YaoMingMania.com

Yao Ming reaches back for a rebound Monday night against the Clippers. Yao finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks as the Rockets won 105-90. To see more photos from the game, visit this topic in the YaoMingMania.com discussion forum (Photo courtesy of AP).

MONDAY, 11/24/03 - Yao Ming got off to one of his hottest starts ever in an NBA game on Monday night. Despite being double-teamed frequently against the Clippers in LA, he hit his first six shots from the field, and all six of his free throws to score 18 points in the first half. It was the making of a career night, we hoped. However, the Clippers clamped down even harder on Yao in the second half to make it almost impossible for him to get a shot off. As a result, he took only one shot in the second half, grabbed two boards, and got into foul trouble to prevent further statistical growth. Compared to the Portland game last Friday, though, Yao seemed to do a better job making quick offensive moves before the double-team arrived, or passing out of double-teams to guys who were open. His teammates didn't fail him, converting on 49% of their shots to make the "inside-out" strategy work. Yao's decision to just take one shot in the second half was not a big deal, though, because his teammates came through to push the Rockets to a 105-90 victory, their highest point total of the season. They also pushed their record to 9-4, which ties them with Dallas for the Midwest division lead. Yao finished with a very respectable double-double: 18 points and 10 boards, along with 4 assists and 3 blocks. The scoring was balanced across the board, with Cuttino Mobley and Maurice Taylor scoring 17 points each, each scoring 10 and 11 points in the fourth quarter, respectively. It was a strange game for Mobley, who shot a miserable 3-for-13 after three quarters, but who shot 4-for-7 in the fourth quarter to help seal the W. Streaky. Although the Clippers cut the deficit to 7 points in the second half, the Rockets hit three 3-pointers in a row to create some breathing room. That's not to say the Rockets played perfectly. No Siree. They had way too many turnovers (17 compared to the Clippers' 11) that resulted in too many points for LA (16). Clipper casualties The Rockets were fortunate that Clipper stud Elton Brand didn't play because of his injury, and NBA player-of-the-week from a couple of weeks ago Quentin Richardson (who scored 36 points in his last game) injured his ankle 9 minutes into the game and did not return. Make no mistake - if those guys were healthy, it would have been a much tougher game. We'll see how much tougher on December 19th when the Clippers visit Houston for their next match-up with Brand and Richardson certainly in action. We were disappointed to see the Clippers waived Wang ZhiZhi last Friday, which prevented a match-up of Yao and his fellow countryman. The Clippers felt they needed to sign point guard Doug Overton. Wang was used very sparingly, only scoring two points in the two games in which he played this season. Wouldn't it be wild to see the Rockets sign him? Missed shots Yao could have dunked Over the past 7 games, Yao has only had two missed shot attempts that perhaps should have been dunked. So far, his supposed lack of aggression is a myth. About this chart A lot of people in the media, especially in Houston, seems to be getting on Yao for not being aggressive enough on offense. They say he doesn't call for the ball strongly enough, and that he tries to finesse his shots when he could really dunk them. The first claim may or may not be true. I see him with his hands up plenty of times when the Rockets are on offense, so I don't really have too much of a problem with that part of his game. However, regarding the second criticism of him not dunking the ball, there are many times when I am preparing my Detailed Yao Analysis where I see that Yao really had no chance to go up for a dunk. Yet he'll get criticized for not going up strong with a dunk. It's so easy for a member of the media to jump on a claim that everyone else seems to be chanting, which can become sickening if you know the claim is a myth. Remember last year's comments from the media where everyone thought Yao was a flop, which led to my creation of the 'Expert' Hall of Shame? Well I intend to do the same kind of thing here. To see if everyone is generalizing too much about Yao saying that he should dunk the ball more, I'm going to try to start tracking all the times when Yao misses a shot that could have been dunked. That way we'll have tangible numbers to really see if he's not being powerful enough. I'll also track the number of times he dunks the ball when he DOES have a defender around him, or in his face, in order to give him credit for those times where he is being aggressive around the rim.

1st quarter - Cato wins the opening tip.
9:16	Free Throws	Cuttino Mobley launches a 3-pointer that misses, but Yao hustles for good position underneath the boards, gets the rebound among three Clippers, goes up strong and is fouled. I'll be the first person to say that Kelvin Cato has improved dramatically over the past couple of years, but on this play while Yao was jockeying for position, Cato started walking the other way while the shot was in mid-air. He made no effort to crash the boards. We wonder sometimes why Cato gets credit for hustling for rebounds when Yao frequently shows a lot more desire than Cato? As a result of Yao working hard, he goes to the line and makes both free throws for his first two points of the game. The Rockets lead 8-3.
