Yao discusses Hakeem, summer plans, what Rockets need
May 9th, 2007by John
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle got some good quotes from some of the Rockets’ players the other day. You can read those quotes here, or you can read some of the quotes below along with some of my commentary:
Regarding Yao working out with Hakeem Olajuwon over the summer:
“It would be a great chance for me, if I can learn from him, one of the best centers in the NBA history, and particularly a legend for the Rockets. I would love to. I’m working on it.”
Regarding his plans over the summer:
Yao Ming will have what he called a “small surgery” on a toe, possibly preventing the troublesome toenail from growing back. He said he expected that procedure to keep him from working out for only “a couple weeks.”
He said he will likely train with the Chinese national team for a short period this summer but will have no competitions.
“I need some training,” he said. “I’ll take the first month off and then get back to training and work on my skills.”
About the Rockets’ commitment to improve during the off-season…
“Generally, CD (Carroll Dawson) told me from his experience, our team definitely will be getting better and I believe it. I love to believe it,” Yao said. “We need more experience. We need player that can finish the game and can play under the pressure, like in the playoffs.”
Hmmm….that last sentence is very interesting for obvious reasons.
Feigen also got this interesting quote from Dikembe Mutombo:
“I just spent a week with my kids, and I talked with my wife about it again,” Mutombo said. “I’m just frustrated with the fact there was a chance to go to the second round, at least. After contributing the way I did contribute during the course of the season, I felt I did deserve a little time in the playoffs to play. The opportunity was not given to me. I’m a little bit disappointed about it.”
So not only has Van Gundy managed to piss off rookies (e.g. Vassilis Spanoulis) and veterans (i.e. Bonzi Wells), but also LEGENDS OF THE GAME like Dikembe. What a shame. If the Rockets get rid of Van Gundy, will you consider coming back, Deke?
Speaking of Spanoulis, Vassilis had the following to say:
“Now is time to rest a little bit, to clear my mind for a big season for me, maybe the toughest in my life, in my career,” said Spanoulis.
“I want to speak with the guys and know what’s going on with my future. We’ll see. I have a contract. I can’t say now nothing. I have to clear my mind, rest and get with the guys up in the office who showed me a lot of love and support this year.
“I love this team, but I have to think what is best for my future. The people here showed me a lot of love, a lot of support a lot of advice this year.”
I find it interesting that Spanoulis said “the guys up in the office who showed me a lot of love and support this year.” That would mean Carroll Dawson, Dennis Lindsey, and Daryl Morey. To me, that shows the front office personnel might have been frustrated with how Van Gundy was handling Spanoulis (as well as other players, perhaps). Based on that alone, don’t be surprised if Van Gundy is gone.
May 9th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Yes, god forbid he should try to soothe a player’s ego during the tightest playoff series of the season. (If Yao couldn’t stop Boozer, what chance does Mutombo have?)
The Detroit front office had been frustrated with Larry Brown’s unwillingness to play Darko Milicic. Guess what? When Flip Saunders came in and said he’d try to give Darko his opportunities, Darko still didn’t play, because he just wasn’t good enough.
It’s no guarantee that a new coach will give the youngsters big minutes. No one “deserves” playing time. You’ve either earned them or you haven’t.
However you feel about Van Gundy, though, there’s a pretty good article on the situation over at Sports Illustrated.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/kelly_dwyer/05/09/observation.deck/index.html
Mutombo provided a lift with blocked shots and rebounding this season. He would have been great to clean up some of the bricks coming off the Houston rim for easy garbage buckets, like what he did in the few minutes he played in Game 7. Deke should have played more. He also deserved that time since he helped save the team during Yao’s 32-game absence. Giving Yao more minutes to rest, especially in the high altitude of Salt Lake, wouldn’t have been a bad thing to keep Yao fresh.
And how about JVG doing something creative to throw a monkey wrench into the Jazz game plan? I wouldn’t have minded at least TRYING a Twin Tower line of Yao and Mutombo because Chuck Hayes was terrible on defense and offered nothing offensively, just like Dikembe. Try something different. But “JVG” and “creative” in the same sentence is an oxymoron.
I agree about Darko: during Larry’s time at Detroit, Darko was a rookie who was drafted because of “potential” and wasn’t good enough. Never played college ball, had raw skills, unlike Mutombo who is one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history and played very well this season. The Pistons also didn’t need Darko that year because they were a better team than Houston was this year, and they also won a championship…something the Rockets were very far from doing this season.