NBA.com:- Yao Ming Emerging as League’s Top Center

pryuen · Dec 15, 2006

Have not seen this posted yet..........

This time, it is on nba.com !!!

http://www.nba.com/nba_news/yao_bestcenter_061215.html

Yao Ming Emerging as League’s Top Center
By CHRIS DUNCAN, AP Sports Writer
Posted Dec 15 2006 7:17PM

HOUSTON(AP) Yao Ming always is looking ahead.

The Houston Rockets center is off to the best start of his career, averaging 26.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game heading into this weekend. He is shooting 52 percent from the field, 86 percent from the free throw line and has blocked 44 shots in the Rockets' first 22 games.

All-Star teammate Tracy McGrady has said repeatedly that Yao is now the best center in basketball, and coaches and players who have faced the Rockets this season agree.

Last Saturday, after Yao scored a season-high 38 points and blocked six shots in Washington, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said Yao ``has an arsenal that I haven't seen before'' - and Jordan played with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the early 1980s.

Yao scored 38 again Thursday night and grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds in the Rockets' 109-107 loss at Golden State.

``He is probably the best big man in the game right now,'' said Warriors center Adonal Foyle. ``He has the total package. He scored 38 and hardly broke a sweat.''

But Yao, in his fifth NBA season and only 26, shrugs off the accolades he's beginning to hear routinely. When he watches film of himself, he always sees plenty he could do better.

``The last month, I've played well. I'm playing very confidently,'' he said. ``But I'm worried about today and tomorrow, not yesterday.''

Yao scored 26 points, but only five in the second half, of Tuesday's 102-94 loss to Los Angeles. The Lakers aggressively double-teamed Yao and slapped at the ball every time he tried to dribble - two things Yao will have to learn to overcome.

``He's commanding a lot more attention, and it's coming quicker,'' said Houston assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, who has traveled to China the past two summers to work individually with Yao. ``Before, I think teams would wait to see how he was doing before they would commit a second defender. Now, it's coming quicker and he has to make that adjustment.''

But more often than not this season, Yao has looked virtually unstoppable, showing a deft touch from almost anywhere within 12 feet of the basket.

Former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, now a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, said Yao is starting to do things that Hakeem Olajuwon did when he led Houston to two NBA championships in the 1990s.

Last week, Tomjanovich scribbled notes as Yao hit 12-of-17 shots and scored 27 points at home against Golden State. Four different Warriors tried to guard him at some point, but Yao easily dropped in hook shots and baseline jumpers and quickly pivoted for layups and dunks.

``The guy looks like he feels comfortable just about anywhere on the floor,'' Tomjanovich said. ``He scores on both sides of the hoop. He's also developed a great economy of movement and motion. I don't think he has to work as hard as he had to before to get certain shots off.''

Tomjanovich said Yao is starting to show some of Olajuwon's moves, though he added that comparisons to ``The Dream'' are premature.

``There's only one 'Dream.' There will never be anybody like him,'' Tomjanovich said. ``But there are similarities. They both have great shooting touches. They both have great hands. They won't overpower you, but they can find ways to hurt you on both sides of the hoop.''

Since the Rockets took him with the top pick of the 2002 draft, Yao more often has been compared to Shaquille O'Neal. On Nov. 14, Yao showed how far he's come, outscoring O'Neal 34-15 and outrebounding him 14-10 in the Rockets' 94-72 victory in Miami.

While the game seemed to signal a changing of the guard, Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said Yao had been building toward performances like that for a while.

``The game against Miami was a 'wow' moment for people who don't watch him every day,'' Van Gundy said. ``For the people who watch him every day, we see the preparation he puts in. He's played incrementally better his entire career, but it's not big jumps, it's been small steps. And that's what guys who work so hard at their profession can expect - consistent, slow improvement.''

The Rockets were 14-8 and third in the Southwest Division heading into the weekend, after Thursday's loss to Golden State.

New Rocket Shane Battier, who faced Yao for four seasons when he played for Memphis, said Yao has become dominant because he's learned to maximize his 7-foot-6, 310-pound body.

``I think he understands his size now, as crazy as that sounds,'' Battier said. ``Early on, obviously he was the biggest guy on the floor, but I don't think he always believed he was the biggest guy on the floor. He knows how to use his height as his strength to create advantages.''

A year ago, Yao seemed to make a leap in his development after he recovered from a toe infection. He missed 21 games, but did shooting and agility drills from a chair to stay sharp.

He averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds after the All-Star break and topped 30 points six times in March. But he broke his left foot in Utah on April 10 and underwent surgery that immobilized him for weeks.

Yao recovered ahead of schedule and returned to China to rejoin his national team for the World Basketball Championships. Thibodeau and Rockets strength coach Dave Macha followed Yao and did workouts with him in between his practices with the team.

Though China failed to reach the quarterfinals in Japan, Yao led the tournament with 25.3 points per game.

``He never wants to stay the same, he's really committed to improving,'' said Thibodeau. ``He's really hungry to do better and be better. He's very humble, too. You could see (in China) how much he truly, genuinely cares about how his team does more than how he does. He's the same way here.''

Yao had a toenail surgically removed before this season, but he was ready for Houston's home opener against Dallas.

He scored 24 points in the first half and 36 in the game, leading the Rockets to a 107-76 rout of the defending Western Conference champions. Yao has eight double-doubles this season and has topped 30 points six times.

``It's a testament to his work ethic and his persistence,'' said Battier. ``It's good to see a good person who works hard see the fruit of his labor. But knowing him, he'll be here tomorrow working out and he'll continue to get better. That's the most exciting part.''

Thibodeau said Yao studies film of himself and opposing big men before and after most practices. When Dallas eliminated the Rockets in the 2005 playoffs, Thibodeau said Yao was back working at the Rockets' practice facility two days later.

While constantly honing his game, Yao also has worked hard to perfect his English. Shy and subdued early in his career, Yao now occasionally reveals a sharp, dry sense of humor. Last week, when McGrady scored 31 points four days after getting smacked to the floor by a Dikembe Mutombo elbow, Yao joked that the blow ``knocked him awake.''

Yao said his improvement is largely due to how well he's learned the language and adapted to American life.

``Without basketball, you still have a personal life,'' he said. ``If you just stay in your own world, enclose yourself, that will not help your career.''

Tomjanovich said Yao's on-court experience is showing now, too.

``He's got that look like, 'I've been on this floor 1,000 times. I know what I'm doing,''' Tomjanovich said. ``It seems like he's got it figured out. He's always been a gifted guy. But it seems like things are really flowing for him more consistently more than ever before.''

Asked what the greatest strength of his game is now, Yao turns bashful again and allows a wide smile.

``That's the best start I've had since I came into this league, shooting the ball,'' he said. ``But what am I doing best? I'll keep that a secret.''
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HoopsFancy · Dec 15, 2006

good.

AXG · Dec 15, 2006

Nice fnd. It seems Yao may be finally getting his dues,

brantonli24 · Dec 15, 2006

Best thing is, the writer also happens to be the brother of Tim Duncan

Deckard · Dec 15, 2006

Great read. Thanks! Always love to read quotes from Rudy T. And the compliments are well deserved.

YaozaMac · Dec 15, 2006

cool....

Enron · Dec 16, 2006

I guess they have to say this since Shaq has not played a game in over a month now. I'm sure if he was still out there averaging his 6 pts a game they would still call Yao #2.

topfive · Dec 16, 2006

Welcome to 2005, sports media! When you get caught up, you can join the rest of us here in 2006.

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