8:35		Francis calmly bounces a pass to Yao on the right edge of the lane. Without hesitating, Yao quickly spins toward the baseline before a Clipper defender at the free throw line can double-team him. Yao rises, releases and hits a beautiful fadeaway from the baseline!! The LA crowd roars its appreciation for Yao's graceful move! The Rockets lead 10-3. Yao has 4 points. Mike Smith, Clippers' TV analyst and former NBA player, says, "Finesse with grit...he is very determined. You can't just think he's going to go away. He's going to be there all night long."
4:44		From the three-point line, Jim Jackson passes to Yao just outside the left edge of the lane, THEN IMMEDIATELY SPINS OFF HIS DEFENDER (Chris Kaman) TOWARD THE BASELINE, DRIBBLES TWICE HEADED TO THE RACK, JUMPS AND DUNKS IT LEFT-HANDED!! This is one of the quickest moves I have seen Yao make in a long time! I love how he made his move before he could be double-teamed. This is the second play in a row where he has started his offensive move without hesitation, which is probably a tactic the coaches have told Yao to do to counterract the problems he encountered in Portland on Friday with double-teams. Yao is now 2-for-2 from the field and has 6 points. The Rockets lead 16-11.
4:18		From the three-point line on the left side, Mobley breaks down his defender Quentin Richardson, making him fall to the floor. Mobley blows past him, gets to the basket, jumps for what appear will be a difficult contested layup over Chris Kaman, but then decides in mid-air to dish to Yao who is standing underneath the basket! The pass is a little high and Yao isn't able to grasp it. Instead, the ball bounces off Yao's hands and pops high up in the air, but he is able to clutch it tight with two hands over a couple Clippers, then goes up and lays it in off the glass with his right-hand!! Yao is now 3-for-3 from the field with 8 points. The Rockets lead 18-11.
1:31		Yao checks out of the game for Scott Padgett. He has 8 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the field. He also has 6 rebounds.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets lead 21-17. They started 8-for-13 from the field, then finished 0-for-7 to finish 8-for-20. The Clippers shot 5-for-21, including a 6-0 run at the end of the first quarter.
7:25		Yao checks in for Padgett, and Cato checks in for Taylor. The Rockets' front line just became very tall. Rockets lead 30-22.
6:55		The Clippers are on a fast break, and from the three-point lane a Clipper bounces a beautiful pass to Chris Wilcox, who is underneath the basket. Wilcox rises and puts up a little right one-handed shot to the left side of the hoop, BUT YAO COMES OUT OF NOWHERE AFTER JETTING DOWNCOURT AND BLOCKS WILCOX'S SHOT!!
6:35		Mobley passes to Yao about 3 feet outside the right edge of the paint area. Before the double-team gets to him, he turns to face the basket and shoots a quick-release 15-foot jumper, and NAILS IT! The crowd once again roars in awe! Yao is 4-for-4 from the field, and the Rockets lead 32-24.
5:08	Free Throws	In the post, Yao is fouled from behind by Chris Kaman. He shoots two free throws and makes them both. Yao now has 12 points. He's 4-for-4 from the line, and 4-for-4 from the field. Rockets lead 37-26.
3:51	Free Throws	Jockeying for position in the post, Yao is shoved from behind by Kaman. The officials catch it and Yao goes to the line for two more free throws, which he makes. He now has 14 points, including 6-for-6 shooting from the line.
2:21		The Clippers are fronting Yao on defense. From the three-point line, Francis is looking to get the ball into Yao. Seeing an opening, he throws a perfect lob pass to Yao over the top of the defense. Yao catches the pass, turns toward the basket and over 6'6" Bobby Simmons jumps and banks a shot off the glass for his 5th consecutive field goal! He's now 5-for-5 from the field with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Rockets lead 45-34. Clipper play-by-play man Ralph Lawler comments, "It's just so easy for him! It wouldn't be easy for the average center in the league; to catch the ball in traffic in the paint. He just towers over all and gets a very easy goal."
