will be no endorsement deals, no TV commercials, no Time mag/SI mag front covers, no max contracts, no hall of fame and no legacy.
5 things inhibiting Yao 5 things inhibiting Yao Have been on Christmas break for awhile, and since a lot of the recent games have been on T.V., and I have been home, I have been watching them 2-3 times each. I like this team a lot more than "The Franchise" era, I think Barry and Wesley will help a lot too. But obviously the key to our success is Yao, and it seems like there are 5 major things holding down his game. They arent even all necessarily his fault, but I think these simple corrections would help a bit. 1. Many times, if a shot against us is a apparent miss, and Yao does not have absolutley perfect position, he will let a guard get it and be downcourt to set up in the halfcourt. Im not saying other stars dont do this, but it seems that both his offensive and defensive rebounding suffers because he does not wait around enough or stay deep enough. He is 7'6 and a lot more O rebounds should come his way if he is just down there. Yao should not worry about getting down court, he should worry about staying deep in both ends and then tredging up court. 2. Kind of an exception to above, but in Yao's first and second year, I distinctly remember a high percentage 16-20 footer, especially after a pick and roll with Steve. I have seen Yao and T-Mac do a few Pick and rolls (not nearly enough) and they work well, but Yao is always crashing down, and while I think this works to. VG should be running the Pick and roll 20 times a game. Whether he crashes or pops open a jumper, Yao is gonna get something. And even if he doesnt, the D is gonna have to send a third man. A lot more pick and roll in Yao's game would really give him and us a boost. 3. Throw a tantrum. The next horrible call on you, walk up to the ref, cuss him out and stare at him. Glare at him periodically after that. Im a realist. I know that Yao is a whimp, but no one can deny that referees do a horrible job on calls on Yao. This is partially his fault, if he freaked out, it may get him some calls. 4. Shoot faster, he takes too much time. He has to realize that with a zone defense, there is no time to put the ball on the floor, not at his height. If any thing, one dribble and put it up. Whether he gets fouled or not, this would increase his shots a game and it is at least obvious to me that his lethargacy causes a lot of the clutzly turnovers. 5. Throw another tantrum, something I have seen for a couple years with the big man is that, he doesnt get the greatest positioning and isnt the stronges, but their are plenty of times that the ball should be forced in there and its not. He needs to tell his team to force it in their, and if he isnt "that type of person" then he will never be a superstar. Even if it causes a few turnovers, force feed him.
Houston trades: PF Maurice Taylor (7.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 apg in 23.8 minutes) Houston receives: C Kelvin Cato (8.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.8 apg in 26.5 minutes) Change in team outlook: +0.3 ppg, +4.4 rpg, and -0.6 apg. Orlando trades: C Kelvin Cato (8.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 0.8 apg in 26.5 minutes) Orlando receives: PF Maurice Taylor (7.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 apg in 23.8 minutes) Change in team outlook: -0.3 ppg, -4.4 rpg, and +0.6 apg. TRADE ACCEPTED Due to Houston and Orlando being over the cap, the 15% trade rule is invoked. Houston and Orlando had to be no more than 115% plus $100,000 of the salary given out for the trade to be accepted, which did happen here. This trade satisfies the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
