While everyone else is starting threads about how Yao cost us the series, I think he showed that he can step up and take over a game, no matter who guards him. I personally thought his effort was very admirable in Game 7, and even in the series in general, he made his presense felt a lot more than last year's playoffs. Here are the problems he had this year: Minutes Primarily due to 2 factors - foul trouble and fatigue. Albiet, there were games where Dike's rebounding and shotblocking landed Yao on the bench, but for the most part, Yao was needed in every game this season. But next summer, he won't be playing in the Olympics - yes he might have other tournaments, but nowhere near as intense. Also, he showed improvement just in this series in regards to not taking charges and getting to spots quicker. Foul trouble, in my opinion, won't be as big a factor next year. I think he can average a good 35-38 mpg, thus improving his point production. Rebounding. His positioning is terrible I really don't know if he'll improve upon this or not, but I think he needs to watch a few Dennis Rodman tapes on positioning. However, his offensive rebounding did improve, and he's following his shots better for the most part. But he probably won't ever average 12 rbp, but he sure as hell should get 10. Inside positioning. Quicker guys are getting in front of him, and scaring off guards from passing Yao the ball. He struggles against smaller, quicker, centers. This is Yao's fault in a sense that he needs to start sealing his man off before his man seals him off. Also, he's getting fouled a lot of times when they are doing this - perhaps a little acting to force the refs to call this could help (i'm not saying he needs to pretend like someone just shot him everytime he's touched ala Dirk/Malone, but just pretend like he's 6'6" instead of 7'6" when he is hit). Also, the point guards need to realize how tall he is, and not be afraid to lob in up to him. When there is a jump ball high in the air, Yao will catch it 90% of the time. I think it would help for him and the point guards to work with him more on this, and maybe when looking for guys to add to this team, get a guy who knows how to make entry passes. Anything else? I don't know - I just listed these off the top of my head - but I think next year Yao should be in the 20s as far as point production goes. He seems to have a those hiigh 20s-low 30s games once every 5 games, but I think with a little work he might be having those more often. Either way, next year will determine if he's a MAX player or not.
Well there was one thing that the Rox did in this game that pretty much never happened before. The entry passer actually lobbed the ball to Yao when someone was giving him the 3/4 front. It wasn't one of those "alleyopp for a thundering dunk" passes, but it did get the ball to Yao on the baseline with his defender sealed. Such a simple move that NEVER happened in the previous 88 games, and in this game it happened at least twice. And until this series, Yao would hardly ever get easy baskets on the pick and roll. But during these seven games it became his main weapon. T-mac learned to toss it up high and soft for Yao to finish, and I hope that the rest of the team learned that an easy lob to Yao's off hand when he's getting fronted can solve a lot of problems. I think Yao can be a top 20+ ppg scorer just by running more pick and rolls. T-mac and Yao developed a lot of chemistry in this series, and if he can continue his improvement in the lowpost, then there's no doubt in my mind that he can be a dominant offensive player. On the other side of the ball, he might never be a dominant rebounder, but if you check his blocked shots in the last 20 games of the season, it's obvious that he's making strides in that department.
I don't think Yao will really ever dominate the NBA during the regular season. He does have the talent to kick it into gear in the postseason. What holds him back is his mentality, and lack of energy.
He won't be dominant next year but he will be better, maybe a lot better. 24 pts, 9 rebs, more blocked shots, fewer dumb fouls, more consistency are not out of the question. A better post passer at PG will help his offensive performance a lot. Sura and James bring very different skills to the table, but what they have in common is both are way below average passers, even when they penetrate off the dribble.
So +20ppg average is NOT DOMINANT to you? Having Tracy taking up 30+ pppg (points per playoff game) how can you argue anything at all?
ummm so what exactly is dominant to you? 24 and 9 with more blocks would make him a top 10 player without question and combine that with his shooting percentages from the field and ft line then you have the most efficient offensive player in the league.
