Yao is the clutchest player in our team this season

I'm suprized that Yao's ranked No.5. But that's good for Houston.

I agree with some replies here.

In the clutch time, I'd like to give the ball to

1. Yao
2. Tracy
3. Ron

1, Amongest those three, Yao's the best record for the efficiency in the clutch time. Ranked No.5 in the league. Neither Tracy or Ron does that better.

Yao's shooting is relatively reliable and worthe being trusted. He has the softest touch compared to the others. And really aggressive inside. He's able to create his own shots and has a good vision. He's always drawn the double or triple team which left someone else open for sure. He can either pass the ball or repost. And he is unstoppable if it's one on one and could easily draw fouls.

2, Tracy is not the same Tracy I've know. Somepeople here says he is out of shape and I agree. He is so gifted which made you mad when you saw him wandering on court or jacked up some shots. Moreover, he doesnt likely have the 'mind power' to battle with his descending physical condition. It's not likely someone else or even the doctors are able to help but himself.

Though he's like that, I still believe that he is able to penetrate and either shoot or create opportunities for the others in the clutch time. And he's a better passer than anyone in the team.

3. The reason I put Ron in the third place is not because I dont love the guy but because he's been overall shooting pooly amongest those three(though he has a better FG% than Tracy for Oct and Dec).

Some people might argue that he showed up in the end in the game against the Jazz. I would say a couple of reasons contributed to that. First, Ron reserved well. Though he was not ready for the game, he did reserve some strength till the end. That's vital for the Jazz if you give a thought who's strong and bearable enough to contain Ron, the beast in the second OT? No one. No one's qualified. Second, he has the heart(I have no doubt that Yao has the heart too). I wont waste my words on this one.

Some people might say that Yao just made 3 out of 13 that night lately. Given the fact that the Jazz backup center is Fesenko weighted 300(Yao's 310)and Yao hustled for 46 mins, it might be understandable why Yao's FG dropped so badly. Or it was just one of those nights when the ball just didnot like the hoop.

To sum up, if you ask me who is the first one popped up in terms of the clutch player for Houston, I would say Yao and then Tracy and then Ron Ron.

The houston is the same and the rival always changes and the situation on court always changes. You cannt assume the situation is the same while you're still using the same one. You (RA) better not be stubborn to ride on one by ignoring the others.

One side of the story is how well our players perform on court and execute the game plan. The other is also a vital key that how well the COACH is observing the on-court situation and adjusts his plan timely.

 

Well said. Yao's not doing good in the 4th quarter like what he did yesterday is mostly from the fatigue. If he has "appropriat" rest in the 3 quarters like in Cleveland, he will a more clutcher. Coach need to better balance his energy to make him more efficient. If Yao somehow can still not score in the late of the game, let others do it. Let Ron attack the rim to either score or get fouls.

 

We do have an ignore option. That's why I signed up

 

Agree! I do feel Yao is getting tough mentally in the game for this season.

 

Yeah, many guys think "cluth" means "making buzzer beater".

Yao is definitly playing very well this season in the fourth quarter most of the time. That is clutch.

But for the last shot in the game, since referess usually won't call foul on the last shot, Yao may not be the best choice. There are always way more contact on post plays than on parameter plays, and for the last shot, it is too easy for the opponent team to get away with a hack on low post.

 

well said.

any houston local fans who watched the game last night on my20?

here are drexler's comments on the last play in regulation:

real time: oh yao was probably fouled, but you can't count on the refs on the last play...

on the replay: oh, that was a 2-handed push on yao. yeah yao was fouled and that foul should've been called even in the last few seconds...

thought it was interesting.

 

Look at the facts. Definitely Yao is our clutchest player this season. 5 stars

 

Just like our criticisms of the Rockets, our criticisms of Yao Ming are not that he sucks. It's that, looking at all the potential in him, he should be doing a lot better than he is at the end of games, and to me it comes down to decision making. Even that last shot in Portland was a miraculous fouled-on-the-arm baseline turnaround jumper. I want to see him do what I've seen him done in the other three quarters, and what I saw Artest do in 2OT last night: take the damn ball to the rack, draw the contact, relish the opportunity to show up big for his team when it counts. It's not too much to ask when you see how good he is under normal circumstances.

