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Yao vs. Magic - 1/8/03

Yao dribbles past Orlando's Andrew DeClercq in the second quarter Wednesday night. Yao and the Rockets cruised past the Magic 91-81 in their best road performance of the season.

as of 1/8/03

We are pleasantly surprised the Rockets finally got a win in Orlando (91-81) after having lost 10 in a row there, the longest losing streak a Magic opponent had against them. The Rockets had also lost 14 of their last 15 overall to the Magic. Breaking the record and playing near-perfect basketball (including 25-26 from the free throw line) makes this victory the best road win of the year. What timing for such a performance, too. This game was televised in China for many of the Rockets' new fans to see. The only flaw in the Rockets' game was their 21 turnovers, but since they held a commanding lead in the 3rd quarter it didn't hurt them too much...this time.

It also didn't hurt that the Magic shot terribly (35.6% overall, 22-of-70 after three quarters) from the floor, with the NBA's leading scorer Tracy McGrady going 10-for-26 and Mike Miller shooting 3-for-17. Those stats alone ensure that whoever played against the Magic would have won. The Rockets also played good defense by notching an astounding 11 blocked shots. But McGrady and Miller's failure to shoot can't all be attributed to the Rockets defense. Most of their shots were wide-open jumpers that just didn't fall. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Nevertheless, the Rockets should be very pleased with the way they played, including Yao who was incredible. After shooting 7-for-22 in his previous two games, Yao broke out of a mini-slump Wednesday night scoring 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting (hitting 6 shots in a row at one time) and making 7-of-7 free throws. Coming into the game, Yao had made 86% of his free throws over the past 16 games...stupendous for a big man.

Check out below the multiple compliments from Magic players and staff, playing against Yao for the first time this season. There's also a quote from Yao's teammate, Glen Rice.

"He's going to be a great player in this league. Once he gets some games under his belt and gets comfortable with the game, he's going to be unbelievable. And he just takes a lot out of you. He's so big and hard to double-team because he can just look over the double-team and pass out of that with ease. He rebounds. Guys do a great job playing off him when he passes the ball. He's a handful, man."

- Tracy McGrady, the NBA's leading scorer, after playing Yao and the Rockets, 1/8/03

"Two steps, and he's at the basket. I won't trap him in the corner anymore."

- Pat Burke of the Orlando Magic, after playing against Yao and commenting on how Yao blew by him for a finger-roll bucket, 1/8/02

"Ewing, Sampson and Walton came in with a lot of flourish, but nothing quite like this guy. This is amazing. This is the real deal."

- Pat Williams, Orlando Magic Sr. Vice President, during the game against the Rockets, 1/8/03

"Yao Ming, I tell you what, thank God he is on our team. This guy has a tremendous amount of skill, both offensively and defensively."

- Glen Rice, Yao's Rocket teammate, after Yao scored 23 points against the Magic to lead them to victory, 1/8/03

Honorable mention

One day after Rocket power forward Maurice Taylor had a breakout game, fellow PF Eddie Griffin also showed why he was chosen as a lottery pick last year. Griffin scored 8 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in the first quarter, and finished with 4 rejections overall. E.G. also had a new look this particular game by NOT playing with a headband for the first time we can remember in a long time; maybe that extra weight on Grif's head had been throwing off his shot all this time. ;-)

Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. Magic 1/8/03

1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
4:31		Yao posts up on the right side outside the paint (not in his usual position on the left side) against Shawn Kemp. He then dribbles once, fakes one way, then turns baseline for a fallaway jumper, shoots it (as he's coming down) and SWISH! The Orlando crowd oohs and ahhs. Kemp had no chance of blocking that shot. Yao is 1-for-2 from the field with 2 points.
3:38		From near the top of the three point line, Eddie Griffin bounces a pass into Yao in the middle of the paint, who is only guarded by Kemp. With his back facing the basket, Yao jumps and shoots a 5-foot sweeping hook shot, and SWISH AGAIN...plus he's fouled by Kemp! It looks like Yao has his touch back again. Yao makes the free throw, and the Rockets lead 21-15. Yao has 5 points.
3:14		Tracy McGrady goes to the hole for a two-handed jam, but Eddie Griffin is there for a spectacular block at the rim. The loose ball comes to Kemp about three feet from the basket, and Kemp goes up for a dunk, BUT THIS TIME YAO IS THERE TO BLOCK IT AT THE RIM! After Yao blocks Kemps shot and the ball is rebounded by Francis, Kemp puts his hand on Yao's shoulder and proceeds to SCRATCH THE *#%)! OUT OF HIM! Why in the hell did he do that? Is it because Yao has been schooling Kemp in this game? You bet. Yao is left with two 8-inch scratch marks along his right shoulder blade, and it's bleeding! What looked harmless at first now looks really painful (it's going to really hurt when he gets in the shower). The Rockets have to call time-out to give Yao medical attention.
1:50	Free Throws	Mobley misses an alley-oop dunk from Francis, but Yao is there to get the rebound in the middle of the paint. Yao moves toward the basket for a shot, but he's fouled. Yao makes both throws, and now has 7 points (3-for-3 from the line). The Rockets lead 24-15.
2nd quarter - The Rockets lead 24-17 at the start of the first quarter paced by Eddie Griffin's 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.
12:00		Cato starts the quarter in place of Yao.
6:27		Yao checks into the game for Cato. This is a little bit earlier than normal from when Yao usually checks back into the game during the second quarter, but Cato picked up his third foul.
5:15		The Rockets are struggling offensively, having been outscored in the quarter 16-8 and trailing 32-33. Yao gets the ball a little higher than normal from his favorite spot on the left side. He dribbles once, then goes up for a fadeaway jumper over Pat Burke from about 15 feet, and COUNT IT! Yao's accuracy is back! He is now 3-for-4 from the field with 9 points.
3:43		Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot on the left side, turns and dribbles along the baseline to perhaps go up for one of his up-and-under shots. But the path is sealed by Pat Burke, so he turns away from the baseline and shoots a little 2-foot jump hook as Andrew DeClercq flops to the floor to try to draw an offensive foul. DeClercq's acting job doesn't work. Score the bucket on Yao's soft jumper. The Rockets trail 36-37. Yao has made his last 4 field goal attempts and has 11 points.
2:52		On the right side of the paint, Yao is guarded one-on-one by Shawn Kemp. Yao dribbles twice with his back to the basket, then spins quickly toward the baseline, goes up for a simple jump shot over Kemp, and Tracy McGrady comes over to swat the shot away--but McGrady is called for goaltending. Count it for Yao, who has now connected on his last 5 attempts, and has 13 points.
2:38	Intimidation	Pat Burke gets the ball in the paint and shakes-and-bakes his way toward the bucket on some nice spin moves, and decides to go up for a driving layup attempt. BUT YAO FORCES BURKE TO ALTER HIS SHOT AT THE LAST INSTANT TO MISS!
2:27	Free Throws	In his favorite spot, Yao is guarded by Kemp. Yao makes a spin move, but Kemp is called for pushing him during the manuever. So Yao gets to shoot free throws because the Magic are in the penalty. That's also Kemp's third personal foul. Yao makes both free throws, and is a perfect 5-for-5 from the line and 5-for-6 from the field with 15 points.
1:57		The following is a beautiful play we have never seen Yao do before: Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot and is double-teamed. From behind, Pat Burke knocks the ball out of Yao's hand and the ball bounces into the right corner of the court. Yao goes to the corner and chases the ball down, and Burke converges on him to try to force him to pass. But Yao dribbles along the sideline (not the baseline) around Burke and DRIVES AGGRESSIVELY TOWARD THE BASKET AND LAYS IN A BEAUTIFUL SOFT FINGER ROLL FOR THE BUCKET! I can't believe what I just saw! A 7'6" center who can go to the hole and lay it in George Gervin-style! And presence of mind to turn a broken play into a positive one! Yao is now an amazing 6-for-7 from the floor with 17 points.
1:37		Tracy McGrady drives the baseline and puts up a running jumper a few feet from the bucket, but Yao is there to tip the ball away for the block!
Halftime - Rockets lead 49-39. In the second quarter, the Rockets had gone on a 15-2 run in the final 3 1/2 minutes.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
10:28		Eddie Griffin makes a strong move to the middle of the lane from the right wing and puts up a running one-handed jump shot and misses...but Yao is there to tip the rebound perfectly to Griffin, who catches the ball in mid-air and puts in a soft jumper from 2 feet away for the score! We don't know if that tap from Yao was intentional, but if it was, then Yao's anticipation level is out of this world! Unbelievably, the official scorer gave Yao a missed field goal attempt on this play when it was clearly a tapped ball to Griffin! So Yao's field goal percentage is actually higher in this game than what the official boxscore will report.
5:55		From the top of the three-point line, Griffin passes the ball to Yao in the middle of the paint with only Andrew DeClercq guarding him. Yao just simply turns to his right and puts up a jump hook shot for the bucket! He's Mr. Automatic when you get him down low in the paint like that. It's almost an exact copy of the play he scored on in the first quarter. Yao now has 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The Rockets lead 61-51.
4th quarter - the Rockets lead 71-58.
8:44		Yao checks back into the game for Cato. The Rockets lead 75-62.
6:31		From the right side of court just outside the middle of the lane, Yao spins baseline on DeClerque and goes up for a little one-handed push shot, and the ball bounces on the rim a little bit and drops through for the bucket. Yao is 8-for-12 from the field for 21 points.
5:43		Yao checks out of the game for Rice.
4:40		Yao checks back in for Maurice Taylor.
3:47	Free Throws	Yao grabs a rebound in the middle of the lane off a long Mobley miss and is immediately fouled by Pat Garrity. Yao makes both free throws, is 7-of-7 from the line, and has 23 points. The Rockets lead 87-70. There's a part of us that wishes Yao had checked out of the game at this time since the Rockets had the game in hand. The reason? Yao goes on to miss two shots that didn't really mean anything, and ends up being 8-for-14 from the field. If he hadn't taken those shots, he could have been 8-for-12. The Rockets go on to win the game 91-81, and Yao finishes with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.
3:15	Assist	From the right side outside the paint, Yao dribbles toward the baseline but is sealed off by a defender, so he turns the other way but is met by another Magic player, who knocks the ball out of Yao's hands. Yao recovers to get the ball with his back facing the basket, and IMMEDIATELY ZIPS A NO-LOOK PASS OVER HIS HEAD either to Cuttino Mobley who is about 4 feet behind him, or Moochie Norris who is about 12 feet away along the baseline. We don't know who Yao was intending to throw it to, but regardless, Cuttino accidentally tips the pass and the ball ends up with Moochie under the basket, who lays it in. YAO IS ALWAYS THINKING WHERE THE OPEN MAN IS, even when he is distracted trying to get possession of a loose ball! This was the best display of anticipation since the Sacramento game in Houston when he swatted that famous pass to Steve Francis along the baseline. Yao checks out of the game for Cato.

