Yao neutralizes Shaq for the entire series and you guys are whining and crying about how he's less than Smits and we should trade him, blah, blah, blah?? Ya'll are really making me question whether or not ANY of you have ever played the game competitively or even understand the game's most basic prinicipals. Did Yao dominate? No, but he kept us in this series by containing Shaq. Did anyone see the dominant, demoralizing Shaq that we're about to see for the rest of these playoffs?...No. Yao needs a lot of improvement to reach "great" status, and my money is on his side, but even in this series I saw a Rox team that showed no poise, showed unbelievably selfish tendencies, no smarts or savvy, and just dumb overall play. We are not in the same class as the elite teams in this league, and quite frankly, it's really not that close. We just need to face that fact and not blame all our deficencies our one championship calibre player just because he needs some more seasoning.
I like to see Shaq play againt Spurs defense, one of the best defense in the league. If he can put up 20 some 30 points a game during that series, then we should give a lot of prop to Yao and Co. on defending Shaq. Now, I think Yao's problems are mental toughtness, stemina and upper body strength. If he can get those square away this summer, watch out come october. And as far as Yao < Rik Smits, that's just some non sense. Yao is Yao, Rik is Rik. Kobe is Kobe. Jordan is Jordan........
I'm not even sure what you are saying....but if it is the question of who was supposed to stop the cheap shot artist...the answer is...i guess...no one. 70% of his shots were wide open. We intentionally took our man off him to double Shaq and Kobe. We hoped he couldn't beat us. He did. Kobe was held in check pretty much the whole series(no 40-50 point explosions). Shaq was held FAR below his playoff average. We dared the old dirty player to beat us, and unfortunately he did. We did pretty good considering how insuperior we are talent wise. Uggg....now I'm just rambling. Thanks for all the ulcers and loss of finger nails this series Rockets! Far better than the 4 blowouts I expected.
OIC... that's what make you quit three times... and cheat on your wife... and scream at the refs without getting a technical foul... and gamble away your finances... ok... my bad... ya ponle casa al #)Q*$^% quitter
Yao appeared demoralized and physically battered. Although he didn't guard Shaq the whole time, he was defended by Shaq constantly: pushing, shoving, taking away his pet moves, and pushing him away from the basket. It really took a toll. A lot of this is simply Shaq, he can do this to almost anyone. Don't forget that it took Shaq EIGHT years to win his first championship, and he probably never would have done so had he stayed in Orlando. And, make no mistake, put Kobe on our team and the outcome would have been reversed: 30 points, 10 assists, 1 turnover - he was all world when it mattered the most. Seems to me Yao was totally confused and lost re. the officiating. When he was aggressive, he got in early foul trouble. When he was not aggressive, the calls still went against him. This is simply the art of learning NBA officiating, and he'll get it but it will take some time. Quit flailing and start busting some people!! And quit passing out of the post because you'll never see the damn ball again. The third quarter meltdown was a caricature of all our weaknesses, exposed and magnified on the big stage. We totally lost our poise and reverted to street ball; the id took over. To me, that was the most disappointing. In retrospect however, given our talent level and court IQ, I think that what we saw is all there is. I look for major changes during the off season because "one more year of the same cast" won't get us where we need to go. D R
If I were wandering through Las Vegas and came across a sports betting parlor, I think I'd take the bet that Yao will learn to have more heart before Francis stops playing streetball.
Im an asian. I hate bashing yao but today, seeing him play, just couldnt afford to finish the game. I turn off the tv in the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter. Rockets was just horrible, yao was so pathetic, steve was well steve, trying to do too much resulting to so many to's. Do i lost my faith in yao? No. I still believe that he is going to become a great player. Its just so sad that the tag of being the best center in the game is earned by default as soon as shaq shows his age. Mngt must do its job in finding a true pg, smart and unselfish players, decents shooters and defenders and a stud power forward. If the team comes back next year, i dont believe theyre going to do the job. They might make the playoffs again, but they will be lucky to advance in the first round. This is just not the team. Steve and Cat must go. Thanks for the memories!!!
