I thought it was inevitable that Yao Ming and Google would join forces somehow. They’re both too big not to work with each other. That hunch finally came to fruition today as Raymond reports in the forum that a music service that Yao invested in 4 years ago has partnered with Google China to launch a legal music search service in China.
Raymond has some good coverage in the forum about how recently laid-off Houston Chronicle columnist Fran Blinebury is now writing for Chinese publication Titan Sports!
Wow, first it was Yao Ming’s teammates who got Chinese shoe contracts, then Chinese companies buying sponsorship banners at Toyota Center, and now Blinebury’s columns being translated into Chinese! It all seems so symbolic considering what’s happening to American newspapers these days.
Click here for more coverage, including a pretty funny cartoon of Yao, McGrady, and Blinebury.
After the disappointment of watching the Rockets fall apart against the Jazz for what seems like eons ago (last Tuesday), we knew they would come out strong against the Clippers Saturday night considering 1) they’re much better at beating teams they should beat given the changes to the roster during the All-Star break, and 2) all the practices they’ve been able to get in over the past 3 days might get rid of some of the bad habits they suddenly developed in Utah.
Add in the fact that Marcus Camby and Baron Davis were out because of injury or health reasons, and it made it that much easier for the Rockets. The game was essentially over in the first quarter as Houston opened up a 30-12 lead, and won convincingly 110-93.
Yao Ming shows Chris Kaman he still can’t stop him. Click here for more game photos.
So who was the catalyst in that first quarter to open up a lead they wouldn’t relinquish? Aaron Brooks with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, which helped propel the Rockets to a 22-point second-quarter lead. But the Clips would go an on 11-2 run late in Q2 to cut it to 49-36, and you had to think the Rockets were in for more of a dogfight the rest of the way.
But Brooks would close out the quarter hitting two 3-pointers sandwiched around a Luis Scola bucket, capping a 9-0 run. That gave them a commanding 57-36 lead heading into halftime. A.B. would lead all scorers at that time with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point land.
Is having a point guard who can score such a bad thing?
Brooks wasn’t all alone, though. Yao had an excellent half himself with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, hit all 5 of his free throws, and grabbed 12 boards. He would only need to take 3 more shots the rest of the way, finishing with 21 on 7-of-11 shots, 7-of-8 from the line, 15 boards, and no turnovers!
It was obvious the Rockets had worked in their recent practices on getting Yao the ball in different positions. They seemed more organized and methodical in their half-court sets.
“We’re trying to move the ball, change sides of the court, get the ball to Yao, kind of on the move, rather than just stationary,” coach Rick Adelman said after the game. “But if Yao’s not there, we have to attack someplace else and I thought we did that.”
I like that phrase, “get the ball to Yao, kind of on the move.” I just wish it hadn’t taken this long. That’s been obvious to me for quite some time.
Except for some ill-advised 3-pointers from Ron Artest (1-for-4 from 3-point land in the first half), who seems at times NOT to get the idea of shooting high-percentage shots a la McGrady, Houston executed well against an undermanned and less experienced Clipper team.
But unlike McGrady, just when you think Artest is going to completely implode the entire night, he’ll actually start hitting those threes! Artest would hit 2-of-2 the rest of the way to finish 3-of-6 from behind the arc, and close out the game with 13 points on 5-of-16 from the field.
Although Artest has struggled from the field the past 2 games, Shane Battier has picked up the slack, going Saturday night a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with 2 treys, along with a couple of nice moves in the low post. 15 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists for Batter makes you think the Rockets’ chances in the playoffs will lift significantly if this holds up.
I don’t really mind Artest scoring only 13 points in this game if he doesn’t go hog-wild with too many shot attempts (like the 22 he attempted in Utah), because it does lend to more balanced scoring. Six different Rockets scored in double figures: all the starters, including Luis Scola (13 points on 6-of-9 shots), plus Von Wafer, who bounced back nice from the Utah game with 11 points on 5-of-8 shots.
All of this led to Houston opening up a 30-point lead in the third. You just hoped no one would get hurt as the Rockets closed it out and looked to Phoenix on Wednesday night.
I couldn’t help but resist and shift my attention to the Phoenix-Utah game being played. Not only to see how Phoenix is playing before the Rockets play them on Wednesday, but to see if Utah could lose to drop in the standings and hopefully distance themselves from a 1st round matchup with the Rockets in the playoffs.
