YaoMingMania.com

Yao Ming was flustered all night against the Jazz and their big men, Greg Ostertag and Andre Kirilenko. Yao only shot 3-for-15 from the field, but did shoot 14-for-16 from the free throw line to score 20 points. Despite leading the Rockets in scoring, the Jazz defeated the Rockets 83-76 in Utah. (Photo courtesy AP)

WEDNESDAY, 11/26/03 - I thought I had already seen the ugliest games imaginable this season from the Rockets, but the game against the Jazz on Wednesday night was a real turkey. There's nothing to be thankful about from this game. The Rocks shot only 33% from the field and had zero fast break points in a 83-76 loss in Utah. After only turning the ball over 6 times in the first half and leading 34-33 in a nightmare of a game offensively, the Rockets turned the ball over 9 times in the second half. Those 15 turnovers lead to 17 points for the Jazz, compared to only 8 points off turnovers for the Rockets. Yao had a dreadful night by shooting only 3-for-15 from the floor. Clearly the Jazz big men, Greg Ostertag and Andrei Kirilenko, gave him fits by blocking several of his shots, which was very strange to see. But with the Jazz playing him very aggressively, he was fouled 8 different times, and Yao made them pay by shooting 14-for-16 shooting from the line (the most free throws he has shot in his NBA career). Yao finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block. After the game, he alluded to the Salt Lake City altitude as perhaps being one of the factors that might have affected his performance, "Playing in Utah is so very tiring, because you can't make the sea level go down." Jim Jackson, the Rockets starting small forward, only shot 1-for-8 from the field and scored 3 points. Kelvin Cato had 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting, getting his shot blocked on most of those attempts. Cato did grab 14 rebounds, but anytime your starting forwards only score 5 points, you've got a problem. Steve Francis was awful, shooting 5-for-15 from the field (13 points), turning the ball over 8 times, and doling out only 3 assists. Francis had poor decision-making the entire game, with the classic example occurring at the end of the third quarter. The Rockets could have run the clock down for the final possession, but Francis dribbled way too much, got tempted and elected to shoot a tough fallaway jumper that missed with too much time remaining on the clock. The rebound came down to the Jazz, and Jazz guard Mo Williams ran a coast-to-coast fast break to score at the buzzer. That score put the Jazz up 54-51, and was a key for the Jazz in breaking free somewhat from the Rockets and getting the home crowd energized. Francis just seems to lose his sense more than he should at this stage in his career. With his up-and-down play this year, if Francis gets voted into the All-Star game, it will be very unfair for whoever does not get in. Cuttino Mobley had a decent game, shooting 6-for-11 from the field for 14 points, but he had 4 turnovers himself. Maurice Taylor shot well (6-for-11 for 13 points), along with racking up 6 rebounds. But in the fourth quarter, Taylor couldn't guard his man, Andrei Kirilenko. Kirilenko broke open a very close game in the fourth quarter by scoring 13 points, mostly because he had clear lanes to the basket. We can't blame A.K.'s outburst all on Taylor, though. Kirilenko and Taylor both are officially 6'9", but Kirilenko plays like he's 5-inches taller because of his long arms and jumping ability. There were other breakdowns defensively by some of Taylor's teammates guarding him. But I have to think that Jeff Van Gundy is looking forward to getting defensive specialist Adrian Griffin into uniform once he recovers from his injury. Jazz starting point guard Carlos Arroyo was out because of an ankle injury, so they started little-used rookie Raul Lopez. Simply put, Lopez outplayed Francis. Lopez scored 10 points in 19 minutes (compared to Francis' 13 points - all scored in the first half - in 33 minutes of action), and nailed two key three-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep the Jazz ahead. One of the three-pointers was a "gimme" because Francis decided to leave him wide open and not even contest the shot. I've got to think Van Gundy is going to do some ripping after watching that video. Although Francis scores on spectacular highlight-reel plays, we wouldn't mind it if he just took care of the ball, didn't get into trouble with too much dribbling, played sold defense, and just hit simple jump shots. As mentioned earlier with Cato, the Jazz embarrassed the Rockets by blocking 11 shots (5 for Kirilenko, 5 for Ostertag) compared to the Rockets collective three. On a bright note, Eric Piatkowski had a good game in only his second game after returning from his injury. When the Rockets needed his scoring punch to stay within shouting distance of the Jazz in the fourth quarter, Pike was automatic by hitting three 3-pointers for 9 points overall. His scoring punch will be sorely needed from the outside if Jackson continues to struggle, and since Boki Nachbar has cooled off from his hot start to the season. JVG didn't even play Boki on Wednesday night. The Rockets are now 9-5 and getting closer to just being an above-average team record-wise. They take Thursday off, then play in Sacramento against a tough Kings team that has won 6 games in a row (now 10-4). I will be surprised if the Rockets can beat the Kings in Sacramento with the lack of poise they showed against the Jazz. One thing that might be in their favor is that Jim Jackson, a King last year who wanted to stay, may want "pay back" against his former team with an inspired performance. It shouldn't be difficult to play better than he did against the Jazz. Three points on 1-of-8 shooting isn't going to cut it when your counterpart on the other team, Peja Stojakovic, is averaging 24 points this season on 47% shooting. Missed shots Yao could have dunked Over the past 8 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 jumps the opening tip.
