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| With the Rockets hiring Jeff Van Gundy, I thought it would be cool to go back into the YaoMingMania archives to see what Van Gundy has said about Yao to get an idea on how he would use him. By reading some of the quotes below, you can bet that Van Gundy will feel extremely excited and fortunate to coach Yao, and will maximize his talents much more than was utilized this past season. We believe Van Gundy will run almost every play through him, which is a good thing. Here are some of Van Gundy's comments this past season:
Rockets vs. Mavericks - 11/21/02 - Van Gundy is the color analyst on the TNT telecast: Scenario 1: Yao gets the ball deep in the left post with Shawn Bradley all over him. Yao powerfully lowers his shoulder and steps toward the basket to get into the lane, elevates off his right foot 2 feet in front of the rim, and lays the ball in with his left hand! What a beautiful display of using the other hand! Van Gundy: "That one brought me out of my seat! That's post-up basketball! (Yao) takes somebody right through the basket. He just drove Bradley right under the hoop...I can see why everyone wanted this guy! This is my first time to see this guy play live. This is some show he's putting on!" Scenario 2: With the Mavericks knowing they can't stop Yao, he snags a high pass that no Maverick can even try to knock away. Getting the ball only two feet away the basket, he establishes himself in the paint by using his body to create some space between he and Bradley, goes up and hammers the ball with an authoritative snap of the wrists, and falls to the floor because of the power behind it! Bradley fouls him on the arm, to boot. The Rocket bench erupts out of their seats, proud of their man who has learned very quickly to dunk with authority! We hate to say it, but this play was as Shaq-esque as it gets. Van Gundy: "He got that one! That dunk, you would call a facial!" Other comments - late November, 2002 "You know what I love about Yao is that he combines both humility and passion for the game and those are two traits you don't see in combination very much in our league today." "The thing I love about Yao is his demeanor. He has the intensity and competitive spirit of a great player. I know he has the size and the skills, and defensively, he's not nearly as proficient as he needs to be. But that demeanor is going to help him through his great moments and his not-so-great moments." Rockets vs. Lakers - 2/18/03 - Van Gundy once again is the color analyst for the TNT broadcast: Scenario 1: With the Rockets trailing 80-82, Mobley shoots a 3-pointer that misses, but Yao's long arms help him tap the ball away from Samaki Walker and Yao is fouled in the process of bringing the ball into his grasp. That means free throws, which he needs to make to tie the score...and he hits both of them! Yao is really showing how clutch of a player he really is. Yao is 5-for-5 from the line with 21 points (8-for-16 from the field). Van Gundy: "His demeanor allows him to play well in clutch situations. He's unflappable and he's poised." Scenario 2: Mark Madsen pulls the biggest flop job in a long time and gets an offensive foul called on Yao on the inbounds play. That fouls out Yao with his 6th foul. Van Gundy: "I just don't like those calls where guys are leaning on him and then he just raises his arm and you can just snap your head back...look like you've been physically abused. It has no bearing on whether the ball got in (inbounded). I just don't like those type of calls." General comments - March, 2003 "The coordination of the post up, the pass, the catch and your cutting game ... is much more complex than just getting the ball to Yao on the left block. People forget because ... Yao because of his size will appear to be open. The pass is the hardest thing. If you have a team applying good ball pressure or that is around (Yao) in front with good weakside help, the entry pass is tough. "With the new rules in the NBA, it's much more difficult to play the post-up game. But when I see him every game, he's a little bit better. That goes to his upbringing, his culture and his demeanor. He has enough humility to say, `I don't know everything. I can get better.' That's why he's going to be an absolute star. His combination of humility, humor and competitiveness -- it's remarkable. I love the guy." |
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With Jeff Van Gundy now being the Rockets coach, what can we expect from him?
First, I believe Van Gundy will use Yao more than Rudy T. ever did (see what Van Gundy had to say about Yao last season in the section below). The main reason why Van Gundy came to Houston was because of Yao (it didn't hurt that Steve Francis calls Houston home). You better believe Van Gundy will run almost every play through Yao, as he should. We believe Yao is on his way to being molded as the 'next Tim Duncan,' but with the additional advantage of being a better free throw shooter (Yao - 81 %; Duncan - 71%). And now that Patrick Ewing will be coaching the Rockets as an assistant, it won't hurt Yao's growth as a player. It will be eerie to see Ewing as a coach on the Rockets sideline, though. Heck, maybe some of that old competitive fire in Hakeem, who was motivated to show Ewing who was boss in the 90's, will be resurrected and he'll want to coach Yao to make sure he isn't totally 'Ewing-fied.' I think the net result will be that Yao averages close to 20 points a game (compared to 13.5 last season), 4 assists (1.7 last season), and 2.4 blocks (1.8 last year). I'll make my final Yao statistical predictions later in the year before the season starts. Because of Van Gundy being more of a disciplinarian than Rudy T, I bet that a few current players will no longer be Rockets by mid-season. It will be tough to unload some of their big contracts, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some Rockets axed, even at a financial loss, so that Van Gundy can bring in guys who are going to work hard like himself. Van Gundy is a workaholic, and I don't think he'll put up even with any player who doesn't bust his chops all the time. It's difficult to tell which players will be on the bubble, but I can guarantee you it will happen. The choices may not be popular with some fans because of the hype the past regime generated about these guys. But it will be a necessity for Van Gundy to make such symbolic statements to show that he won't tolerate laziness. I also predict Van Gundy will bring in some more veteran leadership. Let's face the facts: Glen Rice, the appointed "veteran leader" by Rudy T, did not get the job done in the locker room. Rice may end up sticking around because of his fat contract and low trade value, but look for Van Gundy to bring in some experienced veterans nearing the end of their career, similar to what the world-champion San Antonio Spurs did by signing Steve Kerr and Kevin Willis (another former Rocket we gave up on). I believe Van Gundy will be more critical of his players with the media, which was the polar opposite on how Rudy referred to his players. I remember several episodes where Van Gundy revealed his frustration when talking about his Knick players. This type of frankness will be unusual for the Houston media, who rarely asked Rudy tough questions because of his propensity to never get too criticial. It will also surprise some fans how honest Van Gundy can get, which might cause some false alarms that the Rockets are on the verge of trading somebody nearly all the time. Finally, at this point it's difficult to predict what the Rockets' record will be under Van Gundy next season. I reserve the right to amend the following prediction as we get closer to the season starting in November, but I think Van Gundy will help the Rockets finally make the playoffs next season, end up in the 7th or 8th playoff spot, and finish with a record like 49-33 or 50-32 (compared to last year's 43-39 record). |