Sneaking a look at Suns-Jazz
Phoenix looked like they were no match as they fell behind by 21 points in the third, and trailed 11 points entering the fourth quarter. Being behind late IN UTAH for any team…well, you might as well as shut it down. But to my amazement, Phoenix came back and even took a seemingly insurmountable 7-point lead with about 2 minutes remaining in the game.
But some stupid mistakes, like Grant Hill fumbling a pass out of bounds with less than 30 seconds remaining, gave Utah new life and a chance to tie it up, WHICH DERON WILLIAMS DID to send it into overtime! Then in OT, Hill would foul Kirilenko on a 3-pointer, turning it into a 4-point play and giving the Jazz the momentum they needed to pull out a miracle win.
Jeez, it seems like no one can put Utah away in their own gym! So if you’re a frustrated Houston fan who hates the Jazz, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
It’s still way too early to determine if this victory gets the Rockets one step closer to playing the Jazz in the first round. That’s because the teams are so bunched up, each game the standings change. The chart below explains it better than I can. Keep in mind #4 and #5 play each other, as do #3 and #6, and #2 and 7.
So many times I’ll have a little thought in my head about Yao or the Rockets, or I’ll come across a small piece of information about them, but writing a blog post for it either seems like overkill, or the information won’t get out fast enough to people who visit this Web site only once every day or two.
I tend to use this blog for major news, like post-game summaries or something that Raymond posts in the forum, but not for little tidbits of information.
However, I’ve felt sometimes those little thoughts or news snippets are relevant. Rather than have them go unstated, I’ve decided to create a YaoMingMania Twitter profile and see how it goes.
So I encourage you to follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/yaomingmania. And over on the right-hand side of each page above the “Categories” section, you’ll see a little Twitter widget that will display my last few tweets.
I’ll continue to write on the blog after games, breaking news, and Raymond’s updates in the forum, so make sure to keep coming back!
There would be no amazing comeback victory in Salt Lake Tuesday night like there was in San Antonio on Sunday. The Rockets were discombobulated in so many facets of the game, they must have lost their composure somewhere between San Antonio, Houston and Utah.
First, Yao Ming and Ron Artest didn’t step up like you would expect your two best players to do in a game this big. They did against the Spurs, but not in the altitude of Salt Lake.
Artest was 5-for-22 for 13 points, taking it into the paint and putting up difficult shots or getting his shot blocked. The same goes for Yao, who not only missed 10-of-16 shots to score only 14 points, but seemed to have a hard time getting his shot off in the paint.
Utah’s Paul Millsap blocks Yao Ming’s shot. Click here for more photos from the game.
I give Artest and Yao credit for attacking the basket for higher percentage shots or increasing the chances of getting fouled, but I can’t remember the last time the Rockets got blocked 12 times in a game before. I don’t know if that sets any kind of record, but when 13% of your 92 shots get blocked, it has to get in your head and make you rush your shots, thinking it’s going to get blocked again.
In my opinion, that’s clearly what happened as the Rockets shot only 35% from the floor, exceeded even by their 39% shooting from 3-point land where they had more breathing room against shot blockers like Mehmet Okur (4), Paul Milsap (3), and Andrei Kirilenko (2).
No one knows how much a difference Carl Landry and the way he attacks the basket would have made in a game like this, but because of some idiots in Houston with a gun, we won’t every really know. Side note: I hope they find those scumbags, lock them up, and throw away the key.
As much scrutiny Aaron Brooks may get for not being a ‘traditional’ point guard who passes first and shoots second, the fact is without his scoring punch (20 points on 8-of-17 shots), this game would have been a blowout much earlier on.
Keep in mind that Daryl Morey and the Rockets brass made the decision that they want that kind of player at the point rather than Rafer Alston, who was so inconsistent you didn’t know what kind of game you were going to get.
Brooks didn’t lobby for the starting guard position, nor demand it. He is still evolving as a player, but what he brings to this team now is still so much better than what JVG would have done by bringing in some old guy who couldn’t score and was way past their prime. Remember Mark Jackson? I’ll take a young player like Brooks any day, and his 16-5 record as a starter since the All-Star break speaks volumes.