11:34		Yao gets the ball on the right edge of the lane guarded one-on-one by Greg Ostertag. Yao immediately dribbles once, turns into the lane, and puts up a quick jumper...and it's good! Yao is 1-for-1 from the field.
11:01		Yao gets good position down low against Andrei Kirilenko, which is surprising since Greg Ostertag (7'2") is much taller than Kirilenko (6'9"). Anyhow, Yao goes up for a shot just to the left of the hoop, but Ostertag comes over from the weak side and gets a finger on it, and technically records a block. The ball comes down and Yao is able to get a hand on it from underneath the basket for a low-percentage tip-in attempt, but it bounces off the rim and Kirilenko grabs the rebound. Yao is now 1-for-3 from the field.
10:02		Yao misses a fadeaway on the left edge of the lane.
8:03		After picking up his second foul in the game's first four minutes, Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. Yao has 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets lead 20-19. Francis shot 3-for-7 from the field for 9 points, and Maurice Taylor did a great job subbing for Yao by scoring 6 points on 3-of-5 shooting. Yao starts the second quarter. He is 1-for-4 from the field with 2 points.
10:58		Yao shoots a jumper from the outside and misses. He is now 2-for-5 from the field. The Rockets lead 24-20.
10:21		Francis shoots a jumper that bounces off the rim, but YAO COMES RUNNING INTO THE LANE AND TIMES HIS JUMP PERFECTLY SO THAT HE CAN SLAM THE BALL IN OVER TWO JAZZ PLAYERS!! His height helped him slam dunk that ball without fouling the Jazz players who had better position. Great hustle by Yao, too! Yao is 2-for-6 from the field with 4 points. The Rockets lead 23-20.
9:48	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball on the left baseline and is guarded by Curtis Borchardt. Yao pump fakes, goes up for a shot, but is fouled on the arm. Yao goes to the line and makes the first free throw, but misses the second. He has 5 points, and is 1-for-2 from the line and 2-for-6 from the field. The Rockets lead 24-20.
9:08		Yao checks out of the game for Cato. The Rockets lead 24-20.
7:28		Yao checks into the game for Scott Padgett. The Rockets lead 24-22.
6:53	Free Throws	Yao is fouled on the arm by Borchardt as he goes up for a shot on the left edge of the lane. Yao makes both free throws. In 7 minutes of action, he now has 7 points (3-for-4 from the line).
5:16		Jazz forward Kirilenko gets a bounce pass from Raul Lopez outside of the painted area and has a clear path to the basket. Kirilenko goes skyward for a flying, one-handed dunk, BUT YAO IS THERE TO GET A HAND ON THE BALL JUST AS HIS HAND IS ABOUT TO DUNK IT!! Great bravery shown by Yao to guard the rim with a torpedo coming right at him!
4:44		With Ostertag playing pretty good defense on him by getting his long arms up, Yao shoots a tough fallaway hook shot in the middle of the lane, but misses. Yao is now 2-for-7 from the field.
3:16		Yao gets great position in the middle of the lane on Ostertag, and Jackson delivers him the ball. Yao then puts a body on Ostertag to create some separation and goes up for a shot. With 4 Jazz players surrounding him, Yao probably should have kicked it out. But he hasn't scored much from the field, so maybe he wants to get warmed up. Kirilenko is one of the defenders surrounding him, and he times his jump perfectly and knocks the ball out of Yao's hands just before Yao releases the ball. That's an impressive block by Kirilenko! Not many players can get up that high! Yao is now 2-for-8 from the field. The game is tied at 30-30.
3:09		Yao checks out of the game for Cato. The game is still tied at 30-30.
Halftime - The Rockets went over 4 minutes in the second quarter without scoring, but they still lead 34-33. The Rockets are shooting 33% from the field, and the Jazz 34%. This low-scoring trend around the league has got to be addressed! The good thing is the Rockets are 7-0 when they lead at halftime. Yao has 7 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
11:46	Free Throws	Yao is fouled by Ostertag while shooting a fallaway jumper along the right baseline. Yao makes both free throws. He has 9 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the line. The Rockets lead 36-33.
10:03		Yao gets good position on Ostertag on the right edge of the lane, then turns into the lane and goes up for a jump shot, but the ball catches air and doesn't hit the rim. However, the ball comes down underneath the rim into Kelvin Cato's hands, and Cato's shot is blocked by Kirilenko as he goes up for the put-back. It's very rare for Yao to miss so badly, unless he has added something new to his repertoire and starts shooting "fake" shots that are really passes. Regardless, the official scorer counted it as a missed shot. Yao is now 2-for-9 from the field.
