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Yao vs. Jazz - 12/23/02


Yao battles Karl Malone for a rebound in the second half Monday night. The Rockets fell to 15-12 by losing to the Jazz 96-91.
First let's talk about the bright spots of Monday night's game the Rockets lost to Utah, 96-91. Yao finally got more shots this game (6-for-12) and was totally dominating Greg Ostertag and anyone else the Jazz were throwing at him. Yao also hit all 6 of his free throws to score 18 points total. In addition he had 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

But we have been biting our tongue and giving the benefit of the doubt for as long as we can. When you watch every game as closely as we do, you see every weakness the Rockets have. The one glaring soft spot we have seen thus far: Rudy Tomjanovich is not using the phenomenal talent of Yao Ming as he should be. We just don't understand it. There are tons of great quotes on this site from Rudy espousing how special Yao is. But when it comes time to use him like Hakeem was used, it doesn't look like he's ready to go that far despite the incredible presence of the big man.

What's the beef this time around?

The Rockets had all the momentum with a 6-point lead when Rudy checked Yao out of the game for Kelvin Cato in the third quarter. At that point, the Rockets were firing on all cylinders when Yao was in the game: a +12 point differential with him, but -6 without him. These statistics obviously show that Yao was making a big difference in the game.

We understand Yao is human and needs a rest just like anyone else. Having Yao check out of the game late in the third quarter is not a problem. The big problem is waiting too long to bring him back in during the most important quarter of them all, and when you have a team on the ropes like the Rockets had the Jazz.

By waiting until the 6:21 mark of the 4th quarter to bring Yao back, the Jazz had erased a 7-point deficit to tie the game in less than four minutes of action. Bringing Yao back at the eight or nine-minute mark could have put the Jazz away for good. Instead, given a breath of life, the Jazz had renewed confidence and started playing much better down the stretch to pull out the win.

But you could tell once the Rockets lost the lead and the slumping Karl Malone, who has had some God-awful games this year, hit a couple of long jump shots in a row, the Rockets were done. Malone is not what he used to be (42% from the field this season, 27% from the field in the Jazz's previous five losses), but give him some hope and he can be dangerous in the clutch, which he was.

Don't listen to all the other stories about how the storied veterans of Utah (Stockton and Malone) were just too much to handle. The Jazz are average, at best. They may have won some games recently against younger teams, but last week they had lost four in a row. The Rockets had the Jazz down thanks to shooting an amazing 54% from the field, but they didn't go for the jugular by bringing The Decimator (Yao) back to ice this game.

They are better than this

The type of losses experienced against the Mavericks, Portland, Sacramento, and New Orleans are acceptable. But the Rockets are much better than their record indicates. This 15-12 Rocket team should at least be 19-8 if it weren't for questionable coaching decisions (see write-ups for Sonics, Phoenix, Clippers on the road, Memphis, Clippers at home, Minnesota, and this game against Utah). If only the Rockets had given the ball more to the LEAGUE LEADER IN FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE, the Rockets might have won some of these games.

When Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki score in the high 20's, do you hear anyone complaining these guys are scoring too much? Of course not. Yao has proven he is the same caliber of player as these guys, so why not play him like the way he deserves? The thing you always hear from every NBA announcer and analyst is that when you have a hot hand (like Yao consistently has had), you should keep feeding it. Yao's hot all the time, so let him feast.

We just need to ask ourselves, how good of a coaching job is being done here in Houston? If Cato hadn't left town for a week on personal business, we STILL might be wondering what kind of player Yao is. But Yao was good enough to seize the opportunity and fight through the "play-it-safe" shackles the coaching staff had placed on him. And if they had played Yao enough these past two games in the fourth quarter, we might be going into the holidays on a 'high.' But instead of 'ho, ho, ho,' it's 'low, low, low.'

Happy Holidays everybody! At least take pleasure in Yao's outstanding highlights (as usual) described below in our Detailed Yao analysis below. It's enough to warm any household this wintry season until the Rockets play this Friday against New York in Compaq Center.
Detailed Yao analysis



