Why does it matter if he does it or not? Seriously, did the op felt bored and decided to make up a topic on a subject matter that's as interesting as a lizard in a Jamaican canoe? Who gives a peanut butter jam!!! I for one, is all about the team's strategy and winning towards the post; thats what really matters. Yao ming has a tendency to not dunk a basketball, and i have a tendency to dislocate my eye socket from inserting a tripod in between!!! Can someone get me a diet coke please!!!!
Yao isn't Shaq. He's not a quick leaper, and he isn't coordinated in the air. It takes him more time than most to gather himself before a dunk. When he tries to do so, he often gets the ball stripped away. Instead, he relies on his height and soft touch to quickly lay the ball up. Every player has his limitations; that's just one of Yao's. I think it has very little to do with his mentality.
Answer: He should dunk using his left hand, which he still refuses to do. Why Yao won't throw it down left-handed is a mystery to me. I've whined about it for over 2 years and he just won't listen. Sometimes he gets his dunk attempts on the left side blocked because his right hand is closer to the defender. Somebody that knows Yao, please point this out to him.
man i think thats jsut some bull**** answer that teamn yao made up. I see Yi dunking all the time. Yao just doesn't have the verticle to dunk nor does he want to waste energy dunking. He'll do it when he's pissed or trying to help put an emphasis on the game though. Plus yea he's got that dislocated finger that he aggravated during a dunk in that celtics game.
I agree... plus yao knows he is still slow from the injury, so he wants to get rid of the ball as fast as he can (to avoid getting blocks), and the way to do that is layups. If yao tries to dunk more, with his current speed, he will get blocked more.
Yao missed a two handed wide open dunk in the philly game. I want to see him dunk more too, but he's not a great dunker.
Yao's worked on his left a lot over the years, but it's apparent that it's not a natural move for him. Some guys naturally have more control or "feel" with their off-hand (Tracy for instance is one of the best off-hand finisher in the league, and even Stro was very good at finishing with either hand). Yao's used lefty hooks and left-handed push shots a lot more this year, but still never goes for left-handed dunks or finger-rolls. This is probably yet another thing that Yao will learn and practice at and gradually get better at. That's pretty much his entire M.O., to slowly and surely get better at a lot of little things, which in the end adds up to him improving a lot as a whole.
I am confused. I think we are not discussing only the time period after he returned from knee injury right? We are discussing the issue as general, before injury and after injury.
Yao's physical limitations (some temporary due to injury) kind of prevent him from being a great dunker. If he tried to stuff it each and every time, you would see a lot of stripped balls and blocks (and missed dunks ) A layup is fine. It's still 2 points.
I am just glad that when he receives a pass under the basket that he is not Dikembe Mutombo Slo.....ie....Deke catches the ball, bends over, checks over his left and right shoulder, takes a deep breath, does some neck-rotations, gets a read on the rim, and goes up for the dunk. Yao is not lightning quick, but he is quick enough, especially when rested. I hope as he ages he does not become Deke-Slow.
I've noticed how Yao has improved with his left hand but the left-handed dunk when attacking the rim from the left should be a natural (and easy) move, much more than a hook shot or scoop shot. Instead of either getting the shot blocked cleanly or just drawing a foul, it would be two and a foul.
IMHO, the OP is trying to pick bones amongst the eggs...... Man........ Yao Ming is so versatile in his offensive skill sets.... Layups Reversed layups Hook shots Fadeways jumpers (of any kind of range within the paint) Bnking off the backboard Baseline spin moves Jump shots (of any kind of range again within the paint) Dunks (one-handed or double-handed) Reverse dunks WHY it has to be dunks ?? After all, it is just 2 points, and he will use it when he sees fit. Unlike some other uni-dimensional players (e.g. Swift Stromile) who knows only how to dunk, he has more options to choose from !! And very often by not dunking, he will draw many And 1s or fouls, and being maybe the best free throw shooting centre, he can complete more 3-point plays than other centres.
I remember many times early in his career Yao would get the ball, bring it down to gather himself, and get stripped for a turnover. No matter what, a turnover is worse than a missed shot, blocked or not. I'm sure the coaches told him to keep the ball high to avoid the swiping hands that are always in traffic. Besides, Yao dunks more percentagewise than KG or Timmy D... are those player ever accused of not dunking enough? http://www.82games.com/0607/06MIN11A.HTM KG: 5% dunks, 90% good http://www.82games.com/0607/06SAS12A.HTM Timmy D: 4% dunks, 71% good (what the heck?? That seems awfully low...) http://www.82games.com/0607/06HOU15A.HTM Yao: 7% dunks, 97.6% good (I think the only miss was the one yesterday) So... not only does Yao dunk more percentage wise than Timmy or KG, he even converts his dunks at a higher percentage.
That's the point... it's been 5 years, why is it still a problem... I hope people realise two points is not always equal to two points. Was TMac's dunk on Bradley worth 'two points' (and 1)? Or did it stop the game, shut Dallas up, fire up our own team and otherwise "suck the gravity right out of the building"? I know the nature of Yao's game is finesse and soft touch, which is unique in a guy standing 7-5, 310lb... I would just like him to try the power/bully game more often. To lift the team, force the refs to make more calls (because we all know how much he gets hacked during games... but if you're always finessing the refs ignore it). I just find myself thinking "DUNK THAT SH*T, YAO!", when he grabs an offensive board under the ring, then gently kisses it off the glass. I hope, once he gets back into 100% game shape, and his fingers are healed, he will start to unleash the powa...
