Yao's Passing

You know, in reviewing the swat/slash/swing/bat/badass pass Ming made to Franchise... after Stevie got the ball and was slashing to the hoop, there were 3 Kings that just stood there and watched. Didn't even bother to contest the drive even though they had time.

I think they were just stunned at what Yao just did. I can only imagine what was going through their minds... "holy crap... what the hell kind of crazy ass move was that... I want whatever he's smoking!"

 

I was stunned too, at first I thought the entry pass was bad and Yao couldn't catch the ball or something.. and then somehow the camera moved and showed stevie at the corner catching it...I didn't even know it was a pass until they showed the replay

 

Sabonis is the best passing big man I have ever seen. If Ming can consistanly pass the ball like he did last night he'll be right up there with him.

 

One little impressive moment: Yao was double teamed and tossed a cross-court pass to the corner for Stevie, only Stevie has just that second reversed direction and the ball went out of bounds. The *first* thing Yao did was to run to talk to Stevie so that they could get their signals straight next time.

This guy does NOT like to make mistakes!

 

I went to the game. I didn't even think it was a pass. I originally thought that pass was intended to Yao, and it was a bad pass, so Ming just popped it along to Steve.

 

MadMax,

he's definitely a great passing center. Improving more. I can not say there has never been a better one, though. Walton, Sabonis and Divac are all studs.

Thing that stands out with Walton is (even in college) he ran the offense, not just made spectacular shots. Walton would use the fake pass to keep players at bay to make room for himself to score.

Ming has that in him, and it will take a further adjustment in the team offense to get him to run the offense, but right now, I still have to give Walton, Sabonis and Divac top props.

 

On his passing:
"When I’m seeing them score points, it feels like I’m scoring points myself."

On facing the double-team in the second half:
"Their coach obviously thought it was necessary. When I saw the double team I knew that my teammates would have opportunities."

When you have that kind of attitude, you'll throw passes just as well.

 

When I see Yao pass I just hope to some higher power that the Rockets are able to capitalize on that awesome pass and more times then not, the Rocks throw up bricks or turn it over, resulting in what i like to term as a snub to Yao... here's Yao with a great pass only to have it squandered by a turnover or a brick!!

To me, it's like disrespecting Yao cause you (as a player) can't capitalize!!

Maybe I'm being harsh and don't flame me, but I just get frustrated when this happens!!

 

I remember Magic Johnson once said, "I've always wanted to be the guy who made the pass." I think Ming has that same mentality.

 

I cant wait until the rest of the team catches up to Yao's passing game. Yao was dropping passes all over last night that should have resulted in about 6 or 7 layups, but not many were actually caught. Wait til they start to feel the passes coming.

 

Calvin Murphy went on and on about how he had never seen a pass like that--ever!!!.

As an aside I went to the Sixers game .In the pregame shoot around I saw Yao reach down and pick up the bball with his fingers sort of like I would pick up a grapefruit. He was not straining like he was trying to palm the ball. Does he have exceptionally large hands or fingers? There have been reports of him grabbing one handed rebounds at times.

 

well, you said "never." Anyhow, I still disagree even on age. Walton was passing like that in college, and running a high post passing offense. I can't speak for Divac or Sabonis at a young age though.

Note, Walton won 3 player of the year awards in college, was a 1st pick, and won a title with a new NBA franchise in his 3rd season. And that title run was the most impressive display of center passing I've ever seen.

I love Yao's passing, but he still has work to get to Walton status, imo.

 

I was at the game and caught something really cool last night. It was when the players had first come to the court, and were shooting around. I saw Francis showing something to Ming in the post position. I was wondering what it was. Then, as Ming stayed in his post position, Francis cut to the basket and pointed towards the basket, as if saying, "throw it right there big guy." Seconds later, they tried it. Francis gave the ball to Ming, and cut to the basket, and Ming threw it up right where he wanted it for the layup.

But the cool part was, they ran the exact same play in the first few minutes of the game. Francis gave Ming the ball, cut straight to the basket, but Jackson was right on him and the only way to get the ball was through a lob pass like practiced earlier. Sure enough, Ming threw it up high and Francis caught it. He didnt make the shot though. But he did draw the foul!!

 

I admit it's the most surprising aspect of his game, even though most of the pre-draft scouting reports mentioned he was a good passer. Yao is amazing.

A center that was an excellent passer who never gets mentioned was Chamberlain. After dominating the league in the categories you'd expect him to he "announced he was going to lead the league in assists and did it. I only remember Wilts play in his Laker years, and I only bring this up because of the height factor. Height will not make you a good passer, but if you're significantly taller than everyone else it gives you and advantage. Walton was exceedingly intelligent on the court and a great passer without the height advantage Wilt had and Yao has on the league. Considering he's known his teammates for 2 months, I think Yao's play is really reaching scary proportions.
It's ironic that this game may have been his most dominant given his rough shooting night. But honestly, in time this guy has the potential to dominate in ways I've never seen anyone else do. I now understand some of the far-end spectrum hype this guy generated. It's way early to tell for sure (20 games), but I can't believe I'm even thinking this way.

 

Are you guys watching the Blazers vs the Nets? Sabonis made at least 5 GREAT passes just in the 1st half! Yao is good passing center, no question, but he's not in the league of Sabonis yet.

 

i was just getting ready to say the same thing yaoROY.

i take back my statement that yao is as good as sabonis right now. he still has a ways to go. but also when the rockets stop standing aroud and start cutting yao's passing will start looking more like sabonis'. sabonis has teammates that are more willing to move around for him. i'm sure that will change in time for the rockets and we will develop like that.

 

Sick! Freaking Sick! Sabonis is putting on a show against the Nets. The last pass behind the back was ridiculous. His defender didn't even know it left his hands!

Yao uses Sabonis as a role model, someone he can look up to in terms of passing skills. Yao has a way to go before he can be compared to Sabonis.

 

Yao is an excellent, instinctive passer for a center...Sabonis is, and in his prime was even more so, one of the better passers to ever play irrespective of position. As good as he is now ( which is better than Yao by a decent margin) in his prime, when he was more athletic and teams couldn't play off him looking for the pass as much as they do now, he routinely put on incredible displays that made people who played against him and saw him talk about it for years...not fans of his team, everyone in the arena...I have heard debates from serious basketball thinkers about whether or not Sabonis was as good a passer as Magic...not for the position, period.

Imagine if last nights passing display by Yao were to be a pretty routine, even sub-par night for him, and that it were other nights which got you excited in comparison...that, according to everything I have ever heard, read, or seen, was Sabonis.

All that said, I feel Yao compares favourably with just about every other center I've seen, with the possible exception of Walton...I'm not saying he can't equal or surpass Walton, but he will have to show a long term, consistent ability to run an offense and pick defenses apart, even when they are keying on preventing him from doing so, before we can say he is as good or better than the Big Red Mouth...