7:43	Intimidation	From the left side of the court, the nimble Kirilenko drives into the lane and puts up a mid-air scoop shot about 3 feet in front of the basket, but Yao jumps up with him and is there in front of the rim to make him alter his shot. Yao made this shot a little bit more difficult for Kirilenko because of his presence!
7:07	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball just outside the left edge of the lane. He then dribbles into the lane and is actually quite forceful in getting inside position on Ostertag. Good job in being aggressive, Yao! He then reverse pivots towards the bucket, jumps and is fouled by Ostertag on the shooting arm. Yao makes both free throws, and now has 11 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the line.
6:10		Yao shoots a fallaway over Ostertag on the left side of the lane, but he misses. Yao is now 2-for-10 from the field.
5:04	Free Throws	Yao is fouled in the paint after a great entry pass by Jackson. He makes both free throws and is now 9-for-10 from the line with 13 points.
4:27		From the three-point line, Jim Jackson throws an entry pass to Yao that's so poorly thrown, it hits the bottom of the backboard. Luckily the ball comes down to Yao, who picks it up and lofts a little right-handed hook shot in the lane. But Kirilenko knocks the ball out of his hand at the top of his jump! Impressive blocks by Kirilenko tonight! It's very strange to see guys who can get up and block Yao's shot at the point where he releases the ball!
4:05		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. Houston leads 45-43.
:47.8		Yao checks into the game for Cato, who got called for his 5th personal foul. The game is tied 51-51.
4th quarter - The Jazz lead 54-51, thanks to a play by Francis putting up a dumb shot with too much time on the shot clock as the Rockets held the final possession of the quarter (at least we thought it was going to be). [See the game summary above for a full explanation on what happened.] The Rockets are shooting only 31% in the ballgame.
11:25		Yao misses a fallaway jumper in the lane. He is now 2-for-12 from the floor.
10:50		With the shot clock winding down to zero, Yao is forced to throw up an 18-footer, which misses. He is now 2-for-13 from the field. Ouch!
8:01	Free Throws	Guarded by Borchardt on the left edge of the lane, Yao gets the ball and immediately spins away from Borchardt and towards the basket. Yao dribbles twice toward the rack, and as he is going up for a dunk or layup, he is fouled from behind by Borchardt. Yao makes both free throws, and he is an amazing 11-for-12 from the line for 15 points. The Rockets only trail 61-62.
7:23		On almost a carbon copy play, Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane, goes to the rack, jumps into the air for a shot, but has to double-pump because Kirilenko came over to help and jumped up to throw off Yao's timing. During the double-pump, Borchardt gets a piece of the ball while it's in Yao's hands just before he releases it. That's another block on Yao! He is now 2-for-14 from the floor! Luckily, Maurice Taylor gets the rebound and does an amazing job among 3 Jazz players to put in a crazy shot after some good pump fakes. So the Rockets only trail by one, 63-64.
6:23		Yao checks out of the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 64-66.
5:19		Yao checks into the game for Taylor. The Rockets trail 69-64.
4:41	Free Throws	Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane, and once again does a great job using his size to get good position on Ostertag. He even uses his elbows a little bit to create some separation on Ostertag. But during all of this, and as he goes up for a jump shot, he is manhandled by both Matt Harpring and Ostertag. The whistle blows, and that means free throws. He makes both of them, and he is now 13-for-14 from the line and has 17 points. The Rockets trail 66-69.
4:04	Free Throws	Since everyone is having a hard time scoring except Yao from the free throw line, the Rockets keep throwing the ball down to Yao. This time he gets the ball on the right edge of the lane, and as he reverse pivots toward the baseline, he is fouled by Ostertag with the body. Yao misses the first free throw, but makes the second one. He is now 14-for-16 from the line, and has 18 points. The Rockets trail 67-69.
3:38	Pike hits a trey!	After Kirilenko makes a crazy shot, Piatkowski makes a three-pointer from the corner to bring the Rockets within one, 70-71.
2:58	Backbreakers	Raul Lopez makes a wide-open three-pointer to put the Jazz ahead 74-70. Why he was wide open, who knows? The Delta Center goes nuts! On the ensuing Rocket possession, Francis dribbles into trouble not knowing what he wants to do, and he is called for traveling!!! Big mistake! After that play, Lopez drives down the left side of the lane and makes a tough layup! The Rockets trail 70-76.
2:05		This time instead of freelancing, Francis throws the ball to Yao on the left edge of the lane. Yao fakes one way to throw Ostertag off, then turns into the lane and lofts a righ-handed hook shot, and IT'S GOOD! That's Yao's first field goal in ages! Yao has 20 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the field. The Rockets still have a chance, trailing 72-76.
1:50	Backbreaker again	Raul Lopez makes another three-pointer to put the game out of reach, 79-72! Francis has clearly been outplayed here in the fourth quarter by this rookie backup point guard from Spain! The Jazz go on to win 83-76. Yao finishes with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block.