Every time I see him take this shot I want to take him aside and chew his a$$. To me it seems like he misses the shot 90% of the time.
It is his favorite shot and impossible to block. A very effective weapon when he gets his stroke working. He will eventually get the timing down to make it more effective against NBA defenders.
he has to take those shots cuz he's not strong enough to push samaki walker or madsen away. btw, those guys played illegally, using both of their hands to hold yao from moving anywhere.
I also couldn't stand it when Yao shot his fadeaway. I don't think he made a single fadeaway tonight. Use the SPIN MOVE (but avoid the offensive foul). Use the hook! Use the Vlade-style sweeping finger roll. Anything that brings you CLOSER to the basket. Hell, he can just shoot it right in their faces. Neither Samaki Walker, Slava Medvedenko or Mark Madsen are over 6'10". Also, Yao would stop jostling for position too far from the basket. Once he met his defender, he would set up but wouldn't try to push him back until after he received the entry pass. Contrary to others, I think Yao is plenty strong enough to move any of the Lakers undersized centers today. Still, it's hard to nickpick Yao's performance when he was one of the few Rockets who even bothered to show up for this game.
That's why I always advocate for Yao to shoot some face up jumpers. Screw let Yao post up all the time - he's too good a shooter for that, especially when turnaround fade-aways vs. face up jumpers are taking into account. It's a no brainer.
I would say yao's mid-range-face-up jumper is more deadly than most guards in the NBA. They should set some PnRs or screenings for Yao in every game so he can get a few 15-18 ft shots.
Yeah, those fadeaways are there some nights and some nights they aren't there. I like him in the paint, obviously. But as some of you have mentioned, he does not need to post every play. i've seen him make jumpshots from the top of the arch when he is left alone. If they can work on some pick and rolls or transitions that leaves him wide open from about 20 feet, I think he'll be more effective than bagging away for position only to shoot a fading 18 footer.
If Yao's hitting his fadeaway, the guy seems unstoppable. With that said, I like how he's banging down low more. But, I'd also like to see him pop out a bit more and shoot tha 17 foot jumper because his accuracy is great from there, it spreads the floor, and to save his body from getting beat up by playing in the paint all night.
I hate those fadeaways. He needs to go over the middle more with baby hooks. If he insists on shooting them, he needs to bump off the defender slightly and create some space. When he attempts that shot, the defender is right on top of him.
Finally i get to actually SEE a Rockets game on TV. I feel like I can comment better on a game when I watch it versus just looking at stats and game highlights. My quick initial observations on Yao in the Lakers game are: 1) He is not as agressive EARLY in the game in terms of getting deep post position or backing down the defender. His agressiveness, deep posting position and backing down of the defender get BETTER as the game moves on or in the 4th quarter or crunch time. I think as the game moves on and as the intensity level picks up Yao senses this and tries to take his game to another level. The Rockets want Yao to START the game on that level. When he learns how to do that, he will be unstoppable. 2) Yao let the Lakers off the hook a few times. There were times in which Yao was being guarded by Madsen or Walker one on one (no double team) and Ming would try to back the guy down one time, fail, and then look to pass. Look to pass? He wasn't even double teamed! Take advantage of your height and just turnaround and shoot! This leeds to my next point. 3) Patience. Yao rushes his shot at times. Especially when he tries to back down a guy and doesn't get a good initial bump, he will give up and do a turnaround fadeaway shot. He needs to try again. Or pass back out, re-establish a deeper postion and get the ball back. There were a few times in the 4th quarter in which Yao showed great patience in backing down the defender and then would do an up and under move for a high percentage shot or a hook shot. When Yao shows more patience with his moves he always gets a better look then his initial position gave him. 4) Yao's foot work is amazing! Get him close the basket and he has a lot of great moves at his disposal. Also, Yao's jumpshot is a thing of beauty. Why aren't we giving him jump shots at the elbow or free throw line the way Hakeem used to do it? Yao in the post is a serious threat but Yao shooting straight ahead 15 jumpers is also something that really needs to be explored. 5) Yao does play volleyball in rebounding. He needs to work on this. As it was mentioned before, in China he could tip the ball to himself because of his size advantage, here in the NBA you have to go and grab it. Nevertheless, I loved seeing Yao get 8 offensive rebounds last night. I feel that the games in which Yao plays well he is agressive and that agressive nature leads to offensive rebounds. 6) Yao has unbelieveable skills and plays like an all star at times which justifiably raises the bar at which we the fans set for him but at the same time he makes rookie mistakes that we as fans have to recognize will happen. It's a tough situation! As an aside..... This Rockets team counts on Francis and Yao to produce all star numbers EVERY night. That's a lot to live up to for Yao who is only a rookie. And Francis is just too inconsistant with him jumpshot. For the Rockets to get into the playoffs both of these "all stars" need to put up consistant numbers everynight the same way the good teams all stars put up consistant numbers. Chris P.S. When the Rockets play the post up game with Yao or Taylor they look pretty good in terms of running a well thoughtout and balanced offense. When either of those guys aren't in the game the Rockets offense looks like a chicken with its head cut off, running around with no regard of where it is going. There is no passing, no ball movement around the parimeter and no patience and too much dribbling. The Rockets look like they are "pressing" when they don't have a low post presence in there. They looked rushed. The second overtime was horrible. How the hell did we win games before Ming? Thank god we have a low post presence! If we did not this team would be unwatchable!