0:0.5		With the clock winding down before halftime, Steve Francis penetrates into the lane, then dishes out to Yao, who is standing about 4 feet outside the right edge of the lane. Realizing he needs to get a quick shot off, Yao squares up and launches a 15-footer, AND HE HTIS IT WITH HALF A SECOND LEFT ON THE GAME CLOCK! Yao is on fire! He has hit all six of his shots from the field and is 6-for-6 from the line for 18 "quiet" points. Clipper play-by-play man Lawler says, "He has done about everything a big man can do in this one."
Halftime - The Rockets lead 55-41. In addition to Yao's 18 points, he also has 8 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. The Rockets are shooting 44% from the field. The Clippers have shot 27% (11-of-40), which is 10% less than the Rockets' opponents average. Most of the Clippers' points are from the free throw line (19-of-23), but the Rockets are shooting decently from the line, too (15-of-18). Steve Francis has 13 points and 7 assists.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
9:02	Assist	Yao has the ball on the left edge of the lane, and he is double-teamed aggressively by Chris Wilcox. However, YAO IS ASTUTE ENOUGH TO SEE VERY QUICKLY THAT WILCOX'S MAN, KELVIN CATO, IS OPEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LANE. YAO WHIPS A PASS TO HIM AND CATO GOES UP FOR THE LAYUP, AND HE'S FOULED!! Quick awareness by Yao to find the open man just as he's getting double-teamed! That's Yao's second assist of the game. The Rockets lead 59-45.
8:44	Intimidation!	Clipper Chris Wilcox gets a rebound in the lane, and decides to try a little one-handed jumper over Yao, but YAO IS THERE TO JUMP HIGH ENOUGH TO MAKE WILCOX SHORT-ARM IT FOR AN AIR BALL! You couldn't find a better example of intimidation around the rim!!
5:03		With the Rockets leading 67-51, the Clippers have the ball. Clipper guard Bobby Simmons decides to drive into the lane around Cato, then jumps to put a up a little 3-foot jumper in the lane, BUT YAO HAS CATO'S "BACK" AND HE SWATS AWAY SIMMONS' SHOT FOR AN EMPHATIC REJECTION!
4:00		From the three-point line, the Clippers' Corey Maggette drives past Boki Nachbar and gets into the lane where he jumps into Yao, who stands his ground. Magette then shoots up a prayer that goes astray. Although he didn't seem to touch the ball, Yao gets credit for a block. Fantasy Leaguers with Yao on their roster will take it.
2:39		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 67-56.
1:06		Yao checks into the game for Cato. The Rockets lead 70-61. The Clippers have cut the deficit down to 9 points.
0:14.3	Assist	The Rockets only lead by 7 points. In the corner behind the 3-point line, Eric Piatkowksi passes the ball to Yao in the low post along the left edge of the lane. Yao quickly bounces the ball once, pivots into the lane and draws 3 DEFENDERS AROUND HIM, THEN ZIPS A PASS TO MOBLEY WHO IS ALL ALONE BEHIND THE 3-POINT LINE, AND MOBLEY DRAINS IT!! GREAT ASSIST FOR YAO, AND A BIG BUCKET TO PUT THE ROCKETS UP BY 10! I swear Yao is moving more quickly once he gets the ball, and it's making it a lot easier for him to get the ball to others. You have to give Van Gundy credit for making this adjustment.
4th quarter - After the Clippers Predrag Drobniak nails a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, the Rockets only lead by 7 in a game they once led by 16 points. The Rockets multiple turnovers, compared to the Clippers' TOs, don't help much. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Rockets' Piatkowski and Moochie Norris hit two consecutive treys to put them up by 13 points.
10:37		Yao misses a difficult, twisting fallaway jumper from the left edge of the paint. That is his first miss of the game. He is now 6-for-7 from the field, still with 18 points. This will end up being his last shot attempt of the game.
10:02	Assist	Outside the left edge of the lane, Yao spins toward the baseline, but is sealed off by a defender. So Yao reverse pivots into the lane and rises like he's going to shoot the ball to draw the attention of a couple of defenders. While in mid-air, Yao sees Maurice Taylor unguarded in the lane, and Taylor does a great job of getting to the hoop and laying in a tough shot over a couple defenders. Nice 1-2 combination from Yao and Mo!
8:15		Yao checks out of the game for Cato after picking up his 5th foul. The Rockets lead 86-74. They will not need Yao the rest of the way, and the Rockets go on to beat the Clippers 105-90. Yao finishes with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, 6-for-6 from the free throw line, 4 assists and 3 blocks.