YaoMingMania.com

Yao Ming goes up for a jump shot in the first quarter over Portland center Dale Davis on Friday night. Yao scored 21 points and had 9 points, but the Rockets lost to Portland 85-78.

FRIDAY, 11/21/03 - The Rockets lost 85-78 to the Trail Blazers on Friday night in Portland, just as I feared would happen. The Rockets rarely seem to play well there for whatever reason. The Rockets got off to a great start with Yao scoring 10 points (on 4-of-4 shooting), and they led 27-16 after the first quarter. With such a start, we were thinking he was going to have the chance to dominate this game. Just keep feeding the ball to Yao, and he'll go for 40, right? Wrong. That kind of game will have to wait. Instead, he scored 21 points and had 9 rebounds overall. After playing one of their best first quarters of the season (11-of-17 from the field), the Rockets played poorly the rest of the way. The Blazers went on a 13-0 run in the second quarter to tie it at 30-30, and that gave them the opportunity to just wait for Houston's offense to self-destruct. The rest of the way, Houston's shooting was poor -- 19-of-53 -- and they only scored 51 points through the final three quarters. After Yao's hot start, Houston fell behind by 10 points and I really thought they were going to be left for dead. But Yao resurrected them in the fourth quarter on a sequence of three plays starting at the 6:34 mark that brought them back to life (see the Detailed Yao Analysis below) and gave them a chance to tie it. What's extremely odd is that Steve Francis only scored 4 points in this game -- the lowest output in his NBA career -- on 2-of-9 shooting. We're not sure which Francis we want to have play--the one who puts up lots of shots, misses a lot, but scores 20+. Or the player that realizes shooting poorly from the field is detrimental to the team, curtails his shooting when he doesn't have the touch, and acts as a decoy so other players get their shots (as seen with his 7 assists in this game), only to have the other guys not make their shots (like Kelvin Cato, who was 0-for-5). BTW: Francis' point guard counterpart, Portland's Damon Stoudemire, outplayed Franchise by scoring 23 points (8-of-13 shooting) to go with his 7 assists. Cuttino Mobley had a decent game statistically, scoring 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting (3-for-5 from three-point land). But a play with about two minutes remaining typified the frustration the Rockets had with turnovers (16 for Houston, 9 for Portland). Leading by only four points, the Blazers missed a trey, and the ball was coming down to Yao Ming for an easy defensive rebound. With this rebound, the Rockets would have a chance of coming back in the game on the ensuing possession. Unfortunately, Mobley also went after that rebound and knocked the ball out of Yao's grasp, and the ball came down to the Blazers' Stoudemire! That second-chance opportunity for the Blazers would not go wasted. Stoudemire milked the clock so that valuable seconds would elapse, and then he passed to the Blazers Jeff McGinnis, who nailed a trey to put the game virtually out of reach, 81-74. I probably scared everyone in my neighborhood with my reaction on that frustrating sequence. Déjà vu all over again? If I remember correctly, this is how Van Gundy's Knicks team played under his direction. Great on defense, but more of a struggle on offense, even with a big center like Patrick Ewing. I'll take Van Gundy any day as coach, but hopefully the shooting will improve soon. The Rockets next play the dangerous LA Clippers in Los Angeles on Monday. Last year the Rockets lost one of their most heartbreaking losses of the season exactly one year prior (11/24/02) when then-Clipper Eric Piatkowski beat them on a last-second shot. "Pike," who is now cleared to play for Houston on Monday, may finally get some game-action for the first time this season. His presence may just be in the nick of time. Not only is he a great shooter, but also a shooter who had a lot of success in Staples Center draining shots. Any additional advantage the Rockets can get at this moment from a shooting perspective is welcomed. What's also interesting is that former Rocket sharpshooter Glen Rice might play in that game for the Clips. Do you think he's going to be fired up trying to haunt his old teammates, and the coach who traded him almost for nothing? Missed shots Yao could have dunked Over the past 6 games, Yao has only had two missed shot attempts that perhaps should have been dunked. So far, his supposed lack of aggression is a myth. About this chart A lot of people in the media, especially in Houston, seems to be getting on Yao for not being aggressive enough on offense. They say he doesn't call for the ball strongly enough, and that he tries to finesse his shots when he could really dunk them. The first claim may or may not be true. I see him with his hands up plenty of times when the Rockets are on offense, so I don't really have too much of a problem with that part of his game. However, regarding the second criticism of him not dunking the ball, there are many times when I am preparing my Detailed Yao Analysis where I see that Yao really had no chance to go up for a dunk. Yet he'll get criticized for not going up strong with a dunk. It's so easy for a member of the media to jump on a claim that everyone else seems to be chanting, which can become sickening if you know the claim is a myth. Remember last year's comments from the media where everyone thought Yao was a flop, which led to my creation of the 'Expert' Hall of Shame? Well I intend to do the same kind of thing here. To see if everyone is generalizing too much about Yao saying that he should dunk the ball more, I'm going to try to start tracking all the times when Yao misses a shot that could have been dunked. That way we'll have tangible numbers to really see if he's not being powerful enough. I'll also track the number of times he dunks the ball when he DOES have a defender around him, or in his face, in order to give him credit for those times where he is being aggressive around the rim.

