um~~~~~~why did you capitalize the word 'will' at the end? Do you doubt about Yao's willingness to accomplish that? I'm just thinking that otherwise the last two questions are kinda repeating.
Exactly. Rebounding the ball effectively has more to do with those qualities you mentioned than height. The Short twitch muscles of guys 7-5 and up are not that great either. Yao is a hard worker and he continues to learn to overcome his shortcomings in this area. Also his wingspan is an issue but overcomable. The one issue that is holding him back now since his return is stamina - that is where I think if he will can overcome the challenge of fatigue, he will reach the 10 RPG plateau for the season.
I think he will be able to achieve 20/10 at the end of the regular season. From the following Wang Meng article, you'll know why I am so confident.
Both you and m_cable say it well. This is a worn out subject. Two other problem's are Yao's lack of vertical and his rebounding instincts are only average. Let's face it: Yao will never be the best rebounder in the NBA even though he's 7'6. If it bothers you he struggles to average 10 rebs/game then that's too bad. You just have to settle for him being the most dominant center in the NBA without being the best rebounder.
Wow, great motivation by JVG. One day we will see this statline from Yao: 32 points, 12,000,000 rebounds, 3 assists. Then Yao can finally say to JVG, 'Hey coach, now each rebound only costs $1'
This is what makes me love this guy. Even if he doesn't achieve 10 rbs night, you KNOW he worked his ass of to try.
Being able to do something and actually getting it done are two very different things. For example, I'm sure I can run 5 miles straight, but will I? Probably not
Yeah, so you're not willing to do that, though you can. What I asked was if I should try to understand the repetition like your example.
What was Rik Smit, Shawn Bradley, Manute Bol, Mark Eaton, George M's rebounding number? Ya, height automatically makes you a good rebounder? LOL.
I think Yao does care about his own stats, but he cares about a team win much more. He is not 100% yet, so he has to allocate the ennergy smart, which means he could not put his best effort on rebounds. Just my 2 cents. BTW, if Yao happens to surf around this BBS, I really want him to get this message from DD
I dont think he struggles to get rebounds. We have a good concept of everyone helping on defensive rebounds. Chuck, TMac, and Battier all can board well, so his numbers hurt cuz of that. Amare is kinda like that too cuz of Marion.
I don't care if Yao avg 10+ rebs per game but I would like to see it because it looks nice on the nba.com player page..lol
Some posters say his shot-blocking and turnovers should improve. I'm actually fine with his shot-blocking efforts. I believe he should rebound better without a doubt. I watched the Pacers-Rockets game in person. Trust me, Yao should have had 17 to 19 rebounds based on his positioning...
Getting Mutumbo was one of the best moves the Rox have made in terms of not just getting a hardworking player but a guy Yao can learn from.
Yao needs to be like Deke, sharpen up his elbows and give Juwan and Chuck a couple of elbows to the head, that'll stop his teammates from chiseling in on his RBs.
On a related note, it's so funny the way the experts suffer from selective memory loss. In Year of the Yao 1, 1/3 to 1/2 of "experts" thought he'd be a bust. By Year of the Yao 3, the "experts" were saying he'd be no better than Rik Smits and wouldn't live up to the "hype." Now, the "experts" are wondering if Yao can hoist a team on his back and make a deep playoff run. The guy went from Larue Martin to Rik Smits to where if he he doesn't post all-time great center numbers ala Wilt, Kareem and Hakeem he is a disappointment. So strange the way human nature works.
i sure hope he can do it. 11+ a game is a bit high for him. i'm sure he can average 10+ but he might not make up the extra 19 rebounds. besides our starters will only play the first 3 quarters a game after blowing out all but 3 remaining games on our schedule (nok, mil, lac, lal, gsw, por, sac, sea, por, nok).
