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Yao vs. 76ers - 12/7/02

Yao dunks on Philadelpher 76er Art Long in the fourth quarter after following up on a deflected Steve Francis dunk. The Rockets beat the Sixers 97-72, their biggest win differential of the season. Yao dunks on Philadelpher 76er Art Long in the fourth quarter after following up on a deflected Steve Francis dunk. The Rockets beat the Sixers 97-72, their biggest win differential of the season.
The way it should work

What a difference one day, a loud home crowd, and a "Cat back in the cradle" makes. On Friday after the Rockets stunk up New Orleans to resemble what the French Quarter smells like after a Mardi Gras parade, the Rockets thoroughly beat the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night 97-72. The Rockets shot 10 percentage points better than the previous night against the Hornets for 49% (second best this season), with the help of returning guard Cuttino "Cat" Mobley and Yao Ming.

Yao had an outstanding game by racking up his third consecutive double-double. In just 27 minutes, he scored 18 points on 8-11 shooting, made his last 7 shots in a row, and snared 12 rebounds. He also was a defensive force in the middle, with his one block not representing the intimidator he was in the middle. Since Yao acts as a big defensive eraser if anyone drives the lane, the Rockets seem to be enjoying the use of their zone defense that forces teams to shoot from the outside. The Rockets continued their NBA highly-ranked defensive intensity by holding Allen Iverson to a season-low 11 points (5 of 19 from the field), and keeping the entire Sixer team to 38% shooting (lower than what Houston shot against New Orleans).

Cat's second life

Mobley, returning from an 8-game rest because of ankle injuries and plantar fasciitis, scored 16 points (7 for 13 from the field) spiced with some dazzling alley-oop dunks from Steve Francis. We said in yesterday's report we thought Cuttino's scoring punch would help the anemic Rocket shooting, but we didn't think it would be this good. Cat's energy seemed to raise all of his teammates' game, with all of the Rockets' starters scoring in double-figures.

The personality of Yao

Yao seems to be getting comfortable with his teammates as each game is played. He's high-fiving, giving thanks through the NBA stylistic finger-point, picking fellow players off the floor, and smiling and joking with guys on the bench. The "language problem" that some experts predicted would be a liability (like Barkley and even Kenny Smith stated during the NBA draft) appears to be a non-issue. Even Yao's mom seems to be comfortable, who was seen in the stands banging those inflatable noise makers.

Payback time

Next up for the Rockets is a rematch against the Sacramento Kings Tuesday night at Compaq. The Rockets are 7-1 at home, so the Rockets will be looking for redemption after getting blown out last Sunday night by the Kings 103-84 in Sacramento.

As always, we plan to keep posting updates in other Web site sections until that game, so we'll see you around.

Yao contests Monty Williams' drive in the first quarter. Williams caught the loose ball and laid it back in.

Yao dwarfs 76er guard Eric Snow.

Yao gets the ball down low in a mismatch against Eric Snow in the fourth quarter, then shoots a beautiful baby hook to hit his 5th field goal in a row. Yao went on to hit 7 in a row, score 18 points and rack up 12 rebounds in just 27 minutes of action.
Detailed Yao analysis

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1st quarter
12:00   Yao starts the game.
9:53

Free Throws		 Yao gets the ball in good position on the left side of the paint on Todd McCullough. Yao turns to his right and shoots a little jump hook (looks better tonight than last night), which bounces off the back iron. MacCullough grabs the rebound, but Yao is able to strip it away from him as MacCullough has the ball over his head. Yao then goes up for a one-handed jam over McCullough, but again the ball hits the back of the iron on the dunk. But Yao was fouled on the play. Yao misses the first free throw, but makes the second.
9:23   Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot on the left side, and dribbles toward the baseline. Yao picks up his dribble and pivots left toward the center of the court and is about to go up for a fallaway jumper, but Allen Iverson comes over to pick his pocket: not to be unexpected since Iverson leads the league in steals.
6:06 Intimidation 76er Monty Williams gets a nice bounce pass from Van Horn from inside the lane, and Williams drives to the basket with Yao standing underneath. Williams double pumps in mid-air to draw contact from Yao, but Yao is still able to get a hand on the ball. But the ball bounces right back to Williams, who puts it in the hole uncontested since Yao is out of position. We figure this won't count as a block since it was such a quick play where Williams scored quickly anyway. Maybe the official scorekeeper will rule that Williams lost control of the ball.
5:49 From just beyond the elbow of the free throw line, Mobley sees Yao cutting through the lane from the free throw line and passes a beautiful alley-oop pass to him, who catches it in mid-air and finger rolls it in!
4:35 Yao gets the ball deep in the paint, but shoots it too hard off the glass. The rebound comes to him, but he goes over the back and is called for the foul.