1st quarter - Yao starts the game and wins the tip against Greg Ostertag!
6:15 Free Throws Yao gets the ball in the middle of the paint. Guarded one-on-one by Greg Ostertag. Ostertag is pushing him pretty hard, but Yao holds his own by bumping with his back to create space. Yao then turns to his right toward the basket, pump fakes to get Ostertag in the air, and then shoots...but he's fouled on the hand by Ostertag as he is coming down. It's nice to finally see 7'2" Ostertag overshadowed by someone else larger than him. Ostertag checks out, and 6'9" Tony Massenburg checks in. This will be an interesting matchup! Yao makes both free throws for his first two points, and the game is tied 11-11.
4:31 Offensive foul From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao makes a spin move toward the baseline, but like he did Saturday night against the T-Wolves, he extends his right arm in a hooking fashion to create some space. But he's legitimately called for the offensive foul. That's one habit we've seen of Yao--extending that right arm during his spin move to keep the defensive man away from the ball. After getting called for the foul, Yao hits his open palm with his fist in frustration.
3:47 On a Karl Malone missed shot, Matt Harpring rebounds the ball in good position in front of the basket, and Yao just sticks his arms out, blocks his shot and ties him up for a jump ball.
2:05 Karl Malone zips a pass into Tony Massenburg underneath the rim where Yao is parked, and tries to put it up using the rim as protection against Yao's block. It didn't work. Yao records his second block in less than two minutes!
1:07 Assist With only four seconds on the shot clock, Cuttino Mobley drives down the right side of the lane and dishes to Yao, who comes over from the left side AND THEN WHILE STILL MOVING TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE IMMEDIATELY DISHES A PASS TO A WIDE-OPEN MO TAYLOR ON THE BASELINE. Taylor goes up strong for the dunk over the Jazz shot blockers with only 1 second on the shot clock! Beautifully designed play by the Rockets! What a nice way to use Yao's passing abilities! The Rockets lead 21-17.
:29   Yao checks out of the game for Kelvin Cato. Yao has 2 points (0-for-2 from the field) on two free throws. The Rockets lead 23-17.
    WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THE SHOT CLOCK AND THE RED LIGHT? For the second consecutive game, a Rocket (this time Maurice Taylor) shoots a shot at the buzzer. It didn't count, which was the correct call. BUT THE DISTURBING THIS IS THAT WHEN YOU SLOW DOWN THE REPLAY, THE RED LIGHT TURNS ON BEFORE THE CLOCK GOES FROM 0.1 SECOND TO 0.0 SECOND. The same thing happened on Saturday night against the Timberwolves at the end of the 3rd quarter when Glen Rice hit a long three-pointer, but the refs didn't count that one (which they should have). THE COMPANY THAT IS SELLING THE SYSTEM TO THE NBA THAT COORDINATES THE RED LIGHT WITH THE CLOCK SHOULD HAVE THEIR CONTRACT CANCELED!!
2nd quarter - The Rockets lead at the start of the quarter, 23-20.
5:47   Yao checks back into the game. The Rockets lead 31-30. The Rockets are minus-6 without Yao thus far.
5:01 Assist Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot just outside the left side of the lane. New Rocket James Posey runs past him, and with Yao just standing there he is able to screen off Posey's man. Seeing Posey wide-open in the lane, Yao throws a one-handed pass to him, and J.P. lays it in for the bucket! Nice set play! Yao's height really helped him see over his man to see the open cutter and allowed him to easily deliver the ball to him.
4:01 Yao hands the ball off to Francis at the three-point line and sets a screen. Steve dribbles toward the top of the key, and Yao's man as well as Steve's follow Steve's dribble. Steve goes up for a jump shot, BUT AT THE TOP OF HIS JUMP PASSES THE BALL HIGH TO YAO OVER HIS MAN. The Jazz defender (Tony Massenburg) who comes over to guard Yao has no way of jumping and denying this pass. Yao comes down with it about 3 feet from the basket, THEN JUMPS AND FALLS AWAY, AND ON HIS WAY DOWN GETS HIS SHOT OFF WITH ONLY ONE HAND AND BANKS IT OFF THE GLASS FOR THE TWO! WHAT BODY CONTROL AND TOUCH!! Yao is 1-for-3 from the field for 4 points. The Rockets lead 35-33.
1:20
+
Free Throw		 With 6'9" Massenburg guarding Yao, the Rockets need to continue exploitng that matchup. Thankfully, the Rockets give Yao the ball on the left edge of the paint. Yao wastes no time. He simply turns to his left toward the basket, goes up, hesitates in mid-air, and again shoots on the way down--BASKET-O-MATIC! AND 1! Massenburg commits his third foul, and Yao makes the free throw. Yao has 7 points on 2-for-5 shooting and is 3-for-3 from the line.
:37 The next time down the floor Yao is delivered the ball on the left edge of the paint again. True to form, Yao mixes up his moves. This time he dribbles once like he's going to turn into the lane and shoot the exact same shot he just made, BUT THEN REVERSE PIVOTS, PUMP FAKES, LEANS IN TOWARD THE BASKET FOR A 5-FOOT JUMPER. ONCE AGAIN HE SHOOTS ON THE WAY DOWN AND BANKS IT OFF THE GLASS FOR THE BUCKET! YAO'S ON FIRE! He has made his last 3 of his last 4 shots. The Rockets lead 40-36.
:10.9   The Jazz's Calbert Cheaney shoots a three-pointer, but misses. It looks like the Jazz are in great position to tip it in, BUT YAO COMES IN AND KNOCKS THE BALL AWAY AND TOWARD THE ROCKETS BASKET!! The loose ball is picked up Moochie Norris, who starts a fast break. He ends up losing the ball underneath the Rockets basket, but picks it up and throws a no-look pass to Francis in the corner, who goes up for the three-pointer AND DRAINS IT as he falls out of bounds and the shot expires to 0!!! Yao was under the basket (as always) to pick up the rebound, if needed, but instead raises both arms in exhaltation!! Great rebound tip by Yao on the other end to start it all.