I just wish Yao had kept shooting jumpers where he had some success, rather than trying to put it up among Utah’s shot blockers. People may wonder why he didn’t get the ball more, but I strongly believe if you have guys who can run on the break, and you’ve got a legitimate opportunity to do it, you do it because it increases your odds of scoring immensely. That’s been the key to their success since the All-Star break. And it worked pretty well for other teams who had big men who couldn’t run and keep up with the gazelles. Remember Kareem and the Showtime Lakers?
When a center like Yao is being double-teamed, and he’s having a hard time getting his shot off against a swarming defense or shot blockers, you don’t keep forcing it in there. You adapt. Your other players should attack the basket or kick it out to your perimeter shooters. If you don’t, you’re going to lose.
There were times when the Rockets had nice stretches of scoring and defensive stands, but many times their shooting went south for huge chunks of time (like when they missed 11 shots in a row), or they made egregious defensive lapses letting guys score easily on dunks and layups, with Yao, Artest and Von Wafer three of the culprits.
So much inconsistency in one game is not going to get it done. I’m happy that Yao got 4 blocks, but none of them were really game changers. It seemed every time the Rockets would get the ball after a block and went on a fast break, they would miss the shot, force up a shot in traffic, or turn it over.
Wafer and Kyle Lowry had an especially difficult night putting the ball in the hoop, shooting 2-for-7 and 0-for-6 respectively. Throw in Brent Barry’s 0-for-3 shooting, and you’ve got an uncharacteristic bad shooting night for a bench that has performed so well this season, getting outscored 34-11.
Amazingly the Rockets out-rebounded the Jazz 13-3 on the offensive boards, but they never really did anything with it. There were 2 possessions in a row where Yao really worked hard to grab O.R.’s, but I don’t think any score resulted from it. And 5 of those 13 boards came on ONE possession where Chuck Hayes eventually scored with a little baby hook.
On the bright side, Luis Scola shot decent (4-for-9 for 10 points). But the best player by far for the Rockets was Shane Battier, who was an offensive juggernaut who scored 18 points, including 4-of-7 three pointers, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. I also loved how he stole the ball from former Duke teammate Carlos Boozer when Booz inbounded the ball, then took it strong to get fouled, and then proceeded to hit both free throws. That was complete hustle.
But Deron Williams (19 point), Boozer (13), Paul Milsap (15), Ronnie Brewer (17), and Okur (12) showed they will continue to be a tough matchup for the Rockets if they are to meet in the playoffs.
But now is not the time for the Rockets or their fans to hide in the corner hoping the Jazz won’t face them in the first round. It’s time for the Rockets to realize that although they have made tremendous strides this season, they still have lots of work to do if they’re going to get past the Jazz this time around. If they don’t, then this season will take a huge blow when it comes down to deciding if it was a success or not.
I for one wouldn’t mind them facing the Jazz because it will force everyone of them, from the head coach to the last guy on the bench, to prepare better and perform with more intensity.
As big of a win it was for the Rockets to beat the Spurs 87-85 Sunday afternoon to take a 1/2 game lead for the Southwest Division lead, I am tempering my enthusiasm with the reality that the Rockets still have a ways to go in proving that it’s replicable and sustainable. After all, they have to prove it all over again Tuesday night in Utah against the Jazz
First though, I think Rocket fans all over are saying, no matter how tenuous the win might have been and the fact there are still many big games remaining, JOB WELL DONE!
Yao Ming shoots a baseline jumper over Tim Duncan. But it would be Yao’s assists near the end of the game that would do the most damage. Click here for more photos from the game.
The Rockets needed some help to get this win. There were so many big plays in this game, it would be hard to choose one over the other in prioritizing what was the most important in getting the victory. What’s amazing that in such a big victory, Yao only scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shots.
But what we’ll all remember are Yao’s ASSISTS in the final minute of the game, and they were the ONLY assists we would have the entire game! Here’s the YouTube video of them:
Those assists to Scola at the end of the game were obviously huge, but it wouldn’t do the game justice just to focus on those plays. So what I’m going to do is bring up some of the most noteworthy plays in the game (both good and bad), ending with Yao’s incredible dimes to Scola to steal it from the Spurs.
1st Quarter
10:04 – Yao lost the ball in the post. He simply mishandled it with no one poking the ball away.
It wasn’t a good day for Yao taking care of the ball. A little over 2 minutes later, Yao throws a pass from the post to Aaron Brooks that gets deflected, stolen and results in a layup the other way. A little over 2 minutes later, he gets stripped for his 3rd turnover, which leads to a bucket the other way for a 21-11 Spurs lead.
