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Yao vs. Hawks - 1/10/03

Yao drives around Atlanta Hawk Theo Ratliff Friday night. The Rockets lost again to a poor team, 84-75.
as of 1/10/03
The Houston Rockets continue to disappoint. Just when you think they are going to start taking care of business on a consistent basis, they let you down. The Rocks lost to an awful Atlanta Hawk team Friday night, 84-75. Atlanta had lost 6 in a row before this game, 12 of their last 14, and didn't have one of their best players (Glenn Robinson) on the court because of injury. This is ridiculous. It's gotten to the point where I'm tired of hearing the Rockets players saying they don't understand why they take bad teams lightly. I'm sorry to say it, but if this trend continues throughout the season, Rudy has to be held accountable for something, and could be let go by owner Les Alexander.

Yao scored 9 points on 4-for-13 shooting, missed his first 7 shots and didn't score until the third quarter. As I mentioned yesterday, I had a scheduling conflict Friday and will not be able to provide a Detailed Yao Analysis for the Atlanta game until sometime Sunday. But when I do, I'll provide more detail on why Yao and the Rockets played so poorly, and why the Rockets made you want to scream (in a negative way).

Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. Atlanta Hawks 1/10/03


1st quarter - Yao starts the game.
10:22 Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot on the left side, pump fakes and pivots a couple of times, then shoots a fadeaway jumper. It was right on line, but was just a little too strong off the back iron.
9:54 On the next Rocket possession, Yao gets the ball on the right side of the lane and dribbles toward the center of the lane. But the Hawks are running a zone where they have four guys either inside or just outside the paint. So Yao pivots away from the center of the lane and puts up another fadeaway jumper, but it hits the inside of the rim and bounces out. Yao is close to hitting the shots, but they aren't falling. Another unusual aspect of this shot is that it's the second shot in a row that he has taken. We can't remember the last time when Yao decided to take it upon himself and shoot in consecutive possessions. He usually tries to play 'nice' and let his teammates take shots, but we think when you're second in the league in field goal percentage, you're entitled to shoot a couple of times in a row. It's tough to start a game with fadeaway jumpers, though. It would be great to see the Rockets run plays for him where he can move toward the bucket, but then again, the Hawks seem determined to stuff the middle with defenders in a zone.
8:59 From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao quickly spins baseline on and gets by his man to put a layup attempt off the glass, but it JUST misses again! 9 times out of 10 that shot would fall, but it just rimmed out. This is not Yao's day!
3:43
Again from his favorite spot, Yao dribbles once away from the basket, then pivots back toward the basket about midway between the free throw line and the basket. He then takes one step toward the bucket and using his left hand stretches to shoot a scoop shot off the glass, but misses. However, he's quick enough to get the rebound as it comes off the glass, brings it down, then slams it home with his right hand--BUT IT RIMS OUT! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? That's five missed attempts in a row. This is definitely not Yao's day! The Rockets trail 11-12.
3:04   Yao checks out of the game for Cato. He's 0-for-5 from the field, but just a couple of inches collectively from being 4-for-4. When Yao sits down on the bench, he is just laughing at himself in amazement, and motions with his right hand how he missed the previous dunk. It happens to the best of them, as they say.
2nd quarter - The Rockets trail 13-24.
5:08   Yao checks back in for Cato as Mobley is shooting free throws. The Rockets trail 23-35 once play starts up again.
3:20 Humorous moment On defense, Cuttino Mobley knocks the ball out of Jason Terry's hands and thinks he has a steal, but the ref blows a whistle. In frustration, Mobley immediately jumps up not believing he was called for the foul, and he rushes over to Yao, wraps his arms around him, and buries his face in Yao's chest. Mobley was just looking for anything he could grab onto so he wouldn't be called for a technical, and he chose Yao. This was a funny thing to see! Yao laughs at the situation.
2:38 From the baseline, Francis dishes the ball to Yao in front of the rim. Yao goes up for a left-handed jump hook, but Theo Ratliff is able to block it away. Ratliff is not one of the better shot blockers in the NBA for nothing.
2:15   Yao checks out of the game for Cato. Yao is 0-6 from the field. Atlanta leads 40-26.
Halftime - The Rockets trail 31-45.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
11:20 Yao gets the ball on the right side of the paint. He bounces the ball once, then spins baseline and shoots a right-handed jump hook off the glass, but it bounces off the rim for the miss. Yao is 0-for-7 from the field. All of his shots have hit the rim, though, with most being very close to going in.
10:30 Getting the ball with only 8 seconds on the shot clock in his favorite spot, Yao dribbles twice to get to the edge of the paint, then spins beautifully toward the baseline to leave Ratliff in his dust. Yao pump fakes to throw Ratliff off, then leans in for a delicate scoop shot off the glass for the bucket! I would rank that basket as one of the top 10 offensive plays for Yao this year! Even the Atlanta crowd is impressed by the sound of its roar! The Rockets trail 33-49.
9:45 Free
Throws		 The very next time down the floor for the Rockets, Yao is passed the ball deep in the paint and is only guarded by Ratliff. With his back to the basket, Yao dribbles to his right once, then pivots left and puts up a left-handed hook shot, but he's fouled. Yao misses the first free throw, but makes the second one. Yao has three points.
7:36 On almost the sames moves as the last play in the same position, Yao spins and this time and puts the ball up strong off the glass, this time with two hands. But the ball bounces off the rim.
7:00 Mike Wilks of the Hawks drives the lane, pump fakes, goes up for a shot right in front of the rim, AND YAO COMES OVER TO SWAT IT WITH AUTHORITY! The Rockets take the ball down the floor, and Glen Rice hits a three-pointer to close the gap to 41-49. The Rockets have gone on a 10-0 run, and extend it to an 18-0 run in their next three possessions to tie the score!
2:33 Eddie Griffin delivers a pass from the top of the three point line into Yao, who has great position in front of the basket with Ratliff guarding him. Without dribbling, Yao spins to his right, elevates off his right foot and shoots a sweeping 2-foot shot with his left hand for the deuce! That was Yao's easiest basket of the night. The Atlanta crowd loved that shot even more than the first one. The Rockets trail 51-55. Yao is 2-for-10 from the field with 5 points.
1:46 Free
Throws		 The Hawks' Alan Henderson fouls Yao on an Atlanta offensive rebound. Yao gets to shoot free throws, but misses both! The Rockets trail 53-55.
1:12 After Theo Ratliff slams home a dunk on a rebound on offense (Yao was not in the vicinity), it's Yao's turn. On the Rockets' offensive end of the court, Yao gets the ball down low with only Ratliff guarding him. Yao puts the ball down on the floor for one bounce, leans against Ratliff to create some space, AND THUNDERS IT DOWN ON RATLIFF WITH TWO HANDS! AND THEN YAO GIVES HIM A QUICK 'STREET-BALL' TAUNT! WE LOVE IT! All of the Rockets' bench leaps off their feet, with Moochie whipping his towel also. Although Yao is called for a technical on the taunt, all of the Rockets are giving him high-fives. This play is almost an exact replay of what Ratliff did to Yao in the first quarter. You know that Yao wasn't happy about that earlier play, and wanted the opportunity to put it back in Ratliff's face. No one should ever question Yao's toughness or pride!