Is this a joke? Rockets and Yao have yet to find a way to CONSISTENTLY get him the ball in a position where he can do his things and now u think he will be dominant? How? To set a record screens in every single game?
well i disagree that fatigue was a problem with yao this year. i think it was solely his foul trouble that kept him from playing more. not sure why you think his foul situation will be better next year. there has been a dramatic increase in his fouls per game from his rookie year...nearly one more foul per game in only 1.5 minutes more a game. i don't really see why you think he showed improvement with the foul trouble problem in the dallas series. didn't foul trouble plague him in almost every game? in game 7 he would have come out when he got his 4th foul in the 3rd if it wasn't game 7. not trying to rip you for your points, just trying to counter your points...but...how would watching rodman help yao? rodman was an athletic freak who was long and lanky. yao is not that. yao's positioning is also hurt by the fact that he has to go out and cover the perimeter. if we had a pf who could do that then maybe yao could stay in the paint more and help seal out. yao's big body is great at sealing out when he can stay down low which creates rebounds for him and his teammates. our complete inability to seal out was exposed against dallas with all their offensive rebounds. we need a pf to help protect yao on defense. secondly...if you have yao playing 35 mpg then you have a guy who is getting 10+ boards a game. he is not a bad rebounder. finally, i know you didnt say this, but i hate it when i hear people say how yao should be a great rebounder since he is 7'6. in reality, most great rebounders have been under 7 feet, right? and all great rebounders were 7'1" and under i think. just curious what smaller, quicker centers did yao struggle against? didn't he murder amare when he guarded him? complete agreement there. i hate when people say yao has terrible hands since he doesn't suck up everything thrown at him. if they want to b**** about bad hands then watch mutombo try to catch something. it would be great if yao could spend an offseason here simply working on passing to him with his teammates. he does botch some stuff but damn its like people act as if he has to be perfect.
For Yao to achieve 24 pts, 9 rebs next year, all he needs to do is fumble the ball away less and be more consistent day in/day out. Plus we need a good post passer at the point who will learn when & where to feed Yao the ball to optimize his efficiency. Just imagine another player on the floor besides T-Mac who is dedicated to ensuring Yao gets at least 15-18 shots a game on average. This is why I say upgrading the PG position is our #1 priority this offseason. Yao just needs to keep progressing. If you ask me, the hardest part for Yao will be consistency. I haven't done this, but I bet if you throw away Yao's "disappearing act" games this season where he took 8 or 9 shots or less, his stat line would look much better, like 21,9 instead of 18,8.5. If he stops gettings 2 fouls in 5 minutes every 4th game (yes, I exaggerate) and plays 36 minutes/game instead of 31, it's not such a big step. How do you define dominant? I only consider 5-6 players in the NBA dominant (such as Shaq, T-Mac, Garnett, etc). Yao will not be a top 5-6 player next year, IMO. Please let him prove me wrong.
I'll be happy if Yao can even average 34 minutes a game during the regular season, 35-38 minutes is a bit too optimistic IMHO. He should aim to get atleast 20 points a game, 22 is not out of his reach either (more shot attempts plus pick & roll with T-Mac). Should also try increase his rebounding numbers to the range of 9-10. His blocked shots has definitely improved, especially in the later part of the season as other posters have mentioned. 2.5 blocks a game is a high possibility if he keeps it up. If he can average say 21 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 block shots next season, that is approaching dominance in today's NBA, with further progression throughout the coming seasons. -G'day-
So many people are talking about Yao's bad hands, fumbling balls away etc. Why is it such a big deal? How many turnover does he have in a game? 2-3? I don't think it's that seriously bad. He doesn't have those quick and nimble hands as the guys handling the ball, but he has less turnovers than the guys handling the ball. A TO is a TO, does it matter, it's because one can't catch a bullet pass, or one loses it outbounds with fancy dribbling? Jeez, he's 7'6, why not throw him a lob pass? Besides TMac and Barry, who could do that? It's NBA, I would think it's something everyone on the team can do. Being 7'6, he has his advantage and physical shortcomings. You can train his post move, PnRs, hook shots, but you can't train his hands as quick as Tmac or Rodman. Why not try to utilize his advantage, instead of just keeping the old "fumbling passes" complain every single day?
Some nights he wil be, other nights he won't be. And then fast forward to a year from now give or take a few weeks and start the same thread again...
When he fumbles a pass away, I believe the TO gets charged to the passer, so that number does not reflect those types of plays.
I agree, it is the consistency under foul trouble. I was going over the 2002 LA vs. Kings series, it is amazing Lakers bench generally produced NOTHING. Even in game 7, Lakers bench only contributed 5 points, but all 5 starters had double-digit points. check it out: http://www.nba.com/games/20020602/LALSAC/boxscore.html I believe if Rox had Fisher, Horry, and Rox on the team, Rox would beat the Mavericks.
I don't expect a marked improvement from Yao, if you look at his trends, he shows very small incremental improvement. We can expect 19.0 point, 9 rebounds, and 2 block shots per game. For yao to show major improvement, he would need to spend the offseason working on improving, but instead he will waste it playing against sub-par competition in China. It will probably hamper his game as he will regress into bad habits.