Then midway through the 2nd quarter, Yao falls down just dribbling the ball in the post. Roger Mason just “pulled the chair” from underneath Yao, which made Yao fall down. The problem is that Yao so outmatched Mason, he really didn’t need to put his full weight against him to get closer to the bucket. Besides, Yao doesn’t need to dribble that much. Just turn and shoot that turnaround jumper that he’s so automatic with.
Wouldn’t you know it, he would do just that about 30 seconds later when he just shot it and scored! Keep doing that, Yao!
8:06 – Tim Duncan hits his 3rd field goal over Yao, and would finish the 1st quarter with 10 points. However, overall the Rockets would do a good job of holding him to ‘just’ 23 points on 8-of-22 shooting.
:37.1 – Luis Scola hits a beautiful jump shot to give the Rockets a 25-21 lead. Scola would go on to hit several big jump shots, and layups (as I’ll describe in the 4th quarter), and finish with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. What an amazing game!
2nd Quarter:
10:30 – Scola hits another jumper. 30-26, San Antonio leads.
10:15 – Kirk Lowry blocks Drew Gooden at the rim on an open layup attempt, followed by Chuck Hayes running the break down the middle of the court, and dishes to Scola who is fouled! WOW! LOTS OF EFFORT ON THAT PLAY BY EVERYONE!
Scola makes both FTs. He now has 10 points. 30-28, San Antonio leads.
9:50 – What a beautiful play this was: Kirk Lowry goes on the break and passes to Brent Barry in the corner, who goes up for a 3-pointer, then passes back to Lowry who catches the ball in mid-air, then bounce passes it high to Barry who is cutting toward the rim, then elevates and scores on a reverse layup! WOW! 30-30 tie, and an 8-0 run by Houston. THIS SECOND UNIT IS DOING AMAZING!
ON THE VERY NEXT PLAY: BARRY STEALS IT, PASSES IT TO HAYES, WHO GOES BASELINE AND DOES A SPIN MOVE AT THE RIM FOR A LAYUP! WOW! 32-30 Houston. 10-0 run by Houston!
9:12 – Von Wafer steals the ball as it gets passed to Roger Mason. Mason fouls Wafer as they are both going for the loose ball! GREAT DEFENSE AND HUSTLE, VON!
8:15 – Von Wafer attacks the rim from the baseline, goes airborne, then dishes to Hayes who puts up a little floater that scores! 34-32 Houston. On the bench, Yao stands up and applauds Chuck’s effort!
7:40 – Kirk Lowry hits a jumper! The Rockets are now shooting 57% for the game, and lead 36-32.
6:48 – Brent Barry attacks the basket and is fouled!
2:33 – Scola hits another jumper. He’s so clutch! Houston leads 44-42.
2:11 – Tony Parker abuses Aaron Brooks in the post for the second possession in a row by driving hard to the hole and kissing it off the glass with the left hand. Give Parker credit, though. That was an amazing shot.
1:30 – Shane Battier hits a 3-pointer from a Scola pass. 47-45, Houston leads!
:10.8 – From way outside, Ron Artest takes it strong to the hole and scores! What a play! 50-47, Houston leads.
Halftime: Houston leads 51-47
3rd Quarter:
7:27 – Ron Artest holds on to the ball too long, then jacks up an off-balance 3-pointer over Bruce Bowen, AND HITS IT! My goodness! The way he hit that leaning hits 3-pointer was almost Kobe-like.
5:25 – Aaron Brooks plays good D by blocking Tony Parker’s shot, and Kurt Thomas pushes Ron Artest out of bounds as they both go chasing after the loose ball.
4:44 – Scola hits another jumper from the free throw line area! Have you noticed how clutch he has been with that shot? Houston leads 62-56!
1:56 – Artest hits a long 2-pointer on the inbounds pass over Bruce Bowen. 64-56 Houston!
:30.3 – Kirk Lowry steals the ball, dribbles it the length of the court on a fast break, then goes up strong for a shot, but the ball slips out of his hand for a turnover.
End of 3rd quarter: The Spurs end the quarter on a 7-0 run. Houston leads 64-63. Houston scored only 13 points on 6-of-19 shooting in the quarter, but San Antonio wasn’t much better: 6-of-20 for 16 points.
4th Quarter:
11:42 – At the start of the fourth quarter, Yao does NOT dribble when he gets the ball and banks it off the glass! 66-63 Houston!
