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Times-Picayune: Magloire, Campbell put clamps on Yao

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Free Agent, Dec 7, 2002.

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  1. Free Agent

    Free Agent Member

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    Magloire, Campbell put clamps on Yao



    12/07/02

    Peter Finney

    With an interpreter at his side, Yao Ming answered a pregame question as he looked down from his 7-foot-6-inch summit.

    The question: How would you like to be called, Big Giant or Little Giant?

    Then came the answer, in what sounded like perfect English: "Whatever you like."

    So it appeared, yes, China's 23-year-old gift to the NBA is learning as he goes. But let the record show, as the Hornets pushed their homecourt record to 11-0 Friday night, Yao played more Little than Big for the Houston Rockets.

    In 35 minutes against the Hornets, Yao finished with a somewhat sleepy 16 points as New Orleans prevailed in overtime, 98-96. He came into New Orleans Arena shooting 64 percent from the field, and he left with a rather cool 7-for-19, thanks largely to some persistent hounding by Jamaal Magliore and Elden Campbell, and thanks also to some errant shooing on the inside.

    Still, it was a Yao put-back of a Steve Francis miss that tied it at the end of regulation and it was a couple of Yao blocks in the extra five minutes that kept the Rockets within striking range, until Jamal Mashburn closed the door with four straight from the free-throw line.

    Coach Paul Silas' decision not to double-team Yao paid handsome dividends.

    "San Antonio doubled him and paid a price," said Silas of Yao's 27-point outburst Monday against the Spurs. "When you double him, he does a fine job of finding the open man. I thought Jamaal and Elden did a fine job keeping him away from the basket. The young man's still learning. And he's going to get better and better."

    Yao came into the NBA under a cloud, one in which diverse parties back home were looking to profit from him, a situation more in tune to the American sports scene. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of Yao -- the Chinese Basketball Association, the sports ministry, the Shanghai Sharks (his team for five years) and the TV network that carried Sharks games.

    Also, there was the suggestion his Chinese interests wanted Yao to showcase his skills in a big market (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles). However, once Houston made Yao the first pick in the June, joining him with Francis, the elite point guard, the feeling is Yao's career would be better served in a climate with less hype as would the future of the Rockets.

    As for a league known for its marketing genius, Yao's arrival could be a mother lode. When he made his NBA debut, the game was broadcast to 287 million households in China, a number that matches the population of the S. United States. He now has an official NBA Web site written in Chinese characters, and it will soon include audio and video game coverage as well as merchandise sales.

    Chinese companies, along with NBA standbys like Nike, Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch, will advertise on the Web site, with revenues being split between the league and its Chinese partners.

    The offspring of a 6-3 mother and 6-7 father, onetime members of China's national team, Yao's apprenticeship, which began at age 12 at a sports academy, included watching the Rockets (with Hakeem Olajuwon) and the Trail Blazers (with 7-3 Arvydas Sabonis) on TV.

    There were times when he flashed some quick baseline moves. And times when he nailed some short pull-up jumpers. But Yao, obviously, remains a work in progress.

    From the looks of things, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft will go from a 7-foot-6 Chinese man to a 6-foot-8, 240-pound high school senior. This is supposed to happen next June when some team rolls the dice on LeBron James, now shooting baskets in Akron, Ohio.

    At the moment, Nike and adidas are in a fierce fight over the 17-year-old's choice of sneakers.

    How big is James? Well, some of his games are being televised in Ohio on cable TV for an $8 fee. A Web site is selling some of James' games from last season for $49.99. Letterman wants him on his show.

    Ask some scouts to assess him and the answer you get is he's a blend of Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen.

    You can see for yourself next Thursday when a James game will be televised on ESPN2. Bill Walton and Dick Vitale will be at courtside, telling you all you want to know. And more. And more.

    . . . . . . .

    Peter Finney can be reached at pfinney@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3802.

    © The Times-Picayune.
     
    #1 Free Agent, Dec 7, 2002
  2. Drexlerfan22

    Drexlerfan22 Member

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    I like it how he conveniently fails to mention Yao grabbed 13 boards, too. He didn't play horribly.
     
    #2 Drexlerfan22, Dec 7, 2002
  3. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    China's 23-year old?

    Has Yao had two birthdays in 6 months?

    September is his birth month, and last I checked he was 22.

    Yao's the only player that can grow from 7'5" to 7'6" in a day,
    and then back down to 7'5".

    Now they are aging him....sigh... :D
     
    #3 DavidS, Dec 7, 2002
  4. glynch

    glynch Member

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    All is well when an opposing team with two experienced centers and a 6'10" defensive power forward brags about how they shut down the Rockets" rookie center and limited him to 16 pts and 13 rebounds.
     
    #4 glynch, Dec 7, 2002
  5. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    Too bad we can't play them again this year.

    Yao missed open shots that he normally would hit.

    16 points. Yeah, that's a bad night! :D
     
    #5 DavidS, Dec 7, 2002
  6. ruyun5

    ruyun5 Member

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    I guess they were fully expecting Ming to put numbers like 30/20/5 nigt after night. So 16/13/3 is kind of containment. That is respect and I am OK with that. Smarter than lots of those darn sports columnists.
     
