I doubt it'd help. Yao's too slow to position like that, he's pretty much stuck where he is once the shot goes up. Dennis could play volleyball with the ball till he got it, Yao's arms ain't long enough for that
Which coaching staff are you talking about? The CNT's, his Chinese team's, Rudy's, or JVG's? Because it seems like none of them have taught him, right?
As far as rebounding goes, I just don't think Yao has the athletic ability to do what you guys are talking about. His reaction time is abysmal - you see this when the ball comes to him and he fumbles it as well. In my opinion this has less to do with boxing out than he's just not athletically gifted. I've seen him box out so others could get rebounds before, but like someone said, once he's established position, he's not going to adjust position easily.
If that's true...and it may be...then Yao will never be the player we envisioned. If you're 7'6" and you really can't offer your team real rebounding help...well...that sucks, frankly. Rebounding is not necessarily a function of size. It's of hustle. Exhibit A is Barkley. Yao doesn't have that kind of desire, as best I can tell. I think that may prove to be very limiting for this franchise.
D.o.D, Assuming that is true, Yao can learn to jump earlier, or start moving earlier. There are things he can do to get better. The biggest one being aggressiveness. DD
Athletic ability and technique are a part of the problem with Yao, but the biggest problem (imo) is his desire. A large part of rebounding is mental, in that your mentality as a big must be that you are going to get that ball when it is anywhere near you and sometimes even when it is not. You have to want the ball and this is something that I just do not see in Yao. He seems content to attempt to box out (when he even bothers to box out at all) and let other team mates rebound. This is not the mentality of a good rebounder, a good rebounder doesn't care who it is, he will even rip the ball away from one of his own team mates if they are in the way. I can't tell you how many times this year I have seen a ball bounce off the rim near Yao and he either makes no effort to get the rebound or allows himself to be out rebounded by a smaller player...uuuuggggh disgusting. C'mon want the damn ball Yao....
It's easier for a 6'6" - 6'7" (if he was taller, you've been told a lie) Barkley to rebound because he can maneuver easier for position and has a lower center of gravity than a huge guy. Of all the freakishly tall players in the league like Yao, Muresan, Bol, Bradley, Eaton, etc., none have been exceptional rebounders. I think a lot of our expectations of Yao are affected by what we saw of Hakeem. We look for the explosion, but when we see passive play, we're pissed. Statwise Yao's doing fairly well, although he seems inconsistent at times. As for Yao hustling, I see him hustle, but his reaction time to the ball is ridiculously slow, and I don't know if you can coach that much. The best example of this is when he goes for blocked shots... he can be so awkward doing that, which is one reason why his blocked shots are so low. If you can't, then I don't expect Yao to become too much better in the rebounding department.
there's an aggressiveness that he lacks that scares me. by the way...i thought he was different. or so we were led to believe. if ultimately his weaknesses are washed away by saying, "well bol and bradley couldn't do those things anyway," then all the naysayers and critics were right...and he wasn't worth a first pick.
This is basically what it has come down to... is Yao playing to his full potential right now, if so then he was definitely not worth the no. 1 pick in the draft. If he is still developing then possibly, the question then becomes how long if ever will it take for him to meet his potential. This is his third year, how long do we wait to see improvement?
They need to teach Yao the sky hook. Once he can score continually with ease from mid range he will reacquire confidence. When he hits his stride, Yao will essentially be a very good to great offensive center with his scoring and passing. He will always need to be doubled defensively. It isn't about desire; it is about reaction time. Yao will never be a good rebounder, because he isn't quick enough to get to the ball. With his height he will always be about average in rebounding. With his height he will always be at least adequate in interior defense and blocked shots. What's so bad with a dominating offensive center who is at least average on defense? Yao is not the problem with the Rockets.
He tried that skyhook from a foot out last night. He missed by more than his distence from the basket.
all this bah humbug talk everyone needs to smile the dream would want us to "Yeah I'm tired of not gettin props! I was puttin it down in '87 before Rap A Lot"-Akeem Olajuwon
I'm a big Yao fan, but his facial expressions and the "aww shucks" thing bother the hell out of me, too.
Me too. Yao needs a big brother figure. He might be 24, but he's 18 at heart. Francis was great at that role. We either turn him into a man by mocking him A LOT, shoot make him cry and wish he never came to the league, or we get a tough vetern who's willing to be Yao's mentor. I was hoping Deke would fulfill that role, but I don't think Yao is accepting Deke as someone to look up to. A Yao posse would help too, but somehow I don't see that happening. We could draft that other Chinese kid and force Yao to be a mentor. That would work, except we'd have to tank the season to get a high draft pick. Seriously, if Yao had half the attitude Lebron has, he'd be a 25/10 player right now.