as of 1/10/03

It's very rare for me to post an article and make a comment about it in the Latest Summary, but in this case I feel its warranted. If you haven't seen it yet, there has been much discussion about an article posted on AsianWeek.com that brings to light some derogatory comments made by Shaquille O'Neal about Yao that the mainstream media has decided not to cover for some reason. Another posting dated 1/8/03 clarifies some of the statements made about sports radio personality Tony Bruno in the first article.

With the Rockets scheduled to play the Lakers in one week, Friday the 17th, I have decided that the first article and second clarifying piece should be distributed to a wide audience, and I wanted to do my part to get the word out about this story. As much of a disappointment it is for the media to not cover this story, it's more deplorable what Shaq said about Yao.

To be honest with you, I can't figure out who the real Shaq is these days because he has also said some complimentary things about Yao, too. Despite getting married last week, Shaq seems to have become an angry man over the past few months, as evidenced by his claim when the Lakers celebrated their 3rd championship that L.A. was the "new capital of California." He later said on The Tonight Show that Sacramento is a good "WNBA team," and later referenced the Kings as the Sacramento "Queens." Regardless of what he said in jest about another team, the thing that Shaq needs to learn is that bravado, false or genuine, should not be derogatory toward an individual or that individual's race.

I wish I could respond to all of the email I might receive on this subject, but working on this site keeps me extremely challenged to respond with the depth and insight your emails deserve.

Next up:

Yao and the Rockets play on Friday night in Atlanta in the same arena where Yao will play the All-Star game a month later (February 9th). The Rockets last beat the Hawks on December 20th in Compaq Center after going on a 21-6 run in the third quarter to overcome an 11-point deficit to cruise to a 101-82 victory. Yao only went 4-for-12 in that game, so look for Yao to improve on that performance, especially after regaining his touch Wednesday night in Orlando.

cYAO,
John

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