11:04 – Yao hits his second jumper in a row, this time over Kurt Thomas, AND AGAIN, NO DRIBBLING! 68-63 Houston!
10:15 – Lowry takes Parker strong to the hole and scores! Parker can’t handle Lowry’s size!
8:30 – Lowry takes it strong to the hole and scores off the glass! 72-70 Houston
8:13 – The Rockets force an airball of Parker on a 3, but Udoka sneaks in to grab it and lay it in! WHERE’S THE BLOCK OUT? 72-72 tie
7:41 – Another missed offensive rebound by the Rockets after Parker misses a 3-point attempt, and Udoka burns the rockets with a 3! WHERE’S THE BLOCK OUT? 75-72 San Antonio.
6:36 – Udoka hits another jumper. Rockets trail 77-72. It’s not looking good, folks.
JUST LIKE THE LAST GAME WITH THE SPURS, THE ROCKETS’ REBOUNDING IS A MAJOR PROBLEM, AS WELL AS MISSING SHOTS ON OFFENSE.
5:58 – Tony Parker hits a jumper. 79-72 San Antonio. This game looks like it’s just about over.
4:49 – Duncan misses a jumper, BUT KURT THOMAS GRABS THE REBOUND!
3:36 – Parker backs down Brooks and scores over him. That’s not a good matchup! WHY IS BROOKS IN THERE? 81-75 San Antonio.
3:04 – Battier hits a long, big 3-pointer! It’s 81-78 San Antonio. Houston has new life!
2:45 – Battier plays great defense out high on Roger Mason, who loses control of the ball. Mason tries to block out Battier from getting the loose ball – WHICH IS A FOUL THAT THE REFS DON’T CALL – but Battier is able to break through as Tim Duncan falls to the floor and tie it up for a jump ball! Good going, Shane! THEN BATTIER WINS THE TIP OVER DUNCAN!
2:29 With even more new life after Battier won the tip against Duncan, Brooks takes it strong to the hole, high off the glass, AND YAO TIPS IT IN! The San Antonio TV announcers say that Yao committed goaltending, but I don’t think so! Houston trails only 81-80.
1:45 – AARON HITS A JUMPER OVER TONY PARKER! WOW! IT’S 82-81 HOUSTON AFTER A 7-0 RUN! BROOKS WOULD ONLY HIT 2-OF-10 SHOTS FOR 5 POINTS FOR THE GAME, AND NONE WAS BIGGER THAN THIS ONE.
1:17 – Parker misses a shot and the ball goes out of bounds off San Antonio! Houston ball!
:46 – Duncan misses a jump shot after Yao contests the shot, Kurt Thomas tries to tip it in, misses, but he gets the second tip, which goes in! Looking at the replay, Scola gave up too much ground to Thomas! C’mon Luis! Fight hard for the board! San Antonio leads 83-82!
:29.3 – YAO THROWS A BEAUTIFUL PASS FROM THE KEY TO A CUTTING SCOLA DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE, AND SCOLA SCORES OFF THE GLASS! Although he didn’t block out very well on the play before, Luis made up for it right there!
There have been 8 LEAD CHANGES AND 9 TIES in this game!
:20.1 – Parker drives to the hole and scores easily around Brooks and Yao. Too easy!! Adelman gets mad at Yao for coming out too far from the basket!!
:11.2 – Yao passes it from the key to Scola for a layup! 86-85 Hou. Both Scola and Yao are making mistakes on the defensive end, but they’re more than making it up on the offensive end! 86-85 Houston. Yao is playing the high post like Rick Adelman probably wanted him to do like Vlade Divac and Brad Miller when he became the coach of the Rockets! Where did those plays come from? We hadn’t seen that all season! And to do it crunch time is even more phenomenal!
HOUSTON NEEDS A STOP!
:0.3 – Parker misses a jump hook in the lane! OMG! On this play, Adelman decided to put Lowry on him, and it paid off! That was the best coaching decision of the game!
Scola is fouled intentionally with .3 seconds remaining in the game. He goes to the line and misses the first free throw, and TRIES TO MISS THE SECOND SO THE CLOCK WILL EXPIRE, BUT HE MAKES IT!
