the 07 ROCKETS thread

[MacGuyver]

well look at the rockets this week. 3 game winning streak and Yao just have another 35 points game, his second this season. could this be the real year of the YAO? looks like it is going to be after all yehey

[Zoom]

"Coach (Jeff Van Gundy) has told me there are two things that if you do them well, you play well. One of them is rebound, the other is block shots," Yao said. "I think he just wants me to have more energy on the defensive side."

He still had some left over after the game. After playing 38 minutes, Yao headed straight to the weight room in anticipation of Sunday's meeting with Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat.

"I've got another big guy coming," Yao said. "I want to be ready for him."

Yao's postgame detour didn't surprise teammate Shane Battier.

"He's a worker," Battier said. "He's the first one at practice every day and he's one of the last ones to leave. A player does not become dominant like he is becoming by watching highlights on ESPN."

I liked reading this. Yao is really becomming a leader for the team. I knew he wasn't lying when he said he's learnt how to lead on and off the court.

And MacGuyver, I will say it again! The Ming Dynasty is finally here!

[MacGuyver]

it certainly is. i think i'll change my name now to YAOguyver. lol. anyways i'm happy for yao's work ethics. good luck to our rockets.
the game against NY, francis didn't play? he lost his chance to see Yao in the court again for this year. what is thomas doing to NY, that team is a mess

[Zoom]

They hugged at the end of the game at halfcourt... wish Francis was still in Houston. I liked him and he was Yao's first team mate friend and they seem to still be friends now

[Laxation]

A man in southern China has applied to register a line of women's sanitary products under the name of Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, Xinhua News Agency said on Friday

I can see the advertising slogan now...

Get some Yao up your snatch

[Dr.FuNk]

yehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 35 pts 17 rebs 7 blocks..... i'm happy

[Nel]

He still had some left over after the game. After playing 38 minutes, Yao headed straight to the weight room in anticipation of Sunday's meeting with Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat.

[Amphatoast]

now a 34pt 14 reb performance vs shaq.. and anther win. This is getting very interesting.

Finally yao playing like everyone expected. His minutes are finally going up also. T-mac is on a downfall but no one notices thanks to yao


Rockets play Spurs, Bulls, Pistons this week..
pretty decent teams, lets see what yao can do against them

[CMJ3]

The one thing Yao has to do to remain at the top is stay injury-free, that is his only downfall atm which could potentially end his run, i hope that it isnt the case, as i want to see him do well.

Tmac is shooting horrible, 0-4 from the 3pt line and 6-18 from the field. But on another note he is getting 8 assists a game so it doesnt make him that terrible.

[Zoom]

I get to say it for the 100th time but I was right in saying Yao's time was now.

I'm really glad people are seeing that the real leader of this team is Yao. It aint Mac. Sorry to TMac, he's good but Yao is the leader now. The Rockets have two leaders IMO. Yao is like the captain who performs scores first and all that. Shane Battier is the leader who hustles and does the dirty work.

"He's pretty much the same, just big, 7-6," O'Neal said. "He's just doing what he's supposed to do."

Thats what Shaq said. I wonder if he says that about himself... 'I'm fat so I can take up space in the lane... thats what I do..' I know he wouldnt... he's just a bitch Yao is better than him, he just can't hack it.

[CMJ3]

You cant just say hes so fat he takes up space in the lane. Have you seen his rookie days? he could hit the jumper pretty well and he was quick as, thats why Dwight is compared to a young Shaq. Also Shaq learnt how to use his weight and strength to his full ability unlike for example Eddy Curry who thinks he weight 100lbs. Youd be surprised how good Shaq still is. He is still ranked in the top 2 and i bet he could challenge Yao for the top spot if he really wanted to. Remember he did come 2nd in MVP balloting in 2005, so hes still good.

[Laxation]

You cant just say hes so fat he takes up space in the lane. Have you seen his rookie days?

His rookie days... 15 years ago? Fuck - well if he was in good shape then, he must be now. There is no way in hell he could possibly be reguarded as a lane clogger, if he wasnt when he was a rookie.

Shaq learnt how to use his weight and strength to his full ability

To score in the key?

unlike for example Eddy Curry who thinks he weight 100lbs.

Eddy Curry sucks

[Zoom]

His rookie days... 15 years ago? Fuck - well if he was in good shape then, he must be now. There is no way in hell he could possibly be reguarded as a lane clogger, if he wasnt when he was a rookie.

Shoulda said it better... yeh, in his time with the Lakers. He was fat. Nut he's been bigger than most in his entire career. I'm not syaing it makes him bad but like how his size is a strength, Yao's height is a strength for himself. He should undertsand that half the reason why he was so dominant was that he was just big. So I don't see why he should say that Yao is 7-6 and doing what he's doing. Can't he just say Yao is better?

[CMJ3]

His rookie days... 15 years ago? Fuck - well if he was in good shape then, he must be now. There is no way in hell he could possibly be reguarded as a lane clogger, if he wasnt when he was a rookie.

First of all i ment was he hasnt been a lane clogger his whole career, even if he is its got him 4 rings and an MVP award so i guess it does work huh?

To score in the key?

As i mentioned above if i gets you 4 rings and an MVP then hell id take that anyday. I'd like to see you score in the key in the NBA.

Great picture btw it makes me laugh when you go to the trouble of finding that over an argument your not even involved in.

