Yao Ming Begins to Break out of His Shell

Home>>Sports

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, November 20, 2002

Yao Ming Begins to Break out of His Shell

Yao Ming grinned and grimaced, then shouted not so much in delight or relief but to let loose the intensity he built inside himself.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Yao Ming grinned and grimaced, then shouted not so much in delight or relief but to let loose the intensity he built inside himself.

Before Sunday's breakthrough against the Lakers, Yao had to channel the emotions and motivations of a star, which he had always been before joining the NBA, into determination. Patience had to replace intensity. He watched games start and end from the bench and never questioned his participation, insisting instead that his carefully limited role told him how much he had to learn.

But for almost a week, teammates and Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said they saw a difference in Yao at practices. By Friday and most obviously on Sunday, that difference was in public view and unmistakable.

As determined as Tomjanovich has been to "go slow" with Yao, a position he repeated after Sunday's game, Yao dramatically picked up the pace in the 93-89 win over the Lakers. For the first time in his brief NBA career, Yao was on the floor with the game on the line and won it with a three-point play with a minute left.

With that moment, and a perfect 9-for-9 shooting night, Yao might have gone from working through his growing pains and getting a taste of court time to becoming a player who helps determine if the Rockets win or lose.

"I think he will eventually be that person," Rockets assistant coach Larry Smith said. "The guy has tremendous talent for his size. He's very skilled and a terrific passer. He does things 7-footers normally don't do. He's been really, really fantastic in practice. He's grasping what we're trying to do, scoring, making plays, playing with such aggression we're really happy to see.

"We're just proud of the way he performed yesterday. He did everything we asked of him. He was solid on the offensive end and played good team defense. I thought yesterday was a breakthrough game for him. But every day he's going to get better and better."

If Yao continues to improve at this pace, he'll be Wilt Chamberlain by February.

That is not likely or expected. The Rockets do not expect the "go slow" progress to continue on the fast track of the last two weeks. In his first four games, Yao averaged 2.5 points. In the past four, he has averaged 10, scoring 10 points in Phoenix and 20 in Los Angeles.

"He's not a finished product," Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said. "He's a 22-year-old. He has a lot of work to do. The scary part is how good he can be when he is finished."

On Sunday, Yao made more shots without a miss than any other NBA player has in a game this season. His 22-of-33 (.667) shooting this season would lead the league if he had enough attempts to qualify. He has made 17 of his last 18 shots.

The Rockets will likely continue to determine Yao's minutes based on his play and on matchups. But as he tries to extend his best-game-of-his-career streak to three, the Rockets begin a tour of 7-footers tonight against the Cavaliers and 7-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

They face the unbeaten Mavericks and rejuvenated 7-6 center Shawn Bradley on Thursday. They then go against Brandon Haywood and the Wizards, Michael Olowokandi and the Clippers, Arvydas Sabonis and the Trail Blazers, and Erick Dampier and the Warriors before facing a team, Seattle, that does not give long minutes to a 7-footer. But even the SuperSonics played Jerome James for 20 effective minutes off the bench against the Rockets.

"It's going to be a challenging stretch for us all," Smith said. "I hope he comes out and plays like he did on Sunday. We'll see how it goes. We're excited about it, but it's a really, really tough week for us.

"He just has to get more comfortable with his teammates and the things we're trying to do. So far, he's on a remarkable pace. We've thrown a lot of things at him in a short period of time. And as we all know, he has to get stronger. That will come.

"It's going to take a little time. It's another process for him. He still has to get more familiar with the team, his teammates and the things we're trying to do. But progress has been steadfast. He's learning every day. We'll just bring him along slowly, not do it too fast, take his time and bring him along slow. But we're looking forward to that happening."

Against Ilgauskas, the Rockets face an interesting decision. They get back Kelvin Cato after he missed three games to be with his family following the death of his grandmother. But Cato has not practiced or played in more than a week. Tomjanovich is often hesitant to start players who have been out that long, but he is unlikely to take a starting job away from a player who left only to attend to a family matter.

Jason Collier started the first two games during Cato's absence but did not play against the Lakers on Sunday, when Tomjanovich started Eddie Griffin at center opposite 6-9 Samaki Walker. Yao might seem a suitable matchup tonight, but he has a tendency to draw fouls and could still benefit from watching the opening minutes, especially considering there was no practice on Monday to prepare specifically for the Cavaliers.

But as much as he has preached the virtues of patience, Tomjanovich said Yao is "a quick learner." If anything was clear, Sunday's breakthrough demonstrated he has picked up the NBA way of finishing a play -- and a game.

"We knew he had (skills)," Taylor said. "We want him to get his toughness. We want him to go over everybody. We want him to dunk everything he can. As far as his skill and finesse, we knew he had all the talent in the world. We wanted him to be more aggressive. We want him to be done there and dunk on everybody. And he knows what we say when we say dunk it."

Source: agencies

Questions?Comments? Click here

Yao Ming Shines as Rockets Beat Lakers 93-89

Top Pick Yao Ming Goes Through "a War" in His NBA Debut

Yao Ming Finally Joins the Houston Rockets

Jiang Zemin Wins Respect for Absence in New Party Central Committee ( 2 Messages)

'Three Represents' to Become Party's Mission Statement ( 7 Messages)

Lured by Black Gold-Oil-- under Anti-Terrorism Banner ( 116 Messages)

China Objects US Blockade of Cuba ( 3 Messages)

China's Foreign Trade Totals 500 Billion US Dollars ( 4 Messages)