    #6 ruyun5, Dec 7, 2002
  7. TBar

    TBar Member

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    The Rockets --with Yao-- our big man in the middle- played the Hornets intop overtime in thier house- I bet Paul Silas is breathing a sigh of relief. I wish we were playing them again Tues in New Orleans- I think we could beat them after learning them.

    I think Yao Ming played very respectably- against Campbell, Magliore, and P.J. Brown - who I think is a very dirty player. Yao is a rookie holding his own.

    Go Yao!!!!
     
    #7 TBar, Dec 7, 2002
  8. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Member

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    You play teams from the other conference twice each year. We should have a home date later.

    The above article is r****ded. Yao had a solid game, just his shot was off ever so slightly. Most of the ones he missed really could have bounced in with friendlier rims. Still, he put in 16, grabbed 13 boards (6 offensive - yeah, nice work Cambell / Magloire :rolleyes: ), was a definite defensive presence and still is seriously getting the rookie treatment from refs occassionally.

    Regardless, Mashburn, the Hornets go to player, wasn't really smoking, at 9-25, worse than Yao.
     
    #8 JayZ750, Dec 7, 2002
  9. Severe Rockets Fan

    Severe Rockets Fan Takin it one stage at a time...

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    Yeah, but it would've been really nice to hand them their first home loss...I swear we could beat them if we played them again!:mad:
     
    #9 Severe Rockets Fan, Dec 7, 2002
  10. declan32001

    declan32001 Member

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    DavidS, I had a bad game hangover too last night. We do, of course play them again this year, with some less questionable calls I expect. :)
     
    #10 declan32001, Dec 7, 2002
  11. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    When Silas said that their game plan was NOT to double team
    Yao was, oh boy! If only Yao's shots went down!

    He has like 4 or 5 that were amost dead on...that wont happen next time.
    And the Hornest WILL double team Yao after that.
     
    #11 DavidS, Dec 7, 2002
  12. codell

    codell Member

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    They must think hes a dog. :D
     
    #12 codell, Dec 7, 2002
  13. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    Your right. I'd thought for some reason we had played them in Houston.

    New Orleans, Charlotte! I'm mixed up!
     
    #13 DavidS, Dec 7, 2002
  14. MFW2310

    MFW2310 Member

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    David, Yao's height does not change. He's 7'5 and maybe another 1/3 inch without shoes, that's why the NBA uses 7'5. He's height with shoes is actually bit over 7'6. In that regard both numbers are correct. However, last time I checked, no players played without shoes, so I consider him 7'6.
     
    #14 MFW2310, Dec 7, 2002
  15. Vinny

    Vinny Member

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    This is just another example of the simple fact that the media is just some guy writing articles. Don't form your opinions off others opinions or so called facts, and no need to be offended either. It is a poorly written article that jumps from the game to grabbing glory trying to make it look like they *handled* Yao, to some weird ending about James. It was written poorly, and it was all over the place.

    Just because something is written in a newspaper somewhere, it does not mean it is intelligent or factual.
     
    #15 Vinny, Dec 7, 2002
  16. daoshi

    daoshi Member

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    Not really. I won't double Yao either if he play the same way as last night.

    You need to understand that doubling Yao is different from doubling your ordinary players since he can see the whole court over your head, can easily burn you with a over-head pass withought any difficulty. This is especially true if you try to double him further away from the basket since that will provide more spacing to pass.

    The better strategy is the one the Hornets employed last night, pushing him further out with single coverage. Yes, Yao is a good shooter, but leting him shoot 15ft with a hand on his face is better than him passing to the cutter, or wide open teamates, or recieving the ball in the paint area.

    BTW, in the post-game comments, Yao said he was a bit tentative to go inside due to the pregame impression he got that the Hornets is a very physical inside team. I guess the coaches need to do a better job with his game preparation.


    --Dao Shi
     
    #16 daoshi, Dec 7, 2002
  17. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    It was a joke....
     
    #17 DavidS, Dec 7, 2002
  18. DavidS

    DavidS Member

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    What I mean is, if they chose NOT to double-team Yao again, then
    we must hit those over the top shots, and the force them to double.
    All Yao has to do is shoot over them. He just had a bad shooting night.

    I mean, that's how you get them to change their defense. At leaset mix
    it up a little.

    Now, if they choose to stay with the man-on-man (not double-team)
    then we can just hit jumpers from Yao all night long. It's just that
    Yao had a bad shooting night. I don't expect that to happen the next
    time we play the Hornets.

    But, yes. Yao had a mental block for the night. He let them be physical with
    them, but wasn't physical back at them.
     
    #18 DavidS, Dec 7, 2002
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2002
  19. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    PJ Brown and Magliore are two guys known for their inside grit and hustle. Elden Campbell is around soft to average, but he's a 7 footer. They are a pretty physical front court. I think coaching was worried about breaking Yao in a little too much, but this is a first impression.

    Personally, I don't think Silas' strategy will hold for long since Yao is a quick learner and is still growing as a player.
     
    #19 Invisible Fan, Dec 7, 2002
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