Phone interview with Chinese media, 12/12/02. I tried my best to translate YaoMing: 'I'm good at studying my opponents. I have started doing that since I was little. I study every opponent I respect. Wang Zhizhi had been my object from 1997 to 2001. ... You can say they are all like 'revenge', but every game is different. For instance, in 76ers I don't see very good players at C position. I didn't do well in the first game with them coz it was just my 2nd NBA game, but in our second meet I'm all together. My first game with Spurs was a pre-season game. At that time I had no clue how tough Duncan and Robinson are until that game. Then I realized I have to play tough to compete them and use my advantage of height. A lot of time it's not just about skills and tactics, it's also in psycological way. For me, Davic has no secret now. He's just a smart (foxy?) old man. You get used to his rhythem, he's over. I tried to put pressure on him offensively and let him feel I'm tougher. My touch wasn't great at that day, otherwise I could score alot more. Next, I want to play Pacers most, rather than Clippers. Coz last I wasn't ready for such a great Jermaine O'Neal and it was my first NBA game (I was horrible at that game).'
I was kinda surprised when I first read the Chinese version. Actually I made it more moderate in the translation already. YaoMing is no way so cocky.... probably the CHinese media wasn't loyal to his words. For people can read Chinese, the original report: http://sports.sina.com.cn/k/2002-12-13/1028364553.shtml
I think iOrange did a fairly accurate translation except for his J.O'neal remark. Yao said he didn't expect J.O'Neal to be such a great player based on his experiences against him in usa-china matches. and he's really looking forward to next Pacers game because he got schooled by O'Neal last time. as for Yao being cocky, actually Yao has a reputation of being cocky sometimes among Chinese fans. The main reason for so many Yao-haters back in China. I think you people will see this side of his personality once he is able to communicate in English.
As long as he doesn't start talking in the third person I don't care if he gets cocky from time to time. "For me, Davic has no secret now. He's just a smart (foxy?) old man. You get used to his rhythm, he's over. I tried to put pressure on him offensively and let him feel I'm tougher. My touch wasn't great at that day, otherwise I could score alot more." I like the "smart (foxy?) old man" part. The rest of it is pretty gusty. Just keep backing it up Yao. Blatz
As long as he can back up his cockiness he can be called the Tall Socrates or the Giant Lao Tzu for all I care.
If you look at it as a private conversation, thoses are just frank and accurate analysis from Ming. Unfortunately, the PRIVATE conversation is with a MEDIA guy.
why doesn't he have the right to be cocky? yao is realizing pretty fast that he is the 2nd best true center in the league. every great player is cocky...thats what makes them great. the fact that they think they can beat everyone else, and if they don't then they will make sure they do next time
what interested he is how he talked about his way of analyzing each opponent. If true, that is pretty impressive. We'll have to see how well he continues to adapt.
We need to take all second or even third party translations with a grain of salt. It's really not fair to Yao when there are two or three guys relaying what is said. There is an old saying about things getting lost in the translation............
One part of this article talks about how Yao analyzed Wang ZhiZhi. Yao said Wang likes to shoot 3's. So at the begining of the match, Yao shoot two 3's. (This had done some impact on Wang psycologically), Later Wang shoot eleven 3's and none of them falled in. Then Yao said that a lot of time it's not just about skills and tactics, it's also in psycological way. Then Yao talked about Divac. Yao's point is he did the same thing to Divac as to Wang, in the psycological way. Matt
Not true. I think Yao could have a good defensive game against Shaq. If Shaq scores 40, Yao just needs to score 50. That's good defense.
well, that's not the defense I'm talking about. I agree that Yao may be able to match Shaq's offensive output. but i still don't see him stop Shaq from scoring. Shaq is just too powerful.
I never like Ming talking so much to the Chinese media. When Ming is among the reporters, he is like a rooster among chickens. The reporters are either females or gay. Even though Ming is playing great, I still think praising your opponent or bashing them are no good either way. You only need to play your best. Everything is on the court.