The first line from the Chron's article on the loss yesterday reads: Would Yao have done this if T-Mac were on the floor? Would Yao "take over" if T-Mac were standing there? I don't think so. What do you think?
Yao is definitely a leader but the article also points out that Yao was talking about taking over Scola's defensive assignment, not the game (even though he nearly did that too). Yao has done the same with Duncan, Garnett and Amare in the past--he should be appreciated more but people are spoiled from watching a center that could outplay the strongest center/run down the fastest guard/shutdown the league MVP/fly/cure cancer/crap lightning and all while getting mugged and selling popcorn to fans in the third row. Yao is never gonna be Dream but he is the hardest working center in the NBA. Anyone who doesn't see/appreciate that needs to go back to watching streetball and videogames.
Yao only had 2 personal fouls. Rick Adelman should have put him on West much sooner. Yao stepped up perfectly. Rick made some boneheaded coaching mistakes (specifically in not doubling on West/switching Yao over - no one else on the Hornets was scoring).
Yao has shown some good leadership lately. However, it was obvious from last night's game that Yao needs help. Big men don't win close games in this league. We need a perimeter player who can be the closer. This is where TMac comes in.
everyone needs to step up, if you only count on Yao, you will surely be disappointed.. he did miss that hook shot in the paint while a shorter guy was guarding him with rox down one point (he usually makes that shot 9 times out of 10, but he missed that one). i am not accusing Yao for choking, because without Yao, the rox won't even get that close, but yesterday's game was not a game we all wished to see, where 5-6 rox again can have double-digit scoring and rox score over 100 easily..
42min for a 7'6'' center, that's too much. After I watched the video of 7'7'' kid playing basketball, I realized how athletic Yao is.
Hi, man, he did not nearly do that. He did it great. Yao shut down West, who was 1-of-9 shooting after the switch in assignments(quoted from Feigen) ha-ha , Yao said he would take over the defense on West. Ok, leave this behind. And suppose T-mac is on the floor. This question is gonna be very complicated. It's a two-folded story and both sides stand, IMO.
Don't know, but I like that he is taking over. We need a leader, and TMac has shown that while he is a great player, he isn't a leader.
Well, since some of the posters on this board are never satisfied with anything Yao does, maybe we can also now start to put him on the opposition's best defensive players too? Imagine Yao guarding Kobe, LeBron and Wade
basketball is team work! don't depend of Yao,what the other can do? Yao absolutley is the Rox's basis
maybe yao is not a born leader, but he is learning to be a real leader, like what he does in national team
oh shut up you dumbass YOF....you just contradicted yourself in the post, you said "bball is team work", and then you said Yao is rox's basis and we must depend on him because others can't do no ****... well, we depended on him in the Hornet's game, he can only do so much, the exhausted Yao missed the potentially game winning jump hook, OTHERS need to step up. WE have a five game win streak because EVERYONE is stepping up. During the winning streak, Skip, Luther, Scola, Bonzi, Hayes, Brooks, even Landry all have good games and contributed greatly.
Yao is trying do his best, even though he won`t be a great player like Dream, we should appreciate for what he has done.
I think Jonathan Feigen over at the Chronicle said it best. T-Mac isn't a leader and he's looked his best on teams full of savvy veterans that don't require leadership. Guys like Sura, Wesley and Barry were going to step up and do what was expected of them regardless. Yao is trying to lead by example, and that's probably going to happen regardless of whether or not T-Mac is in the game. It sounds like Alston and Battier are going to be the guys who are vocal on the court, which makes sense when you consider that they're pretty solid veterans. At least Battier is. T-Mac is just too mellow to step up. That's not to say that the Rockets are doomed however. I think "leadership" is probably highly overrated. There are plenty of teams filled with guys who are capable of "leading" themselves. Certainly if T-Mac had the right teammates and the right system then the argument would be moot.
I actually like this team's chemistry. They seem to be communicating alot better than in the past. They talk to each other in between plays and mentoring the younger rockets. I'm excited about our chances once T-mac gets back. Hopefully we can continue to play well.
Remember when Yao killed that man to prove to JVG that he wasn't soft? Maybe Yao should finish up the war on terror to prove he can lead.