Yao goes to the bench for his usual rest at this time in the third quarter, and even the coaches are giving him high-fives for the taunt. He is 3-for-11 from the field with 7 points. After the Hawks' Jason Terry hits the technical foul shot, the Rockets trail 58-55.
4th quarter - the Rockets trail 59-63 at the start of the quarter.
6:07   Yao checks into the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 66-74.
4:55 Yao gets the ball on the right side just outside the free throw line with only 4 seconds on the shot clock, so he doesn't have much time. Yao dribbles twice, turns baseline, pump fakes to get his man up in the air, then turns toward the inside and gets a two-handed layup as the shot clock expires! Wow! Yao shows lots of moves on that play, and showed he can get an easy bucket even when he has very little time to work. The Rockets trail 68-74, and Yao is 4-for-12 from the field with 9 points.
1:38 Yao gets the ball in the middle of the paint and is only guarded by Ratliff. Yao spins and leans in to puts up a scoop shot only a couple of feet away from the rim, but the ball comes off the glass, hits the rim, HANGS THERE for a second, then falls off. Oh so close! This would have been a big bucket, too. The Rockets trail 74-80.

The Rockets go on to lose 84-75, thanks in part to bad free throw shooting (13-for-27) and too much reliance on the three-pointer (6-for-21). After a slow start where a lot of shots just barely missed, Yao hit 4 of his last 5 shots to go 4-for-13 from the field for 9 points.



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