UNBELIEVABLY, BECAUSE OF A BAD SHOT CLOCK OPERATOR, BONNER HAD A SHOT OF WINNING THE GAME WITH A 3-POINTER, WHICH IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO “CATCH AND SHOOT” IN .3 SECONDS, BUT LUCKILY BONNER MISSED IT, AND THE ROCKETS WIN!
Raymond reports that for the 6th consecutive year, Yao topped Forbes China’s list of top 100 celebrities, including ranking first in 4 of the 5 categories. Click here for more details on who he beat out.
Also, Raymond reports that Yao is taking on another cause, but this time it’s not against a disease or earthquake victims. This time it’s against piracy in China. Interesting. Here’s his poster promoting anti-piracy:
Before the All-Star break, Rocket fans were wondering if their team would ever get to a point where they’d consistently beat the bad teams after so many disappointing losses to sub-.500 teams.
Boy, isn’t it nice to see them take care of teams they should easily beat, now that McGrady and Alston’s inconsistency are out of the line-up.
The Rockets took care of the 20-49 Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night, setting up a huge game Sunday afternoon in San Antonio, who are only 1/2 game ahead of the Rockets after the Spurs lost to Boston, thanks to 6 missed free throws in a row down the stretch, including 4 from Tony Parker! It happens to the best of them, but on this night, the Rockets did what they were expected to do, beating Minnesota to go 46-25 on the season.
Yao gets some good hang time in contesting the shot
of Minnesota’s Craig Smith. Click here for more photos from the game.
As great as the Rockets’ offense was in opening up a 22-point lead in a 35-point third quarter, their highest scoring quarter of the season, Yao didn’t exactly light it up. He only hit 2-of-10 shots in the first half, and finished with 14 points on 6-of-16 shots and 8 boards in a little under 30 minutes of play. BUT he did only commit 2 turnovers.
My favorite bucket of Yao’s came in the third quarter when Ron Artest grabbed a defensive rebound, pushed it up the court on a fast break, Yao was running ahead of him, then Artest threw a quick underhand shuttle pass ahead to Yao who caught it on the dead run, bounced it once, and laid it in off the glass!
That score gave the Rockets a 22-point lead, 71-49. Just before that, Artest responded to a 9-0 run by the T-wolves, which cut the Rockets lead down to 13, by hitting a 3-pointer, a long 2-pointer, and 2 free throws to push the Rockets’ lead to 20 points. A few minutes after Artest rewarded Yao for running the floor with that sweet assist, Yao would leave the game for good, and the Rockets would cruise on to their victory.
Artest would finish the game with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocked shots and a steal.
The point guards also chipped in with a solid performance: Aaron Brooks had 13 points on 4-of-9 shots, including 4 assists and 0 turnovers. Kyle Lowry scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shots, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers. Rafer who?
Von Wafer was an absolute blur, taking it strong to the hole and igniting the crowd with his God-given athleticism, scoring all 10 points of his points in the 4th quarter. My goodness, Vonnie “the Microwave” is still so much fun to watch!
Shane Battier “EXPLODED” with 11 points on 4-of-5 shots, had 6 rebounds and 2 assists. My, oh my. If Battier scores 10+ points a game the rest of the season, I think Houston could win 2 or 3 playoff series. But like we’ve seen so many times before, Battier will probably retreat back into his scoring hole.
But that may be okay if James White ends up getting some playing time. White played for the first time this season late in the fourth quarter, and he showed what he can do in a very short amount of time by blocking a shot, getting a steal, hitting a long two-pointer, and a three to finish with 5 points. We got glimpses of why he averaged 25 points a game in the D-League and was that league’s MVP. His lanky physique reminds me a little of Kevin Durant‘s. If he plays half as good as K.D., he’ll have a nice career in Houston.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, you can bet the Spurs will be really fired up for Houston after losing in such heartbreaking fashion because of those 6 missed free throws in a row. I’m not a big Tony Parker fan, but I feel sorry for any player who loses a game because of so many missed free throws in a row. Everyone probably still remembers the agony of Orlando’s Nick Anderson in 1995 missing those free throws against the Rockets in the NBA Finals.
Raymond has done a great job translating this interview that Titan Sports conducted with Yao on his desire to not show up his teammates on the court in trying to get them to pass him the ball.
Raymond has posted some photos of Yao’s lifesize wax figure at Madame Tussaud’s in New York City. The figure made its debut on Wednesday, and is on loan from their Shanghai location for the next 6 months.
Click here for more photos and details. Thanks Raymond!
