WTF, Yao1134 was criticizing Yao for not putting up more points. He's not complaining about a lack of touches. He did voice concern about the team not winning in the long run with that level of offensive production -- not concern about Yao's inability to pad his stat line. 1134's only fault (at least in this post) is expecting a rookie to put up a lot of points on a nightly basis, and failing to see Yao's other contributions. And if he is a Yao fan, well these guys are no less guilty of single-player favoritism -- and caring more about a player than the team -- than Steve worshipers. At least the Yao fans have a player who has consistently shown a team-first attitude from the beginning -- which really can't be said with complete certainty about our so-called team leader. And these xenophobic jackasses really tick me off. You're signature reeks of bigotry and jingoism. Nice analogy you created there -- I wonder if you think freedom and democracy are threatened by all these damn foreigners riding in here on their Japanese-made, un-American cars, and stealing our team. You are an embarrasment to Rockets fans.
I think Yao played well. Instead of forcing up shots he passed out of double teams to open or cutting players. That's what you want from him. Yao had 5 assists in limited playing time, what else can you ask for? My only grip with Yao is how he attacks the defense boards. He's a bit lackluster with the effort.
The only bad thing I have to say about Yao is that he never seems to bring his entire game. I know I shouldn't say that after his effort last night, but when he's scoring he doesn't play D as well, when he was playing great D his shooting is off (well, by his standards, we all know 3 for 7 would be a great night for the likes of Mo, KT, Cat, etc). When he does play a great all round game he gets in foul trouble (eg. against GS). I think that when he learns to bring his entire game, we can stop talking about playoff contention and start talking championships.
I think Yao's first great defensive game was last night at Seattle. Last game with Warrior he tried to be overly-aggressive defensively, netting 5 fouls in 16 minutes.
Yesterday was his best defensive game and his passing was brilliant. He made smart decisions most of the time. In order fror him to continue demanding double teams he will have to look to go down into the low post more often and he can then keep on passing to teammates for open shots and get opportunities to get to the free throw line.
I agree. Ming doesn't need to score 30 points everynight. With his passing ability and the double-team he commands, we just need to surround him with snipers who can sink the wide-open shots. Actually I am more excited about Ming's performance last night than his 30 points game against Dallas. Defense wins championship.
Yesterday was his best defensive game and his passing was brilliant. He made smart decisions most of the time i dont know if someone brought this up already, but did you guys see that behind-the-back pass ming made to hawkins? that was amazing! ming spun baseline towards the basket, pivoted away from the basket, and then threw a no-look behind-the-back pass to hawkins. too bad it was blocked, otherwise it might have been all over sportscenter
It seems like this thread is similar to another thread, the one that very very intensive argument between Mr. Jlaw and Mr. Dunk. But I think the majority like Mr.Ming's performance.
He's a Rookie...and not every team has a Shawn Bradley ....with that said, I think his Defense has improved and most noticeably last night when the Sonics just got nothing inside the paint. One comment about Yao is I hope he don't try to add the 30 lb of muscle he needs in just one year...that'll hurt his shooting as well as his health
What happened to Yao? What happened to your brain?!?! Is there another rookie out there currently commanding a double team? Not only do the opponents know Yao can get off a shot pretty much anytime (and hitting with a high %), he makes them pay with his great passing skills. Haven't you realized one of the freakin' reasons the Lakers have been sucessful for the past few years is because they have two players that will demand the double team. When Ming and Steve reach that point and they get the right supporting cast, the Rockets will do major damage in the western conference. You do know that the Mavericks wanted the first pick badly so they can get Ming. Don Nelson loves international players (dating back to '92 with S. Marcelonous) and think what if they did have Ming and with the type of shooting they have, it's scary. If all you care about is how many points a guy has, you should go and root for selfish players who jacks up 25-30 shots on a losing teams. Obviously, you should stick to individual sports like tennis, golf, or midget bowling.
Yeah the thought of adding Ming to the Dallas team is scary. Luckily it's not going to happen at least in the next 4 years.
Oh man if that was true, they would just tear up everybody on their way and kept wining championship after championship. The current Rockets is like Dallas last year, or the year before. Steve vs Nash, Cat vs Finley. Griffin could be a Dirk after he improves his shooting. But Dallas will never have a dominant center, not Bradley, not for a long shot.
You don't understand team basketball, he helped the team win the game. He distributed the ball, and would've had more assists if a few more shots had been made. He and Cato intimidated on the defensive end, stats don't win championships, ask Kenny Smith and Mario Elie if they led the team statistically in any category.
I don't consider myself a bigot, but Ming-only fans kinda tick me off, too. Ya know, the ones that don't give a **** whether the Rockets come out on top or not as long as Ming looked good (which he won't generally if the Rockets lose). I don't like it when Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, or any orientals (I don't like calling them Asian - I'm Indian, and India is right smack in the middle of Asia too) try to use Yao's performance to glorify their race, even jokingly. Don't know why... just gets on my nerves, but they don't always do it as a joke. Oh, and I am a Ming AND a Rockets fan, and just to reemphasize, I don't hate Chinese people! ... but I can see why you might find that guy's signature offensive.
Take it easy. I dont know if people in India cheer for the gold medals they got in Olympics or the Nukes they just developed recently, I guess they do. every nation has her own heroes and the people usually are proud of them, not a joke. Having that said, I do agree with you that some non-basketball fans or Ming-only fans r annoying sometimes.
I have been reading this board constantly since June. I personally have not read any posts by Yao's fans which 'glorify their race'. Anyway, I think you need to understand that Ming is their hero. Ming has been being bashed by the media, uninformed sport columnists and some ignorant people ever since he was drafted at #1 by us. Imagine how you would feel if he was an Indian and also your hero. If you visit other basketball forums like nbadraft.net or hoopsworld.com, you would be amazed by all those harsh and racist comments made about Ming by the idiotic posters there. Now Ming is coming along nicely, showing improvement and drawing raves around the league. I can understand why his fans get a little over-excited. I personally have no problem with it. I just hope we can all get along.
back to the reply about Dejan Wagner scoring like 16 pts..and yao scoring what?6,, well you cant really compare a rookie who is playing with like 6 others who can easily score in double figures. This limits yao's shots.. he is more careful now...then he would be to say...playing for Wagner's team...The fact that we're a playoff team, quit comparing yao to wagner.
Are you talking about the Rockets? The 2002-2003 Houston Rockets? The team that only has one active scorer averaging double figures in points? The team that has 6 guys shooting under 40%??????
