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Typically i don't like Fran's articles but it was interesting on what Yao had to say about "Give me the ball" . I used to be hard on the guy for being mentally soft but after this I am going to just sit back and hold my tongue.

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/rockets/

On demanding the ball.

"I don't have Hakeem's speed. I don't have his moves," Yao said.

"I'll walk them to the sideline and say it behind the scenes," Yao said. "I am not going to do it in front of everybody and say, 'Give me the damn ball.' I just don't want to do that right in front of everybody."

It is a difference in styles, a different in culture. Yao admits that every American coach he's played for has wanted him to milk his scoring ability. But he says back in China, it was all about spreading the ball around.

"It is like this water bottle," Yao told me, picking up a prop for his demonstration. "You don't want to use it all up right away."

He knows his limitations and his culture is in-grained to his soul. Ultimate teamplayer is what he will be remembered as when his career is done.

It's up to the coach to choose when is the right time to get Yao the ball and NOT force feed him.

I love playing ball with guys like Yao who value the team more than individual stats.

Every time I get into a game at my local rec center, our TEAM will beat a bunch of individuals 9 out of 10 times.

"It is like this water bottle," Yao told me, picking up a prop for his demonstration. "You don't want to use it all up right away."

LOOOOL

HTown_TMac wrote:It's up to the coach to choose when is the right time to get Yao the ball and NOT force feed him.

Rick was yelling on the sidelines during that last possession in the 1st OT to get it to Yao but Ron got the ball and well.. we know how that turned out.

The only time Ron Artest should take more shots the Yao Ming is if Yao is being triple teamed. I hate Artest's shot selection. It's atrocious. Artest needs to realize he isn't option 1B.

Yao would be getting 25 points a game right now if it weren't for Artest

BaYBaller wrote:

HTown_TMac wrote:It's up to the coach to choose when is the right time to get Yao the ball and NOT force feed him.

Rick was yelling on the sidelines during that last possession in the 1st OT to get it to Yao but Ron got the ball and well.. we know how that turned out.

Well, Rick needs to grow some balls and tell Ron about his hogginess.

To tell you the truth, Ron isn't going to change. Dude has been in the league how long? I'm sure Rick mentions it, but also knows that he can't punish him for it b/c he'll pout and stop playing. Rick wants to win so he'll give ron a little leeway. Understandable.

Yao is a legitimate 25-27 ppg type of player if he wants to (which will never happen imo, since he is a team first type of guy), I dun think it's a big problem since someone else going to score if Yao give up his opportunities to score. However, during the crunch time please give the ball to Yao, especially for those teams that is not going to fronting him, to me Yao's fade way jump shots is as money as Micheal Jordan's fade way if they are not fronting or doubling him up .

Yao's theory is ridiculous. Of course he can make a change, how hard could that be? He can spread the ball around as he wants, ONLY IF he demands the ball first. He is to spread, not to be spreaded. DEMAND THE FREAKING BALL.

Jaykoolzboy wrote:Yao is a legitimate 25-27 ppg type of player if he wants to (which will never happen imo, since he is a team first type of guy), I dun think it's a big problem since someone else going to score if Yao give up his opportunities to score. However, during the crunch time please give the ball to Yao, especially for those teams that is not going to fronting him, to me Yao's fade way jump shots is as money as Micheal Jordan's fade way if they are not fronting or doubling him up .

Thing is 9/10 times they will front or double.

Yao is trapped in his little culture thing, it's like being oneself for too long, you feel all awkward to change, for how everyone around you perceives you as the soft one, reasonable one, limp one, or whatever. sometimes one needs a completely new environment to make changes. it's just hard. Yao is facing a obstacle that had hindered many from achieving greatness, now he has to conquer it otherwise it will be true that he is the ultimate team player.

Damn Commies, always spreadin' the wealth around. Yao needs Stephen Colbert tutoring.
However, he does need to work on beating the front if he wants to become truly dominant, and right now I don't see that happening. With the tools he's got now, it's up to Adelman and the rest of the team to set up plays for him to prevent the front. Continue working on his high post game, make him a bigger threat from mid-range - maybe even deep - so that he can pull the defender out of the lane, and get easy scores for himself or a cutting teammate. He doesn't have Hakeem's quickness or the same footwork that got me into basketball when I was little, but he's got the soft touch and the heart, he just needs the right system.
That system doesn't involve Ron Artest drilling for that famous Houston oil whenever he gets the ball in his hands.

For those of us who don't care for Richard Justice, here's the actual blog:

http://blogs.chron.com/franblinebury/20 ... s_106.html

If we want to be truly great, Yao has to get the ball on every possession on the low block, either creating for himself, or for others.

Please. If he gets the ball on every possession, he's going to average twenty turnovers. Our offense will be at its best when it's unpredictable. Both Yao and Artest kill the offense when you go to them too much. Unless they've really got it going, we need to mix up the attack.

T-Wack wrote:Please. If he gets the ball on every possession, he's going to average twenty turnovers. Our offense will be at its best when it's unpredictable. Both Yao and Artest kill the offense when you go to them too much. Unless they've really got it going, we need to mix up the attack.

I agree. I have Yao on my fantasy team, and his turnovers are KILLING me. He'd be a lot more useful (for fantasy purposes) if he just averaged 10 and 10 with 0 turnovers.

I rather see him turn the ball over rather than giving up a bunch of offensive boards to his opponents.

T-Mac United wrote:I rather see him turn the ball over rather than giving up a bunch of offensive boards to his opponents.

Same thing: an extra possession for the opponent.