Yep, that was at the beginning of the game. Shaq was totally faked out (like what Hakeem did to Robinson). If that shot went in, we might be seeing a very different Yao. He touched the ball on the rim due to old international rule habit. I felt that that shot kinda shook up his confidence.
Yeah...he passes to cutters easily and he does it pretty well. But I'm talking about passing to spot up shooters like Rice who is standing on the weakside. Those passes aren't very accurate and they go out of bounds quite often.
I don't know about stupid....but if stupid means making bad decisions on substituting (like keeping Moochie in waaaay too long) then okay...he is stupid. And what was with all of TMo's playing time last night? I actually like Mr. Mean...but I was screaming for him to get Moochie out!
http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54413#post809150 I have posted under the wrong thread btw...
“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.” There are some posts that sounds right but make zero sense. Unfortunately, this is one of them. Let me counter your point one by one. 1). Hypothetically, let Robert Horry throw a lob pass to Shaq, time how long it takes. Then let Robert Horry throw a lob pass to Ming, time how long it takes. Compare the two. The result is going to be identical. You see, it depends on the PASSER, not the receiver. 2). Again, sounds kind of right except not quite. For a lob pass, strength and balance is much much more important than jumping ability. The reason is simple, and that is the defender can’t jump. The job of the defender is to PUSH the receiver into the paint so the receiver has little space to receive the lob pass. It is very difficult to push and jump at the same time. 3). Not quite right again. You don’t quite get Shaq’s move. The reason he can dunk on anybody is because when he is in the paint, he knock you off your stride and then, only then, he would dunk on your face. That is how he can dunk on Dream’s face. Are you saying Dream is not an explosive jumper? Anyway, the point is Shaq can do it because of his strength and not his jumping ability. Another reason is because he is a superstar. There is no way Ming can do it for the simple reason that he is a rookie. 4). This one is easy. So Shaq has better footwork than Ming??????
“Yeah...he passes to cutters easily and he does it pretty well. But I'm talking about passing to spot up shooters like Rice who is standing on the weakside. Those passes aren't very accurate and they go out of bounds quite often.” Not trying to pick on you. Just trying to clear some misconception. The reason he is having trouble with turnovers is because defenders know he is a good passer. They are starting to play the passing lane. When someone is playing the passing lane, he will have to peek at the ball (Ming). If the offensive player would cut or move around, he would usually get an advantage.
Im still trying to figure out what was more pathetic: Yao's defense on Shaq or U.S. going to war with Iraq. Its a close one.
http://www.fiba.com/competition/calendar/main.asp?RID=&lang=EN&cc=&year=&fIsC=False#MARK 18.9.2003 - 26.9.2003 14th Asian Champions Cup for Men 2003 13.8.2004 - 29.8.2004 28th Olympic Games: Tournament for Men 2004 I expect an apology from you. As I said, don't think it is just for two weeks of the tournament. It is the training and practice of the NT team before the tournament that will kill Yao's time for his own strength/agility training. As we all know, the NT will call Yao back immediately after the season is over and train him together with his teammates immediately after he arrives in China. Check this thread to get the information: http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54302&perpage=30&pagenumber=2 Let me repeat again, Yao will not have the time for the next two years to significantly improve himself. He is going to be like another Wang ZZ for the first two years with Dallas with little improvement.
I don’t it was his worse game of the season but it was easily the most intimidated I’ve seen him look ever.
Please! Give YAO some slack. People tend to forget that this is Yao's first year in the NBA. He still has lots of to learn. And that Shaq is one of the best Centers ever. He's virtually unstopable 1-on-1 when he's healthy and in good shape (even more so when he can hit his free throws). We went a large part of the game NOT double teaming Shaq. We need to give Yao some help defending Shaq.