 

Man, that's not Rick's request which is a lot of high post play instead

YAO will have a lot of productions under JVG

Unfortunately he is under Mr."don't know"'s run and gun system. He is not designed to the deep low

He should be playing him prime at this age and the experience, i felt so sad that Rick is ruining and wasting this potential

 

Fidel, you and your factual information do not belong on this message board. Get out, and take your voodoo statistical evidence with you!!!

But, on a more serious note, to further the conversation in this 5 star thread, the shots Yao took in the 4th quarter and OT are shots you would LOVE LOVE LOVE for him to take in the 1st 2nd 3rd quarter. Of course, these are based on 2 assumptions:

1) Yao has the stamina make these high percentage shots, and
2) The referees officiate yao fairly, meaning there's no way anyone can stop yao in the low post without cheating.

I don't have the quote verbatim, but JVG has said on numerous media outlets including interviews on sports610 that Yao Ming is basically unstoppable in the low post, and only way to slow him down is to play defense that is outside the rules of defensive engagement.

If anything to blame late game, its Adelman's coaching. As a coach, he shoudl have known assumption 1 was no longer in play, thus force feeding yao is made ineffective, even more so if Yao is being fouled in the process without calls. Neither Yao nor Adelman can control what the refs do.

So, the real question is, if Yao is tired in the 4th quarter, do we still force feed yao hoping that Yao attacks the basket and hope the refs call him fairly or draw double teams for an open 3, or do we dump it to RonRon, who isnt' exactly the best passer or ball handler, but can score individually by disrupting the flow?

 

I am seriously getting sick of hearing comments about Yao. Our big guy is FINE. Not much particularly breaking-the-world good, but neither does he need such volumne of comments after every single game! Given a proper system/matchups/luck, he stands a chance to bring us far.

 

Good thread.

 

Before this season, I dreaded whenever Yao got the ball in the closing moments, but this season he's been a lot better. Still, I wouldn't want him to take the last shot, not because I don't trust his shot, it's because I think the best way to win is to attack the basket. Attack the basket, don't settle for jumpshots. Yao can't do that because he's not that quick and if he does attack, he most likely won't get the call. That's what Ron did to win the game. But if a jumpshot is the best that can be gotten, I'd trust Yao. But I'd also trust Battier or Alston if they have an open shot.

 

I certainly don't think Yao is un-clutch. I'd say we get what you would expect from a good big.

The only thing i disagree with is the ENTIRE 4th quarter being considered clutch time. Since when has that been the case? That's a big chunk of the game that includes alot of time where the game may or may not have even been that close (i.e. less pressure). I'm not big on stats but 82games has a section that defines "clutch time" as the last 5 minutes of a game with no more than a 5 point deficit. I think that's a little more accurate.

On a per 48 minute basis of "clutch time" Yao shoots a respectable 50%

KG is at 78.9%, Duncan is at 54.1%, and Howard is at 50%
http://www.82games.com/0809/CSORT6.HTM

Basically by these "clutch time" stats he's not great but not bad either. I don't think the rockets need to go into 'dump it down to Yao' mode in the clutch. I think we need to continue to move the ball around and our perimeter players can't be hesitant to shoot it when open. Ideally you would have your best perimeter player making plays down the stretch. That's the benefit of having a Ron Artest when there is no Tracy Mcgrady.

 

i couldn't agree with you more

 

Wow, I didn't realize the topic creators stats for clutch was the whole 4th quarter. That's totally not accurate at all. Instead of 5 points maybe I would of put single digits. Is there a way to change the critieria to single digits and include turnovers?

 

Decent.

 

This is the observation from a fan who knows the basketball!!!