[Zoom]

I'd like to see you score in the key in the NBA

I can score an elbow to the head

And CMJ, young Shaq dunked on everyone. But I gotta admit that in his prime, Shaq did everything but shoot threes and free throws. He had the total package... plus his bulk.

[Laxation]

Shoulda said it better... yeh, in his time with the Lakers. He was fat. Nut he's been bigger than most in his entire career. I'm not syaing it makes him bad but like how his size is a strength, Yao's height is a strength for himself. He should undertsand that half the reason why he was so dominant was that he was just big. So I don't see why he should say that Yao is 7-6 and doing what he's doing. Can't he just say Yao is better?

I was being sarcastic... Shaq is pretty much done now. Sure, he is still adequate, but basing an argument around his rookie form to say he is the best is fucking stupid

And CMJ you just dont seem to get it... Yes, Shaq was good. He is no longer as good as he was.
Ive had that picture sitting in favourites waiting for the right moron to use it on, dont feel so special that I went searching for it. Just feel special that you were that moron.

[CMJ3]

I feel worried that you have something like that sitting in your favourites just so you can feel special you used it on someone. Honestly get a life.

Shaq is still intimidating enough to make anyone play crap against him, Yao has faced it for years and now he is starting to overcome it. You dont have to be a good player when you can intimidate someone outta scoring on you.

[Zoom]

Yao never got totally destroyed except for maybe in his rookie year. He's always held his own against Shaq. Shaq v Yao has never been to any extent near Shaq v Olajuwan. Where Shaq gets schooled repeatedly and then eventually started to become better than the teacher. I guess that is also due to the fact that Yao and Shaq have rarely played against each other...

And Laxation, sorry man. I didn't understand what you were saying. Sorry, hope you get what my arguement was though.

[---]

Yao is better than Shaq. But when both players careers are over, Shaq will be the better of the two. Shaq broke down last year and still averaged 20 points and 9.2 rebounds.

I think you guys are forgetting that Shaqs "break down year" (last season) was still just 2 points and 1 rebound from Yao's season statistically.

Yes Yao is having a very good season, but he isn't gonna go for 35/12/5. Once T-Mac gets back into form he will be the main scorer. Shaq was plain unstoppable during his younger days, and while he has lost alot over the years, who can legitimately guard him? No one.

[Zoom]

We're talking about now...

With the two, you can't compare them. They both are different players. Yao is finesse and Shaq is more of a power player. In the end though, Shaq was mroe dominant. Yao will probably remembered for the fact that he is more of a team player.

Also, Yao averaging 35 ppg doesn't need to happen for him to be considered great. Reality is that he will never average maybe even 30 points a game. It's because of how he plays.

[CMJ3]

Also i think you guys are overatting Yao a bit early, i think everyone is. Last year he started off quite well aswell and then he got injured a lot. That is still a possibility this season remember there are still 70+ games left, anything can happen.

[---]

Shaq was more unselfish than Yao ever has been. Remember in LA when Shaq was nearly averaging 4 assists per? Yao has never averaged more than 1.7

[Zoom]

Shaq was more unselfish than Yao ever has been. Remember in LA when Shaq was nearly averaging 4 assists per? Yao has never averaged more than 1.7

Assists aren't an indicator of unselfishness... that's absurd to say that.

In the season where he was closest to 4 assists a game, he was averaging 3.8 APG. In that season, Shaq averaged 21 shots a game and 10.4 from the charity stripe which indicates more shots than the 21 shots per game indicate. Yao Ming is averaging 16 shots a game so far into this season. Last season it was 15. Last season he was going to the line 7 times, this season its just up by 1. It might not look like much to you but it's less.

Furthermore, assists are awarded to the passer if the pass turns straight into points. Shaq had a lot more spot up shooters on his team than Yao has ever had. Shaq had Kobe, Rice, Fox, Horry who were all <40% shooters. Then you have Fisher, Shaw who could also hit the open shot. Yao just doesn't have that kind of support and his Rockets team doesn't have that depth. Shaq has been lucky to have had good rosters and players to work with.

However in his rookie season, he average 1.9 APG and and last season he was also at 1.9. So to use your 'invalid' arguement on you, Shaq is selfish.

And another thing. Yao takes shots that he's going to make. He's shooting at just under 60%. Shaq shot 54% in the season you had stated. Why do I say that? Because it means Yao is now making the same amount of shots on less shots than Shaq did.

Also i think you guys are overatting Yao a bit early, i think everyone is. Last year he started off quite well aswell and then he got injured a lot. That is still a possibility this season remember there are still 70+ games left, anything can happen.

CMJ, Yao finished the season better than he started it. Why do I think he's going to maintain playing at this level? Here's two reasons:

A) He's picking up where he left off last seaosn
B) He's publicly stated that he has learnt how important it is to be aggressive and lead his basketball team.

Sure, anything can happen but I think Yao will play at this level for the whole season. And maybe better.

[Nel]

Mcgrady is the happiest person on the rockets. Imagine playing 9 years alone and doing all the scoring, he can finally sit back and watch. It shows how willingly he is to step back and acknowledge the emerging greatness of yao. This is a good thing for this team as tmac can preserve his body and career.

[Zoom]

Mcgrady is the happiest person on the rockets. Imagine playing 9 years alone and doing all the scoring, he can finally sit back and watch. It shows how willingly he is to step back and acknowledge the emerging greatness of yao. This is a good thing for this team as tmac can preserve his body and career.

McGrady is only willing to step back because he found out that being the individual who can't win sucks. It's lucky he's been there and done that in terms of being the 'star' in Orlando.