Yao could defintaley out-class Z on offense but not defense. The only way collier played Z better is on the defensive side and that's only because he has a big butt and he's stronger in the paint. I dont usually complain and Im usually all for Francis scoring first since he has more experience but there were a number of times Ming set great picks and was open under the basket but Francis elected to take it the hoop instead and miss the tough layup. As good as Ming is scoring down low you'd think the guards would pass the ball to him more, namely Francis. Could it be that Francis is afraid he wont be the number one scoring option pretty soon? I can easily see Ming being the number one scoring option within the next 3 years, but I'm not sure Francis will like that idea since he is really selfish. Im not trying to rag on Francis or anything but he always had that "only child" type of selfishness going on wehre he wants it to all be about him.
Yea, I can only guess those people who think Yao played good defense on Z last night DIDN'T SEE THE GAME. I'm a Yao fan before I'm a Rockets fan, but I also watched the game (just as I've watched every Rockets game so far this season). Yao was being abused defensively by Z. Don't get me wrong, he played solidly. He moved his feet and cut off Z, he had his arms up, and he didn't make a lot of silly fouls. But Z was (and could've continued to) scoring at will against Yao. Maybe someone can explain this... but it looked to me like Yao wasn't bodying up on Z when he was backing him down in the post. Yao had just a hand on Z's back instead of using his body, which meant Z could push him all the back under the basket in 2-3 bumps. Why would anyone do this? Is it just because Yao was keeping distance to go for the block in case Z did a spin? And if so... then that seems like a tactical mistake. Z was backing him down too easily to bother with anything but brute force. On a couple of other plays (not really Yao's fault, he was out of position on help D), Yao was pump-faked out of his shoes... giving Z a clear lane. Yao looked good again last night as a package, but it's absolutely true that Collier out-played him defensively and on the boards.
No way Yao Ming was abused by Z last night. Everytime Z back down, Yao did give up his groud, but Z couldnt lay the ball in either, because Ming was right in his face. To me Ming was effective guarding Z last night. Talk about abusing,Collier was the one got abused in the 3rd quarter, Z just shoot over him like he was not there. I am not saying Collier didnt play well last night, actually he played great, and probably contributed more to last night's game than Ming did. But Ming was the most effective Rox player guarding Z, period.
Spot on. Yao is a good enough player not to need boosting every time something doesn't quite go his way. ZI uninjured and comfortable with his game is a tough cover for anyone in this league. Including a rookie with virtually no experience.
Yao played decent defense last night. His main problem was just that he's a rookie and big Z isn;t. Z got some questionable foul calls, and used his experience to get some barely noticeable, but effective, hooks, pushes, etc. I must have counted 10 times where he simply used a hand to hold off a guy trying to guard him as he posted up. Guaranteed if MIng did that he would get whistled for an offensive foul. Considering Z is the first guy of that size and mobility that Yao's faced, with experience, I think he did a good job. Next time we play Cleveland, you'll see an even better defensive performance out of him.
I watched the game on league pass (Cleveland announcers) and even they couldnt believe Z was getting away with all the hooking. In almost any other game he couldnt have got away with that. Strange officiating.........
The article says that ZI scored five points in the first Q against Collier, made one FGA out of 4 and 3 FTs, but what about the third quarter? Yao didn't play in the third Q. ZI scored 8 points against Yao according to some posters, so ZI scored the other 16 points against either Collier or Mo Taylor, who played no more than 10 minutes against ZI. Statistically ZI should've scored the most points on Collier, while Collier's minutes are about the same as Yao's. Collier played a good game, but Yao was decent against ZI.