The Rockets are up by 43-36, and Yao is 3-for-6 from the floor with 7 points.
3rd quarter - The Rockets lead 43-36.
10:50 From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao dribbles once toward the paint with Greg Ostertag guarding him, then lifts his dribble to go up for a jump shot while Ostertag commits...BUT NO! YAO PIVOTS AGAIN, TAKES ONE GIANT STEP TOWARD THE BASKET AROUND OSTERTAG AND SCOOPS A SHOT SOFTLY OUT OF OSTERTAG'S RANGE, WHICH BOUNCES OFF THE RIM AND FALLS THROUGH FOR THE BASKET!! Where in the world did this 22-year old rookie learn this play?? Has Hakeem been teaching him moves during Yao's off days? This is incredible! Yao has made 4 of his last 5 shots!
5:50
+
Free Throw		 From the three point ine, Rice passes the ball down low to Yao, who is being 'guarded' by Ostertag. Yao dribbles twice and leans hard on Ostertag, then goes up for a little 4-foot one-handed leaning jumper--SCORE IT! AND 1! Yao is just abusing the Utah big men, especially Ostertag. Reminds me of how he torched Shawn Bradley against the Mavericks a few weeks ago. Yao converts the 'AND 1' free throw, and is 5-for-8 from the field for 14 points. Like we said all season long--GIVE YAO THE BALL AND HE WILL DELIVER! The Rockets lead 59-54.
4:30
Travesty!		 Yao gets the ball in the low block and is guarded by Ostertag. Yao spins toward the baseline and goes up for a shot, BUT OSTERTAG HAS TO RESORT TO FOULING HIM ON THE ARM TO 'BLOCK' HIS SHOT, BUT NO FRIGGIN' FOUL IS CALLED!! WHAT IS THIS?? AND OSTERTAG IS GOING TO GET A BLOCK ON THIS PLAY??!! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDIN' ME! REPLAYS SHOW YAO'S ARM WAS HIT NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE.
1:26 Greg Ostertag gets the ball down low right under the bucket, and he goes up for a put-back, BUT YAO IS THERE TO REJECT HIS SHOT AT POINT BLANK RANGE!! TAKE THAT YOU YAO-HACKER! YAO KNOCKS THE BALL AWAY TO GET IT OUT OF THE PAINT.

Yao checks out of the game with 1:23 left in the third quarter with 14 points and 6 rebounds. The Rockets lead 68-62, but right after he leaves the game the Jazz score 5 straight points to close the gap to 68-67.
4th quarter - Through the third quarter, the Rockets have shot 57% compared to the Jazz at 47%, and thanks to Yao have outscored Utah 32-18 in the paint.
6:21   Yao checks back into the game for Cato. All we have to say for the second game in a row is, "What in the world has taken so long." The Rockets have lost the 6-point lead they had when Yao checked out (it's tied 78-78). With Yao in the game, the Rockets are +12. With him out of the game, they are -12. It's obvious he was abusing the Jazz before. Why even let Yao out of the game this long and let the Jazz back in the game?
5:21   From the 3-point line, Francis delivers a pass into Yao in his favorite spot on the left side. Francis cuts toward the basket, and Yao delivers a perfect bounce pass to Francis who goes up for the layup but is fouled from behind by Andre Kirilenko.
2:49 Free Throws Yao finally gets the ball in his favorite spot and goes to work. He pivots toward the middle of the lane to take a shot, but Ostertag has to resort to Hack-a-Yao. During a time-out before Yao shoots his free throws, the lights go out in Compaq Center. After several minutes of delay, both teams decide to continue playing in dim lighting. Yao hits both free throws, and is a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.
2:24 Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the free throw line and cuts into the middle of the lane and goes up for a shot (it seems), but mistakenly tries to pass an alley-oop to Steve rather than shoot the shot over Ostertag's reach. As a result, Ostertag blocks the PASS (which will count as a shot since the official scorekeeper probably thought it was going to be a shot). Luckily, the ball comes right back to Yao, who tries to pass it to Francis under the bucket AGAIN! But the pass is intercepted. This is probably one of the biggest mistakes we have seen Yao commit thus far. Not only should he have taken the shot and not tried for the spectacular pass, but he should have taken the second shot as well.

Because he is such a good shooter, Yao needs to get a little more selfish rather than keep his teammates so involved during crunch time, especially since they are down by two points--86-88. Every play is critical now.
:54.4 With the Rockets down 89-94, Steve Francis drives the lane and delivers a perfect no-look dish to Yao, who is alone along the baseline, and HE JAMS IT THROUGH WITH A TWO-HANDED DUNK! THE CROWD GOES CRAZY! The Rockets are still down 91-94.

The Rockets go on to lose when Karl Malone hits another long jump shot to seal the Jazz victory. It shouldn't have gotten to this point, though. The Rockets had the Jazz on the canvas, but let them get back into the game.



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