After 7 years? Yao can be the GREATEST shooter ever but if he is consistantly not there when we need him the most, he's just another Novak with a lot of PT that doesn't deserve the max. Yao is starting to feel like a taller version of McGrady (of late). Too much money, too much hype and, tragically, too little bang for the buck. (maybe the money is not so bad for his pts/rebs, but no more hype: he's so undeserving) Too harsh? Whats the saying, anyone can sail a ship in calm waters, but its the true captain that navigates through the storm. Yao is GREAT in calm waters. But the next time we see a storm coming, send Yao below to push the oars. (sad thing, I don't see anybody actually able to take the helm...but we got some killer oarsmen - dang, are we screwed?)
You summed up my thoughts perfectly well. That is all I am saying. Yao is a terrific player, no one is saying "trade him" (unless Lebron, Kobe or Wade are involved). However, if the Rockets are counting on him to LEAD this team as a FRANCHISE player, then all Rockets fans would be well advised to sell their stocks now on the Yao era while they still can. It would be as foolish a decision as building a team around Gasol or Dirk as the franchise centerpieces. I am just hoping the Rockets brass fully realize this and move into 2010 and beyond looking for that REAL franchise type player to pair with Yao.
It may be that they can still sign another max player and resign Yao after Tmac presumably moves on. But there certainly are on the court issues and health issues that need to be considered when resigning Yao for the money he will no doubt command. That being said there aren't a ton of players that would be upgrades to Yao. And most of those players won't be available. So considering Yao's marketing value for the Rockets, the chances of him not getting a max contract offer are very slim, barring another huge injury.
Look at shaq, hakeem, even dhoward. They don't need a perfect pass cause they can go and get the ball if you throw it to them. Yao is a very good player, but he is slow and has butter fingers you have to make it easier for him to catch the ball and a smaller guy fronting him will have an advantage so you need to stop doing that same crap that does not work and do something else.
people need to relax. nobody is saying trade yao. he's a very good player. he's arguably the best center in the L. the problem is, he's not a franchise player/superstar. and that's what most fans expect. if you lower the expectations, you'll be very happy with yao. yao was partially at fault last night, but it wasn't all his fault. we're a balanced team now. there's no "go-to" guy or whatever so the loss was on the entire team. move on. learn from this. and we'll be better. scola and landry need more shots btw. MORE SHOTS.
most teams have that problem too. it's not just us. there's a reason they're called superstars. they don't grow on trees. let's just try to get out of the first round this year and see where we can improve in the offseason. hopefully trading tracy will land something decent.
b/c he's a great player. and it helps that he's a perimeter player. it's hard to deny a great player the ball. had we doubled him, kobe might not have taken those shots, but he would still make a play and get his teammates shots. the ball will almost always be in your best player's hands down the stretch.
Nope this is all yao's fault...he can't seal the guy off or at least call for the ball where he knows he can catch it. Like i said Yao will never be shaq or tim duncan quality big due to his lack of poise and decisiveness Please prove me wrong by playoff time Yao...
As for slowness part, if yao was 6 foot player, do you think he is still that slow? yao is who he is. you has got to accept both of his advantages and disadvantages if you want him to play for you. As far as butter fingers, he got room to improve that puzzling flaw, i just do not know why it is so hard to catch the damn ball, not kidding, i have no idea about that. Still, those crap thing happened again and again, so i wanna ask who is supposed to correct those things in the practice. The answer is not that hard to get, our dear coach
The Rockets dont have one offensive clutch player. The only one was maybe TMac... They have 16 games to find one: in the playoff most of the games are really tight. The last two years, if i remember right, they won most of there games against Utah when being in front in the last minutes and not really needing a last second shot. Because they have clutch defensive players, Landry and Battier come to mind in the playoff from the last 2 years, when they are in front they often manage to keep the lead and win (in the last minutes not the last quarter ). But I think Adelman he's going to concentrate on this during pratices. You either have Yao: Brooks or Lowry have to learn to give clean entry passes, and Yao has to learn to anticipate the double team (last night after the second or third time he lost the ball he should have known Kobe was always coming from behind). Yao has had few clutch shots, but i still remember that three point play against portland at the beginning of the year: he's strong and he's got some range so you still have a 50% change it goes in. The other is AB: he has shown several times he isnt afraid to shoot to win. He can drive, or shoot from three. But its only his second year, and prone to stupid plays and sometimes panic. They'll have still plenty of games with great teams in those last 16 where they'll be able to work on it.
When you are in the cat bird's seat, you can't get a break. Now that T-Mac or as most of the T-Mac Haters call him, T-lady is out, Yao is the target. I think the main reason he only got 1 shot in the 2nd half of the game is because the other players are fearful that if the feed him the ball, he is going to turn it over. Lets face it, he does not have good hands, he is very weak up top. He does not have very good strength in his hands,arms,chest area. This is why he gets stripped so easy.
Well, this is what happens when Tracy is not here. People find someone else to blame. Is it his fault that brooks doesen't make the proper passes?
Is it Brooks fault that Yao can't hold on to a rebound? Or seal his man, or anticipate the double team? Sheeeesh!!
