I remember Steve Smith doing that as a blazer in the playoffs...i think when Eddie Jones was guarding him. Its a crafty vet move....Yao is a smart player.
It is, but it sure is hard as hell to detect in real time. Credit Yao for knowing how to take advantage of Greg. This is a trap GO will have to learn to deal with.
You're seeing players start to hook with their elbow while both hands are on the ball. I believe that's still supposed to be a foul; am I right?
It's hard to tell who is doing the hooking and who is getting hooked from the refs perspective, arm length has nothing to do with it. If you are a ref and a defender and offensive player get all tangled up on the block as they jockey for position the default call is to blame the defender, this is even more exacerbated when one of the players is a legit top 2 player at his position and the other is a rookie with a reputation for committing stupid fouls. Thems the breaks.
I think you misunderstood what he meant by "hooking". It's not the type where you get tangled up in the blocks before rebounds but rather where when the offensive player (Yao) has the ball and is facing away from the basket and hooks his arm around the defender (Greg) while performing a spin move to get around him.
other definitions of hooking... lol Most players seem to do it, and it is allowed by the refs most all of the time. For example, I've seen LMA do it several times, Shaq has done it countless times. Here's my total guess as to why they don't call it: If an offensive player reaches out and touches a defender with their forearm, it's not a foul. If an offensive players reaches out and pushes a defender with their forearm, it is a foul. But even then the refs miss it often. If this is the interpretation the refs are using, then that makes reffing more difficult (see Blazersedge effing reffing article). I don't think Yao is given preferential treatment. However, when he does it, it is very obvious because his arms are so massive. So, yes it is more annoying.
Ah you're right. I guess I had a specific play in mind where Yao 'hooked' Greg's arm and started pulling Greg around a little bit and sold it as Greg initiating the contact. You're right the hook when spinning to the baseline is a lot easier to see and Yao has gotten away with it a couple of times. Hopefully the refs start to call it, but knowing how important Yao is to the NBA and it's burgeoning Chinese market I just don't see them calling a lot of fouls on Yao.
Yeah, Yao is allowed to hook. Oh, and you can't be TOO physical with him, you gotta flop I guess... Oh wait, no because they call you out on that to. I guess you just gotta let him score or Houston will be pissed? It shows the character of a team when Portland's response to Houston being physical and aggressive after that blowout win was pretty much "we need to match it, they are a very good and tough and physical team"... while Houston's response was "if the refs are going to allow them to manhandle Yao like that we need to work around it"... One team says they need to step up, the other blames the refs.
