what about the atl game when yao played for 28 mins had 9 pts and 6 rebs, he shot 4-13. could that be his worst game?? i mean he didnt have shaq elbowing him or anything in that one?? oh and that game was on jan 10
When Yao practiced an hour prior to the game, he was so cold and missing everything. I just knew from then he'll have a tough time tonight. Shaq totally dominated Yao tonight but next year I think Yao will hold his own. One thing I noticed about Shaq's D. So many times when Yao shoots the ball on the way up, Shaq would nudge him with one hand subtly just enough for no foul call. That's one heck of a veteran move. If you are a shooter and get nudge on the body by somebody as strong as shaq, it will really affect your shot. Another thing I notice is that the Lakers set a LOT of screens for shaq to get great position down low so he can do his dunks. Only if the rockets will do this for yao.
I hope Yao rests and sleeps as much as wants and chills in his garden and goes for long rides in his rowboat with that girlfriend of his and does everything but what you guys dont want him to do. Do Nothin Yao, Do Nothing. Who do you think Yao Ming is? Ivan Drago? No, he is not, is he? So take your wannabe slave training arses back to the USSR. : P
He is being paid by the Houston Rockets to play basketball. Athletes are supposed to work hard in the offseason to improve their skills. I dont know if that was a sarcastic post or not but if you were serious that is one of the worst suggestions I've seen on the BBS
I do not know why people are still so naive in believing Yao has an off-season? Yao plays around the year. He will be called back immediately after the season is over and came back late September after playing the Asian game in September this year. Next year, he has to play the Olympics. Yao has no time for off-season workout or stuffs like this.
I think after this humiliation from Shaq, he will be more aggressive vs him from now on. I noticed when Shaq would get a lob entry pass for a dunk Yao did not even try to raise his arms to swipe at the ball at the rim or even at the ball when Shaq held it on the way up over his head. Yao might have been able to block a few of his dunks if he would just hold his hand above the rim and wait for Shaq to bring the ball up.. If Yao doesnt add muscle and about 20-30 pounds and try to match Shaq muscle for muscle, then i'm going to be very disappointed. Clearly he sees the power of brute FORCE in the NBA game.
Speaking of lob pass, anyone wondering how Shaq and his teammates can work it so well but we can never do it wit Yao when there are players fronting him (I don't mean in this game, I mean when Yao played against smaller players like Brian Grant and Kurt Thomas etc)? Also, Lakers' entry passing to the post is 10x better than ours.
With the exception of Yao nobody understand the art of passing. It's sad that the rockets still don't know how to take advantage of what Yao is good at. I don't understand about the rockets offensive wisdom. Yao should not be playing one on one with Shaq down low full time. He doesn't have the strength for that yet. The Give 'n Go, pick 'n roll, Pick 'n Pop are the type of play that Yao is most effective against Shaq. too bad Rocket basketball is all about ISO, stand 'n watch and dribbling until the shot clock dies.
Yao is not Shaq. He's not as strong powerful as Shaq is. Hate to say it Newgirl, but the reason the Lakers CAN take advantage of the opposition w/lob-passes is b/c Shaq is 10x more effective in getting good position and shielding off his man. It takes time. Yao is not there yet and may never get there in terms of the strength Shaq brings. We will all have to come to the reality that Yao is more of a hook-shot, jump shooting center in the Arvydas Sabonis & Vlade Divac-mold. What will separate him from them, though, is the fact that he has some build to him. But Shaq is on another planet as far as strength goes. Yao will probably never get THAT dominant where he doesn't have to use up-and-under-type moves or savvy. Shaq can...all Shaq did last night was back Yao down and dunk on him. So an entry pass is only effective if the guy you're entering it to has good position...the players can't make Yao get that position. It comes with time/weight training; he'll get better and so will the Rockets.
I understand that Yao can't get position as deep as Shaq and probably never will. But lob pass is a different thing. You don't need to get position when you're getting fronted. You don't need to back down defenders. You just need to get the pass then it's an open dunk. Those Lakers role players (mind you they're still scrub players except having this skill and being able to shoot open jumpers) can keep throwing lob to Shaq all day long with a 7-5 guy fronting him but we couldn't do it with Yao against Najara, Brian Grant and company? Also, did you see how they move the ball from side to side to help Shaq establish position? And how did they fake the entry pass? It just makes me mad how I saw other players could do this fundamental stuff but not our players. What were they learning in college? I guess they never learnt to play with big men in college?
Guys, Look at the positive side... Lakers is not as good as it sounds. We were down only by three points. If it's a regular night for Yao (like around 50% FG), Lakers is finished. Don't focus on how Yao can become like Shaq or surpass Shaq. He doesn't need to. It's a team play, and the thing that matters the most is winning. After Yao improves some more, I don't see any difficulty beating this team called Lakers.
The lob pass will never be as effective when it ran with Yao instead of Shaq because: 1) Yao is way too slow. The help defender will be there with enough time to have a cigarette before Yao comes down with the ball. 2) Yao can't jump so help defenders can get the pass easily. 3) Yao isn't going to explode like shaq and dunk from anywhere within 5-6 feet of the rim. Shaq dunks the ball no matter who's in his way. 4) Yao has little footwork abilities right now (still better than most though)...so if he doesn't get it before the help defender gets there, he's going to get doubled and it'll most likely be a turnover. I still don't understand why a 7'6" guy can't pass out of a double team.
Once upon a time, MD Hakeem took it to GC Shaq and humiliated him in front of national tv for an entire finals series. Times change. People grow old, slow, retire. Others develop and mature. Our time will come. Yao's time will come. Have patience!
Check your facts...last time I checked...the games are in the first week of August..unless they changed the date of the games this is still the case. that is the only NT games that have been listed...if you have something that shows to the contrary....give us some proof....otherwise shut your piehole.
I don't know if you've been watching the games lately but it seems everytime the opponents come with a double teamer over 6ft tall...Yao acts like a wuss and just turns the ball over by either throwing a bad pass or lets the opponents strip it from him. He really needs to learn, or coaches need to teach him, to pass it back out and repost. Of course we never have enough time for this because our post passers are too busy dancing with the ball or Yao holds the ball for an eternity before starting his move.
Ugh, don't you think Yao's turnovers/holding the ball are more of a result of other players standing around in the weakside and not moving without the ball, leaving Yao no options to pass to? From the games I watched, if our players cut to the basket, more often than not, Yao could get them the ball to under the basket. I don't blame the other players for this non-motion though. I blame the coaching.
