Ever since Ewing moved on last summer, I noticed a few changes in Yao's game. 1. He's been reverting back to his old ways constantly tapping the rebounds instead or ripping it down like he was starting to do last year. 2. He's not dunking as much when he's inside when he should. A handful of times this year when he was wide open underneath, he goes for the weak layup. Do you guys think Yao's been doing this because of fatigue? Or because there is no Patrick Ewing around to mentor him? I think Ewing was underappreciated here in Houston and didn't get enough credit for Yao's progress last year. It probably also has something to do with Yao's lack of stimina coming back from the toe injury and playing all of those games over the summer with the national team. I think it's a combo of both but to what degree?
Stromile Swift credited Ewing for helping him with his game. That should tell you the impact he made. LOL
Yeah I noticed that he's been playing soft. He's got to inspire his team with more dunks, demoralize the other team. Not sure if Yao's arms are just short, but I would like to see him do one of those one arm power slams like Dantay Jones or Vince Carter.
It has always been reported that Tom Thibodeau did all of the personal coaching of Yao. I have little reason to think that Ewing had any effect on Yao either way.
1. maybe required by JVG 2. I don't notice this. If it is true, it may be because Rockets play faster than last season.
"The orgnization has never publicly anounced that Ewing is Yao's personal trainer" "Ewing is not Yao's trainer. Period" "You are making assumptions based on another assumption" "You know, I now start to believe that Ewing actually is Yao's baby sitter" "...... " That's what I got when I accidently pushed that button.
I disagree. Yao is an effective rebounder when he's tipping the ball to himself (or to a teammate). Yao needs to take advantage of his strength (his height) to overcome his weakness (quickness) -- that's what tipping the ball to himself does. As for the layups inside as opposed to the dunks -- who cares? The guy is shooting 63% from the field to start the season, and 77% on inside shots. Last year, he was 66% on inside shots. Whatever he's doing has been effective thus far.
Interesting observation. I expect Yao mixes things up as the season goes on. Right now his 63% FG is largely attributed to his phenomenal shooting in the Dallas game. His decline in rebounding starts to concern me, more so than his early foul trouble or high turnovers. It may be a tall order to ask him to maintain the similar kind of aggressiveness on boards seen in the 2nd half of last season, but I do hope he does not revert to his old self. Ewing or not, Yao needs to figure this out by himself.
I don't see any relationship between Yao and Ewing here. Tipping the ball to teammates could be a way to speed up and get more fast break oppotunities. Layups could be a way to protect his feet and knee. You never know. As long as his shots are not blocked frequently, I have not problem with layups.
Most of the time I see Yao BOXING OUT opponents instead of going for the ball. This is the reason why he doesn't get a lot of them. What I expect from him is to get at least 2 offensive rebounds a game.
Yao's 25/8 right now. The way things are being discussed here you would think Yao's really sucking in both the rebounding and scoring dept which couldn't be further from the truth.
Speaking of Yao's rebounding, I can't help but noticing Yao always seems to grab rebounds with both hands, and then hold the ball high up until he passes the ball to a teammate. Every now and then opponents would strip the ball from his hands before he could find a teammate to pass the ball. People would scoff at Juwan as being unathletic, but he is not a bad rebounder by any measure. In fact he is quite an effective one. Juwan grabs the rebound using a powerful one-handed snatch and holds the ball close to his chest with both of his elbows sticking out to fend off the intruders. I think Yao can take a page out of Juwan's play book chapter on rebounding, especially the one-hand technique.
Well I don't see anyone here is complaining about both Yao's scoring and his rebounding, but 8 RPG (small sample size notwithstanding) is definitely a career low for Yao and a cause for concern, if the trend continues.
Someone has mentioned concentration lapse about Yao's rebounding in another thread. Everyone has heard of players whose shooting is streaky. Well...I think Yao's rebounding is very streaky. You often see him grab 4 or 5 rebounds in the 1st quarter after 10 mins ... then doesn't grab another one until the 3rd quarter...and then he will get another 3-4 again in the next few minutes. I remember there was a game he didn't get a single one in the 1st half and then got 10 rebounds in the 2nd half. I really can't think of any explanation for it except concentration lapse. It looks like something is in his mind so he can't concentrate on getting the rebounds during some stretches of the games. But that something can't seem to bother him on the offensive end though. Yao is a good and above-average rebounder when he can stay focus.
Yao taps the ball too much. He should realize he can just pull it down without tapping because he just taller than everyone else.
There are others that could contribute to the streakiness. FG% of the other team could be streaky. Foul trouble could curtail aggressiveness. Also, it's natural for Yao's energy to decrease as each half progresses.
