This is NOT a put down Yao thread. I think we sometimes remember what it was like when Dream was in his prime and we could just dump the ball down to him every time and get some positive production on most plays. Yao is now there yet. He's still young and learning. We have to remember that. He is still not able to consistently get position down low. He is not able to beat his man every time. He will get some good plays but he's not yet the unstoppable force that you need down low to allow you to feed him the ball every time. The dilemma for the Rockets is that they have a point guard that can beat his man every time down the floor. What is the proper balance? I think Rudy is trying to figure it out but is having a hard time. This is a new league. Scoring is down. Back when you needed 110 to 120 points to win a game you needed scoring from a lot of different places. Now that scoring is down in the 80 to 90 - sometimes 60 to 70 - point range, teams now rely on getting their star players off. If you only need 90 points to win a game and you get 30 from your best player or 50 from your best two players, you don't need that much point production from everyone else. Just a couple of buckets here and there. That's how Dallas beat us last night. Nowitski touched us up for 34, that was almost half of what our whole team scored. You get a star player hot and you keep feeding him the ball. Everyone here knows that Jason Kidd is an assist machine, but did you also know that he is NJ's leading scorer? He scores four more points a game than KMart who is second. And in the big games, Jason Kidd calls his own number more often than not to get his team over the hump. Bottom line is, whoever's star players do the most damage, they will win the game 80 percent of the time. How else could the Lakers with only two good players beat teams like Dallas, Sacramento, and Portland that are 10 men deep with talent. Because as long as Kobe gets 30 and Shaq gets 30, the Lakers will win. The Rockets have to find a way to get their star players going. The Rockets will go nowhere with Steve and Yao getting 18-19 points. This team needs Steve going off for 25 to 30 points cosistently and Yao getting twenty points consistently. Everyone else chip in with defense and hitting open jumpers, but other than that, LET STEVE AND YAO SHOOT THE DAMNED BALL! And don't let Steve get lost in our excitement over Yao because this team will go nowhere without him. They need bothe of them to play well.
Yao can the life of Francis much easier. He can create open shot and layups for Francis. Although Steve can beat his defender one- on- one, but most times is facing two or three defenders. You need to move the ball to beat the zone, and we all know Yao is the best decision maker on Rox.
The inside outside game, so far, happens just a few times a game. No encouragement is given to Yao Ming because the ball is NEVER thrown back to him when he repositions. In the old days when Hakeem would pass out to the open man, if the open man was challenged quickly the ball was passed either on arround to another open player ,or passed back to Hakeem in a better position for him to score. Its just not working that way at present!
Yao is learning to play inside NBA style. I noticed that in the last few games he made a real effort to power his way inside. I have never seen him play in CBA. How did he get most his shots there? IMHO, He is not going to another Hakeem but he will be a dominating force in the middle just like the Dream.
I really think Yao is one of those guys who can really improve in a couple of years, like Dirk Nowitzki did (even though Yao isn't struggling like Dirk did). I don't think there is much holding Yao back from being a dominant force close to what Hakeem was. He's not as quick or athletic, that's the on thing.
Of course Yao is not Hakeem. Yao is 7'5", 300, Hakeem was 6'11" tops, and maybe 240. Hakeem's speed, agility, and footwork was surpassed by no big man to ever play the game. Hakeem was basically like an oversized small forward or at times, a shooting guard. Actually, no one makes this comparison, but at times Dirk Nowitzki reminds me of Hakeem, except not nearly as quick, and a much longer range. I consider them both very unique 7 footers, though, because of their ability to draw mismatches and play a style of game suited for small forwards.
The Steve Finley and Kobe Bryant's of the league need to remember their behavior after dunking on Yao Ming. Houston needs to show Yao Ming those ESPN lowlights. At some point, Yao Ming needs to ****ing punish players that challenge him. If it takes public embarrassment, lessons from the officials, or personal integrity; Yao Ming needs to start playing stronger. Yao Ming will not be Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem Olajuwon is not Yao Ming. University (Neverending Dream) Blue
Hakeem and the big "E" had cat quick footwork and leaping ability. I love Yao and his game, but often his feet appear glued to the floor. His lateral movement is nothing like Hakeem's was. Yao reminds me more of a combination of Walton and Kareem in their younger years. Whether he will ever become as good as them remains to be seen. No, he is no Hakeem and likely never will be. But who will? Hakeem was probably one of a kind.