MJ Dissed to support Yao . . . ok I quit now Rocket River Yao played well . . .. just miss alot of opportunities and did not step up
yao did nothing to stop shaq, shaq was hurt and did not have to impose hisself on the game because kobe and malone were andling the job. yao cannot be the #1 option, he is NO franchise player, and it was obvious in the playoffs. barkley says it all the time, the real season starts with the playoffs. i have suspected it during the regular season, but this series verified it, that we built our offense around the wrong guy, and it really hurt us. our D was great, we just could not score any points. yao lacks the heart and attitude that the greats all have, and that is never learned, but born with. yao will be a damn good center and an excellant #3 option (with stevie or a PF stud to be the #1 and #2) i think we keep him, but should not have our team built around him. very disappointing series, but a great lesson for the team. i see the season as a success. we got a taste, and i hope we will adjust accordingly.
I already have a $50 tip jar bet that Francis won't be a Rocket in 2004-05. I made that when I was still unemployed. I'm getting comfortable at the new gig...how much you got?
I'll take that bet. All day, every day ... I'm sorry but as commented on earlier by another poster, heart is not something that is learned (either you have it or you don't). Yao is soft, and as many excuses as have been made for why he is soft (Asian culture, fatigue, only his 2nd year, etc, etc...) I still have to wonder if he will ever develop that "give me the damn ball, and let me carry team" attitude. Can he develop toughness and strength? Yes. Can he develop heart and a take no prisoners attitude? The jury is still out, but this playoff series did nothing to help his case.
Why don't we trade Yao? Geez, what a bunch of losers on this site. Why don't some of you just stay off the bandwagon? Don't you people ever think about what a bad bunch of role players playing around Yao? Wait until next year when and hopefully we will have better role players to run the offense. What a waste of Yao's talent for the last two years!
Why are so many people even responding to Mr. Only 6 Posts' rambling flame... he has a low bball IQ and is clearly jerking off the BBS ...just because he says "this is not a flame" doesn't mean that its not a flame (do you think he would tell us if it was ?!?!)
You already did. A player with a mild-mannered oncourt demeanor has a ring...Duncan. I can't name a streetballer with a ring. I'm not saying that Yao = TD...I'm just saying Duncan's plays the game with controlled emotion and it works. Overdribbling 1on1 oriented basketball will never work and if it's your natural way to play the game, you'll never adjust. It will ultimately come down to whether it's Yao's team or Francis's team because they are not complimentary players.
Neutralized? Kelvin Cato had the prmary responsibility of guarding Shaq for the last 3 games and for a good part of the first 2. Yao was guarding Karl Malone....not a lot of "neutralizing" going on there....
I already have a $50 tip jar bet that Francis won't be a Rocket in 2004-05 Gater, that's a good point. You had a $50 tip jar bet and I was in for $100, but I don't believe that our bet was ever officially accepted. Did we ever get a confirmation on that?
I personally don't believe the term "streetballer" applies to any player that is in the NBA. Every NBA team has structure and design (even Philly with AI) and to be able to succeed or even stay in the NBA you must prove not just an ability to, but a willingness to play within your coaches structure or you will quickly find yourself out of the league. This is just one of the factors that make the NBA more than just an "And1" league. Every coach plays to the teams strengths or best players, In Philly it's AI, in San Antonio it's TD, two very different styles of play but they both run a form of iso offense (one in the post and the other on the wing). Francis (and Mobley to a lesser degree) was our strength for a time. Now it is Yao and Francis. They can co-exist, the play-offs should be evidence of this. And as far as the below statement goes... its almost too easy Gator... ...how about Kobe Bryant. There's a "streetballer",as you would put it, with a few rings. Hell even the commentators from last night commented on how Kobe was the best 1-on-1 player in the league. And why did they say Kobe gets to play one on one so much, because Shaq gets so much attention. Now Francis is no Kobe, but they play similar styles of games. Yao is definitely no Shaq put does draw attention which allows Francis and others to flourish. If the Lakers can mesh a player who dominates the ball on the wing as well as with penetration (Kobe>Francis) and a player that must get the ball in the post (Shaq>Yao) then there is no reason the Rocket can not do the same.
Geez, Yes, Yao looked bad this series and real bad in the 3rd quarter. So what. Question. would the Rockets had made the playoffs without Yao as the center? Could you imagine if the Rockets took another player, any player in that draft? And trades for a KG or TD or KB or any of the top players weren't going to happen for that pick. BTW, anyone watched the asian champships where Yao took the Chinese National Team on his back and won a chance for China to be in this year's Olympics? Sure, you say that all the teams there were wimps, but heart is heart and you are all saying he doesn't have heart. The man improved and plays his style. He is learning and will continue to learn. Give him another year before you conclude he is NEVER going to be a great player. But what can I say, you are all experts with great NBA talent knowledge and know Yao is a wimp and should be traded for a ballboy with Balls.
