You could see it in the first half of the Lakers game. Even though he was 6 of his first 17 or whatever, he was getting good shots, against Shaq of all people. If Yao gets good, comfortable looks, he is going to make shots. He has finally gotten to the point where he has two key moves: (a) to the middle for the jump hook - he made one from almost 15 feet in the AS game against Wallace (b) shoot the turnaround on the baseline He has also shown the ability, particularly in the last 2 games, to counter aggressive defense versus these two key moves by: (a) after moving toward the paint for the jump hook, spinning back to the baseline - he did this against Shaq late in the Lakers game and finished with the left hand while using his body to move Shaq under the basket (b) spin move or up-and-under baseline against aggressive defense there You can see the comfort level in his aggressiveness with the ball. He is taking the look for the cutter after the entry pass, but if not open, he is immediately looking to score. He had 21 FGA against the Lakers and 14 in less than 20 minutes in AS game. Next step in development is going to be learning to counter the double team. His court vision is much better than Hakeem's so I expect the learning curve to be steeper here as well. Yao will average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds from here in. Hopefully, Steve and Cuttino will remember the one period of true success they have had in Rockets uniforms, when Hakeem had that incredible second half surge in his final year with the team, and the Rockets rode his interior game and the athleticism of the guards on a streak where they were just whipping teams by 15, 20 points a night. If not, after the season, Steve has to go. But the Rockets would be foolish not to see what happens with the existing team now that Yao is emerging as an offensive force.
i hope you are right. but this isn't the first time posters believe this. it is mostly followed by a sub-par game of Yao. lets hope not this time. i would like a win against the wizards
Yao looked VERY comfortable against single coverage the last few games against Shaq, Nesterovic and even in the all star game. When Yao looks comfortable handling the double team (making quicker moves or passing out of it quickly), then he will officially be 'over the hump.' I want to see Yao perform at a high level in a game where he gets doubled a lot. Granted, a lot of that is predicated on his teammates being able to 'pass into Yao around the double team' but when Yao gets the ball, I want to see him do the right thing with it.
Personally,I understand your expectation. But your "Yao will average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds from here in." I'm sorry I doubt it.(18 points, 9 rebs this season, I suppose.) He will be a dominant player for sure in future. Well. Let's be patient first.You know,the more expectation given on Yao the more suffocating pressure on his back. Yao has already had all-sided skills. What he still need improve now is to perfect his mentality&frame that's gonna take another two years,I think. Most of our Rox fans here expect much of Yao and regard him as The Future of Rockets.Hopefully he can has a finger in the pie for NBA titles for Rox. Yup! I'm longing too. Yao IS a talented Center. He has high potential to be that type of dominant player,and yet still has a long way to go... ...
Yao can make any single coverage pay. Even if it's Shaq, and he pretty much proved that the last couple of weeks. But Yao has the same problem our entire team has. Inconsistency. He might drop 20 something on Shaq and then only a dozen on Kwame Brown. Not to mention it'd be nice if he relied on more than just height to grab some rebounds.
If they find a way for him to bring the energy every game, then look out. It is all about energy - his energy.
I agree with Deuce. I think Yao is looking good when he's single-covered. He's making other teams pay and his performance against Shaq was certainly a defining milestone. Double teams and zones are altogether a different beast though and agree Yao's not over the hump until he and the Rockets have success in these situations.
i see some inconsistancies from yao but not enough to account for his up and down scoring. i think that mainly is a result of a lack of commitment from the coach or teammates to find him on anything but post ups. in games when yao is quickly double teamed or gets fronted w/weak side help, i've noticed he will try to cut to the basket more yet the guards rarely find him (i even remember walton mentioning this). if the rockets did this more (along with utilize yao in the high post) when teams play this kind of defense, everyone would have more scoring opportunities. i've noticed that particular defense (kinda zonish) almost always causes our whole offense to stagnate. we fix this, hello playoffs!
Read the content of my post. I'm not just saying "Yao had a good game and a half, here we go!" I'm saying Yao did things in the last game and a half that he has not done before, in particular: - looked to score at almost every opportunity - demanded the ball - showed comfort with his moves and got good looks almost every time plus he did all this against Shaq and Ben Wallace. Scoring 37 points because the Magic decide to single-team with someone as weak as DeClerq is different. He did not display the confidence, aggressiveness and range of complementary moves that he did the last 2 games. point of clarification - "from here in" means the rest of this season. the last 30 games or however many are left, he will average 20+ points and 10+ boards. that is my prediction based on specifically what i have seen him do in the last 2 games (not just "he had 2 good games in a row").
He needs to do more in and out once he's doubled right away. Its not just Yao, its the whole teams fault with him being inconsistent.
Agree, in the first half of the Laker game, Yao was not anywhere near the "shooting the lights out" level , but his teammates has kept feeding him the ball and bring his confidence back. With playoff spot on the line, I hope the Rockets will do that more consistently. Yao is shooting 50% this season after all, if he can get 20 FGA, he could average 20 PPG.
I disagree. In the beginning of the season he was too predictable. Double him immidiately when he puts it on the floor and he'll kick it out. The last few games he's been shooting over the double team, rolling to the baseline (away from the 2nd defender). The shot isn't as deadly as a MoT baby hook in the middle of the lane, but it helps the big picture of the offense because the defense doesn't get a jump start on their rotations.
yao has great offensive skills but tends to play without aggession when his shot isn't falling. what i liked about the laker game was that he just kept shooting, even after shaq had swatted a few. you see it with all the great scorers, they may be having an average night, but turn it on in the clutch. we saw a little of this from ming last game. i would love to see him take 20 plus shots/game.
update since my initial post 169 pts / 8 games = 21.1 ppg 64 / 116 shots = 56.9% 56 reb / 8 games = 7 rebounds boards are disappointing for sure. offensive play however has been very strong.
Yao is only getting an average of 11.9 FGA. This explains why he's not averaging 20ppg. The day when his teammates give him the ball, he'll average more than 20 points. Yes, he's that good of a shooter! Yao Ming is the starting All-Star, twice. Yao Ming has now outplayed/equalled Shaq two straight times. Yao Ming demands double, triple coverage every game. I think Yao is over the hump, don't you think? If any of you think Yao can't score 20points every night and is not yet on Shaq's level, you ought to be asking yourself which player in the league can average 20PPG on 11.9FGA. That would require nearly a 100% FG%. Yao is averaging 17.1PPG, and he has the second highest FGA in the LEAGUE. I don't think anyone else can come as close to 20 points on a mere 11.9 FGA. Wake up, Yao has already arrived. He's already a bonafide all-star. He's already at the top tier. He demands double team coverage because he crushes single coverage. We haven't seen consistent #s from him because...guess what..his teammates are stubborn and won't share the ball.