What Akeem brought to the team was an immediate physical dominance. But as time went on, this type of play wore down (it became a weakness), because he didn't make his teammates better. Not until 93 did he do that. Akeem rode his physical dominance most of his career. Yao is starting at the other end. But it's easier to get stronger, than it is to learn how to pass and make your team mates better. It took Hakeem 10 years to make his teammates better. Yet, it's going to take 3 years to get Yao at tip-top condition. He already knows how to make his teammates better. Note: Yao will never be the physical dominating player that Hakeem was. But Yao doesn't have to. At the same time, Hakeem never became a great passer. Not like Yao.
Soild, I noticed that too. It seems to me that Yao is depending on his lower body to lock-in defenders. Thus, when Yao has to change directions quickly, he can't. He falls (or just seems stuck there). I'm sure this has a lot to do with body mechanics. But I'm sure that the staff will work with him on this as Yao's upper body starts to take over some of the burden of locking in his offensive (and defensive) position.
yao never be like hakeem in the defensive end, but he has the potential to be as good as the dream as in the offensive end.
Juggie: Don't judge until its all said and done. until Yao is in the Hall of Fame, then compare them please. It might turn out where Hakeem is not Yao?
Thanks, Uprising; DavidS, I agree with your insights, typically I really enjoy your posts. You seem realistic and objective. Without doubt, Ming is unique and special. I am glad he is a Rocket, but his development with the current cast of guards may be slow. A true point guard with good court vision, passing skills, and timing could advance Ming's progress considerably.
Yes Yao ain't no Hakeem. But Hakeem was lucky to have Ralph Sampson alongside him during the early years of his career. Sadly, Maurice Taylor and Eddie Griffin don't come close to the superstar status that Ralph Sampson was as a player. Sure Sampson wasn't the best power forward in the league. But man, he could explode for a dominating performance on both ends of the floor, something Taylor and Griffin have yet to do. Boy, could you imagine if KG played alongside Yao Ming? Or Tim Duncan? Yao is not Hakeem. Yao needs help. If Steve Francis won't help, find someone who will.
Yao will never be close to what Dream was. By saying that Sampson was a superstar and made Hakeem that much better is a complete cop out. Yao is too slow, and not quite strong enough to dominate how Hakeem did. I mean the guy doesnt go after rebounds he simply puts his hands up and the ball falls into them, its all about his height. If hes going to be as good as everyone says he is he needs to bulk up because you cant learn quickness and agility, people cant teach Yao to do what Hakeem did.
Yao has his own advantage, the height, skills, court vision and understanding of game. He is more of a Kareem type than a Hakeem type. Yao is already a good shooter once getting comfortable. Remember he shot 75.4% in the World Basketball Conference. He might have better offensive game than Hakeem, easily getting Hakeem's number with fewer shots.
To start, Yao has a more all around offensive game than Hakeem did. That's where his strengthes lie, also why he's a structured player that needs a system and coach that knows how to exploit his strengthes, such as when to let him shoot from outside to open up the middle for the guards, when to make him run through picks to tire out the Big Aristitole, when to tell him to just power his way over weaker defenders, how to use his passing to make things easier, how to make him to be able to drive to the basket... Yao's full potential is profound and will only be manifested under a good system that's tailored made for him, preferably a hybrid of post and motion offense. If Karl Malone was in another system without the pick and rolls, he won't put up the numbers he put up over his career. He's a structured player and so is Yao. Hakeem on the other end was a dominant one on one player. All he needed was to get the ball and position then the points flow in. Yao won't be Hakeem and Hakeem won't be Yao. Yao doesn't need to be as dominant as Hakeem to have the same impact on a team. They are just different types of players.
