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Yao vs. Pacers - 10/30/02


Cuttino Mobley converses with Yao
during a timeout Wednesday night against the Pacers.

as of 10/30/02
From reading some of the quotes and articles after Wednesday's game against the Pacers in Indianapolis, you would have thought Yao had a terrible night in his first game in the NBA. We don't see it that way. Everyone recognizes that Yao has alot to learn since he has only been in the country for 10 days, but it wasn't like he was a blubbering idiot out there. For example, Yao's teammates missed shots so badly, he didn't have much of a chance to get rebounds or garbage baskets.

The biggest problem on Wednesday night was Rudy T's decision to play Yao only 11 minutes! We can understand Yao may be fatigued, but he seemed to play more in the two preseason games last week, and he has had a full week's rest since. Also, the Rockets were missing 4 forwards because of injury (Rice, Morris, Thomas) or suspension (Taylor), all of China was watching the game live, and every player needs more than 11 minutes to get into a rhythm and show his stuff. In addition, the Rockets cannot use the excuse that Yao's ankle was bothering him because he was moving around and getting up-and-down the floor just fine, and very quickly we might add.

Overall, Yao went 0-1 from the field, scored 0 points, grabbed two rebounds, had two turnovers and 3 personal fouls. We catalogued almost every play in which Yao was involved, and you'll see he wasn't that detrimental to the team.

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2nd quarter
11:32Jonathan Bender scored inside by jumping into Yao to create space. No foul was called on Bender when it should have been called. After getting pushed back by Bender, Yao could only stay flat-footed with his arms up to contest the shot. Lucky enough to not be called for a foul, Bender did a good job of arcing the shot high off the glass to avoid the block and score the basket.
10:27Yao shows he's aggressive by crashing the boards when Francis drove to the basket. Unfortunately, Francis shot was blocked by Bender to keep it out of Yao's reach.
9:36Yao double-teamed a Pacer with the ball by trying to block his shot. Unfortunately, that left his man, Jeff Foster, wide open under the basket--but Foster blew the lay-up and Houston rebounded.
9:12Yao tried to go up for a shot along the left baseline, but was stripped of the ball by Foster and turned it over.
8:14Yao was isolated on the left baseline, and spun to the basket. Immediately, Pacer guard Erick Strickland came across the lane to double-team and stripped Yao of the ball. It looks like this defensive approach will be the standard way opposing teams try to stop Yao. The Rockets should design plays where they make the other team pay for the double-team, and send cutters to the basket to whom Yao can dish the ball.
7:57Yao set a nice pick out high near the three-point line for fellow rookie Bostjan Nachbar, who drained his first regular season NBA shot. Opposing players will have a tough time getting around Yao's picks. Moreover, after setting the pick, Yao immediately crashed the boards and was in prime position to grab the rebound, which the Rockets didn't need because of Bostjan's make.
5:22Erick Strickland blows past Moochie Norris and leaves Yao alone to defend the quicker guard who has a head of speed. Strickland wrapped around Yao along the baseline and scored a reverse layup. It's amazing Strickland was able to get the basket without getting the shot blocked by Yao. Gotta give Strick credit.
4:43Jermaine O'Neal is guarded one-on-one by Yao on the left block. O'Neal makes a nice spin move and fadeaway jumper to arch it over Yao's outstretched arms. It's surprising anyone could make this type of shot over Yao. Give O'Neal credit for not being intimidated of Yao's height.
4th quarter
10:12Yao shoots his first official shot in the NBA--a fadeaway (one of his favorite shots) about 15 feet from the basket which ends up falling short. Yao will make many of these shots in his career, but to get warmed up he probably should shoot something closer to the basket to get his confidence up.
9:56Yao fouls Erick Strickland, but as evidenced earlier in the game, this foul is not his fault. Strickland badly beat Eddie Griffin on a drive to the basket, and Yao came over to help. So people need to stop giving Yao crap about how he fouls too much--if his teammates could play some D, he wouldn't be caught trying to save their butt.
9:36In the block, Yao is double-teamed and lifts his pivot foot and travels. Chalk this one up to being flustered by pressure. Yao will have to work on this part of his game.
9:26Yao fouls Jermaine O'Neal by cutting him off on the right baseline. This foul can be attributed to Yao wanting to slow down his man, something his teammates aren't as inclined to do. Yao will need to raise his level of quickness to match the NBA's speed, and learn how to plant himself before his man runs into him. This should come in due time.
8:54Yao switched defensively to cover Strickland, Cuttino's man, out at the three-point line in the right corner. Strickland had to loft his shot higher than normal to get it over Yao, and Strickland hit it beautifully. Yao couldn't have played it any better.



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