Anyone else getting a kick out of seeing Battier guard Yao? Yao sure is getting stripped a lot in the post. Then again his teammates aren't much of a help so far. That Yi kid looks good. Anyways, 1st half over.. entertaining game if only for the fact that I haven't seen much basketball the past few months and it's nice to see Yao on the floor again. Thanks TVKOO!
I just watched the game on ESPN2. Blowout win by the US. Yao finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, a couple of assists and blocks. Fouled out about midway through the fourth quarter. Here a few observations I had: -Yao did not have his shooting touch. Except for one long open jumper, he missed his turnaround jumpers in the post -Yao had two very nice assists that lead to easy baskets by the Chinese guards. This is something JVG needs to take advantage of. Have players cut to the basket instead of just standing at the 3 pt line getting ready to miss. -Yao, aka Hot Sauce Part Deux, went coast to coast on one play to show off his handles. Too bad he was called for a charge. -For some unkown reason, Yao only got the ball about two times from the second to the third quarter. He scored five points, but they were off offensive rebounds. -Battier fouled his new teammate, Yao, at least three times. I belive Yao had a sub-par game, which says a lot because he had pretty solid numbers. This is because after the last half of last season, my expectations for Yao have increased to the point where I expect more than 20 and 10 from him. For it being only his second game back, I feel confident that by the time the NBA season starts, Yao will be in great fighting form to lead the Rockets to a second round playoff exit. I would like to be more optimistic, but with our current supporting cast, I can't.
Anyone know where I can get a box score on this? I missed the game... Anyway, I guess Yao's progressing along nicely, although he only put up a 20/10, he's probably a bit out of shape coming off that injury like someone said before. I think he's well on his way to getting fit to play for the Rockets this season. However, the one thing that bothers me is his fouling. Its been giving us and him problems before, so I hope he'll be able to defend the post a lot smarter instead of racking up fouls and getting into foul trouble. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">That Yi kid looks good.</div> Damn right he does .
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AznxBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">Anyone know where I can get a box score on this? I missed the game...</div> box score
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ming637:</div><div class="quote_post">Are they replaying it later on today because I missed it.</div> They'll probably replay it on NBATV tomorrow.
Here is a youtube video of Yao's coast to coast. Now that I've seen it again, it seems to be more impressive. It looks like he gets pushed by Chris Paul and than crosses over Dwight Howard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTDCEVtrmtc Here is what Battier had to say about taking the charge on Yao. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/insider/colu...hris&id=2555324
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AznxBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">Anyone know where I can get a box score on this? I missed the game... Anyway, I guess Yao's progressing along nicely, although he only put up a 20/10, he's probably a bit out of shape coming off that injury like someone said before. I think he's well on his way to getting fit to play for the Rockets this season. However, the one thing that bothers me is his fouling. Its been giving us and him problems before, so I hope he'll be able to defend the post a lot smarter instead of racking up fouls and getting into foul trouble. Damn right he does .</div> You are very knowledgable AznxBaller. where were you born? do you ever make visits to Bay Area?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">For those who watched the game, how was Battier's defense on Yao?</div> He gave Yao a tough time going for dunks, because his quick hands. He'd swoop in and jab the ball out of his hands at every opportunity (and he got called for the foul more than a couple times). He drew a charge from Yao in the open court, as well.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">He gave Yao a tough time going for dunks, because his quick hands. He'd swoop in and jab the ball out of his hands at every opportunity (and he got called for the foul more than a couple times). He drew a charge from Yao in the open court, as well.</div> I saw the youtube link of that charge. Was Battier able to keep his position against Yao though on post up situations? That would be instrumental to see if he could be a full-time power foward or not.
I was more impressed with the crossover he put on somebody right before the charge The guy is 8ft tall crossing ppl over on fastbreaks. Hail Yao