Yao checks out of the game for Cato.
2nd quarter
4:54 Yao checks back into the game, and 13 seconds later Todd MacCullough is passed the ball in the middle of the paint. Yao just holds his position between MacCullough and the rim and puts his arms straight up, and is able to block the ball easily!
3:10 From his favorite spot, Yao turns and shoots a fadeaway over MacCullough, but misses short. Yao has hit somewhat of a blank streak with this shot.
1:40 From the top of the three point line, Eddie Griffin delivers a perfect two-handed pass to Yao, who is cutting to the basket from the free throw line, and he jams it through with his right hand...and he's fouled by MacCullough! Nice one-handed catch by Yao to bring the over-his-head pass in before going up for the dunk. Like a 7'6" tight end. Yao makes the extra free throw from the foul. He now has 6 points on 2-5 shooting, and is 2-4 from the field.
:37.1   On a rebound from an Eddie Griffin three point attempt, Yao goes for the rebound and is actually able to tip it over MacCullough, but the refs call Yao for his third foul, and Rudy has to sit him down.. Looking at the replay (and other similar plays Yao has been called for in this game), it's VERY debatable if he should have been called for a loose ball foul. We think the refs just can't comprehend how someone can be tall enough to be able to tip a ball cleanly over another man WITHOUT fouling him. Hey refs, start changing your ways and study some replays of Yao! You'll see it IS possible. It's obvious Yao is disgusted with these calls looking at his body language and facial expressions.
3rd quarter
12:00   Yao starts the second half.
11:00 Steal Yao's long reach allows him to steal a pass in the paint from Van Horn to MacCullough along the baseline. If it wasn't for his reach, MacCullough would have had a sure layup.
10:21 From YFS (Yao's Favorite Spot), he dribbles once and then QUICKLY spins to the baseline and leaves MacCullough totally faked out wondering, "what happened." Yao lets fly his fadeaway jumper, and SWISH! We haven't seen Yao execute a spin move faster than this one! The Rockets lead 50-42.
5:20 Kenny Thomas gets a pass and tries a whirling dirvish move underneath the basket, but it's blocked by Derrick Coleman. However, Yao is right there under the bucket to pull the ball out of mid-air, and puts it back up for the garbage deuce! Yao has 10 points on 4 for 7 shooting, and the Rockets lead 62-54.
4:06 From the right side outside the pain, Yao has Coleman guarding him. Yao pivots and goes up for one of his unblockable jump shots--and MONEY! Yao has hit his last four shots, and is 5-8 from the field for 12 points. Yao points to Glen Rice as he heads back the other way to as a "thank you" sign, and slaps palms when they meet up. The Rockets lead 64-58.
1:52   Kenny Thomas foolishly tries to gamble on trying to steal a pass to intended for his defensive assignment, Derrick Coleman. That leaves a wide-open lane for DC to take it into Yao. Yao goes up for the block on Coleman, but is called for the foul. Having seen this happen in front of him, coach Rudy T. jumps out of his chair wildly waving his arms toward the ref vehemently contesting the call. Rudy may be right, but Thomas should have never gambled on the steal to put Yao in that position.

Now that Yao has 4 personal fouls, Cato checks in for him. After Coleman's free throws, the Rockets lead 68-60.
4th quarter - The Rockets lead 71-62.
7:50   Yao checks back into the game. The Rockets lead 82-65.
7:17 Kenny Thomas adeptly zips a pass into the paint where Yao has great position. Without hesitating a second and sensing the mismatch he has down low on a Sixer guard Eric Snow, Yao pump fakes to shed off the coming defense, then shoots a nice little baby hook WITH THE LEFT HAND into the hole for two more!! Yao has now hit 5 shots in a row and is 6 for 9 from the field for 14 points.
4:44 On a wild play that shows how well Yao and Francis are now working together: Francis passes the ball from the left corner to Yao in his favorite spot. Yao pivots as he's double-teamed and as Francis cuts down the baseline, Yao delicately drops the ball to Francis as he drives by him and goes up for a reverse dunk. But the ball is deflected by a 76er, but YAO IS THERE TO CLEAN UP THE MESS AND SLAMS IT HOME TWO-HANDED!!! THE CROWD GOES CRAZY!! WHAT A ROAR! This play will definitely be on Sportscenter tonight!! As Yao heads down the floor, he spots Francis laying on the floor after missing his dunk attempt, and immediately helps him up. We love how Yao is always thinking abouth helping his teammates. Yao now has 16 points.
4:07 From his favorite spot, Yao turns baseline and dribbles twice to get around his man. But he sees there's no daylight there, so he reverses his direction by picking up his dribble and pivoting away from the baseline. He turns and launches himself up in the air to get as much height as possible, and sky hooks it.....COUNT IT!! THE CROWD IS ON THEIR FEET! Yao's dominating. He's 8-11 from the field and has made his last 7 shots in a row for 18 points! The Rockets lead by 25 points, 93-68. This has to be their largest lead of the season!
2:45   Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato to a standing 'O.' In 27 minutes, Yao has 18 points (8 for 11, making his last 7 shots in a row) and 12 rebounds. The Rockets go on to win 97-72.



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