**** players... but the point is, Yao doesn't get bullied around or stays quiet about something he considers to be injustice.
Indeed, says it all, right there. T-Mac was smiling and laughing on the bench at the end of this game. No matter what happens in these playoffs, this guy doesn't get it. Don't have to sulk, but you don't laugh at a funeral. Yao's not the greatest leader, he's weak and doesn't understand that he needs to be the dominating knock the other guy down each time down the floor every night in the playoffs guy. B says he's a p***y, I think he hasn't adapted to his new culture 100%.
I'd say Yao will emerge as the leader of this team ... with his determination and action, rather than his words. Unfortunately, Yao's strength and balance are his limitation, as well as his willingness to bully others. But he doesn't have to be a bully to be a leader. All he has to do is to show his determination and others will follow. C'mon Yao, no more deferring to others. You can do it.
it's like y'all are creating new threads to bash tmac. we all know it. after this season, trade him immediately. tmac sucks. he has no heart, intensity... no need to repeat this to death. there have been tens of threads bashing tmac ok. after the series, just petition to waive tmac and everyone is happy.
He's not conceding game six, he's just "Punch Drunk" and is seeing/feeling double. After taken all of the punches from the Jazz, he thinks it's game 7. Ding, ding, ding, Rockets need to throw some uppercuts themselves tonight.
if Yao is disappointed and taking blame then what the hell is TMAC feeling...i still think TMAC will pull it together and play big tonight...or at least that is what i'm hoping for...
if he doesn't, we need to trade him. all stars are suppose to be leaders. yao takes the blame after the loss. tracy takes the blame before series. and after the 2 games, hes still cocky. thats not right. i wouldn't been mad at yao if he yelled at jvg. or tmac, or anyone else besides him. everyone has been like crap. this would be our first time we'd go to conference final since dallas lost. we could use that expiernce.
So...let me get this straight....you guys want an Asian guy who can only speak at a 4th grade level to be the leader of this team made up of a bunch immature, self-centered, pre-madonnas, with exception of Shane. Yeh...not going to happen....the NBA game today is all about individual stats, b/c that is how you get PAID!! Though not every NBA player succumb to the greed of the green, most do. The idea of the team before themselves has been lost for decades. Today everyone wants to be the next MJ or get paid like the next MJ. Sure once in a while in heat of the game players forget that they are out there to make money and actually play as a team. But at the end of the day, these are just mercenary players and the only type of leader for mercenaries is one who can shower them manipulative speeches and illusionary rewards to satiate their greed. This character is not in Yao or JVG; Tmac is beginning to learn the way of the Dark Side but in order to expedite the process....we need the Zen Master.
Yao obviously could have played better, but our problem goes far deeper than his individual plays, or TMac's individual plays. The real problem is our game strategy, and the execution. As many have mentioned, include JVG, there isn't much talent difference between teams, you get to have talent to make the NBA. It's been proved over and over again that teams with most individual talent usually don't win the titles. The same thing can be said about the "effort" or "play hard". If that's what wins the game, you and me can play in the NBA. Effort or playing hard can win you some games during a long 82 regular season, but when comes to playoff time, it's about the execution. In playoff, teams get time to prepare for everything you'd like to do, and they will make it hard for you to do any of those things. Everyone knows each others strength and weakness by now, teams can easily design the plays to take any player out of his game, so it's not surprise that Yao/TMac could not do what they normally did during the regular season. Now it all comes down to the game plan and execution. We either have a good game plan in place, and the players good enough to execute them, or we don't. The Warriors have a game plan and the players to execute it, that's why they lead the series 3-1. The Rockets have their own game plans, we just need to find out if their plan is better than the Jazz's.
It is not the speech that make you a leader, it's the heart. Yes, Yao is Chinese, English is his second language, but still he can play hard and stand up when the team needs him. And when the time comes, all he needs to say is:" It's time to fight, let's play hard and go for the win!" As long as the teammates trust him, inspired by him, who cares that Yao can only give out 4th grade level speech!
You forgot balance. He has exceptional balance for someone so large, but compared to shorter folks, his balance is poor. That effects his quickness and footspeed as well. Having a leg injury isn't going to help that.
He has not done his part. His defense in the last two games has been atrocious. His rebounding is OK, but the Jazz are putting on a layup drill right in front of us and he's nowhere to be found. At this stage of his career, Yao is still a one-dimensional player in that his offense is his only strength; so far, his rebounding is average at best and his defense is average/subpar/inconsistent. If he wants to be mentioned with the all-time greats as far as big men are concerned (e.g. Hakeem Olajuwon) he will have to play better on BOTH ends of the court, not just put up a bunch of points, there are a bunch of players that can do that, and some aren't even all-stars. Oh, and he also has to get past the first round...