1st quarter - Cato jumps for the Rockets on the opening tip.
10:37		With everyone on the Houston offense moving nicely without the ball, Yao gets the ball on the left edge of the lane guarded by Dale Davis. Yao quickly spins toward the basket and puts up a shot off the glass, and IT'S GOOD! Rockets tie it at 2-2.
10:08		On the next possession for the Rockets, Yao gets it on the right edge of the lane guarded by Davis once again. Yao then quickly squares up on Davis (picture is shown above) and launches it over him, and IT'S GOOD AGAIN! Rockets lead 6-4. Yao is 2-for-2 from the floor for 4 points. George Karl, ESPN TV analyst and former NBA coach, remarks, "He's a great shooter. He has great release on the ball, he's so much bigger than anybody. He's going to be a great scorer in this league."
6:54	Free Throws	Jim Jackson bounces a pass to Yao, who is facing toward the basket just outside the right edge of the lane. Yao gathers the ball in, then posts up Davis on the right edge of the lane, spins into the lane and puts up a left-handed hook shot which causes Davis to foul him. Yao makes both free throws, and the score is tied 12-6. Yao now has 6 points.
6:25		From the 3-point line, Cato throws a high pass to Yao, who is flashing into the lane from the left side of the court. Yao goes up high to catch it, comes down, then goes straight up and puts up a right-handed hook shot. The shot hits the iron, then the backboard, and then rattles in! Yao is now 3-for-3 from the field, and has 8 points. Rockets lead 14-8.
4:30		From the three-point lane, Jim Jackson passes the ball to Yao just outside the left edge of the lane. Guarded by 7'0" center Vladimir Stepania, Yao dribbles and goes up for a fallaway jumper as Damon Stoudemire comes over to double-team him, and launches his shot as he is coming down over Stepania's outstretched arm. The ball flies toward the basket and swishes through! That's one of Yao's farthest fallaway shots we've seen, and it was perfect! He is now 4-for-4 from the field with 10 points. The Rockets lead 19-13.
3:58		Yao checks out of the game for Taylor. He has 10 points, 3 rebounds.
1:29		The Rockets are leading 24-15, and Yao and Patrick Ewing are laughing with each other on the bench. That's the second game in a row where we've seen both of them having a good time. It looks like they are becoming good friends.
0:11	Taylor dunks it!	Maurice Taylor skys high for an offensive rebound, grabs it with one hand above the rim, and slams it through with authority! The entire Rocket bench, including Yao, jumps out of their seat when Taylor dunks it! Yao raises his arm in celebration.
2nd quarter - The Rockets shot 61% in the first quarter. Rockets lead 27-16. Yao has 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor. Yao starts the 2nd quarter.
10:30	Free Throws	From the three-point line, Boki Nachbar passes the ball to Yao along the baseline, then Boki clears out so Yao can go to work. Yao then spins to his right, leaving Stepania behind, and heads toward the basket and goes up for a shot, and is fouled hard by Stepania. Yao goes to the line and makes the first free throw, but misses the second. Yao is now 3-for-4 from the line, and has 11 points. Rockets lead 30-17.
9:53		Nachbar misses a point-blank layup, but Yao tries a difficult tip-in as he is flying underneath the basket, but it doesn't go in. To be fair, this shouldn't count against Yao's stats because he was way out of position, and he was lucky enough to get a hand on the ball. There was no way he could really gain possession, so he just tried a difficult tip-in.
5:57	Free Throws	The Blazers have gone on a 13-0 run, and the score is tied 30-30. Yao is dished the ball beautifully from Francis underneath the basket, and he's fouled. He makes both free throws. The Rockets lead 32-30. He's 5-for-6 from the line, and 4-for-4 from the field for 13 points.
4:20		Yao misses a long, uncontested jumper.
4:11		Yao checks out of the game for Cato.
2:14		Yao checks back in for Torraye Braggs.
:42.4		Ruben Patterson is passed the ball just to the left of the basket, goes up for a right-handed baby hook, BUT YAO COMES OVER, TIMES HIS JUMP PERFECTLY, AND SWATS IT AWAY JUST A FOOT AWAY FROM THE RIM OUT OF BOUNDS! When watching it in slow motion, it's a beautiful thing to watch, kind of like ballet or something! With the stoppage in play, Yao checks out of the game.
Halftime - Rockets trail 39-42. Yao has 13 points (4-of-6 from the field, 5-for-6 from the line). Jim Jackson has 14 points. Steve Francis is 1-of-4 for 2 points. Mobley is 2-of-4 for 4 points.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
11:29		Yao misses a fallaway jumper.
10:23		Kelvin Cato gets an offensive rebound to the right of the basket, jumps and puts it off the glass, BUT HE MISSES. However, Yao is on the other side of the rim, catches the rebound, then lays it off the glass for the bucket and cleans up Cato's mistake. Yao now has 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field..
9:10		Yao posts up 6'9" forward Zach Randolph on the right side about 3 feet outside the lane. He dribbles twice to just inside the paint area, is double-teamed, then reverse pivots, goes straight up and launches a little hook shot, and he makes it! When you watch that kind of play, you realize just how much of a mismatch he has against most of his defenders in the league, and it makes you wonder why they don't exploit those mismatches all the time. Yao now has 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The Rockets trail 44-45. ESPN commentator and former NBA player Tom Tolbert says, "Golly. That's like an 8th grader versus a 2nd grader."
7:04		Yao spins and misses a fallaway. Yao is 6-for-10 from the field.
6:46	Bad call!	Dale Davis drives the ball down the left baseline and goes up for either a layup or a dunk, but BOTH YAO AND TAYLOR GO UP TO BLOCK THE SHOT, AND YAO LEGITIMATELY BLOCKS IT AT THE RIM, BUT HE GETS DINGED FOR A FOUL!!
3:44		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets trail 52-55.
:56.6		Yao checks into the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 55-62.
0:6.8	Free Throws	Yao is fouled trying to get an offensive rebound. He makes both free throws. He is 7-of-8 from the line for 19 points. The Rockets trail 57-64.
4th quarter - The Rockets trail 57-64, shooting only 33% from the field at the end of three quarters. Yao is 6-for-10 from the field with 19 points. This game should be going down to the wire.
6:34		Portland's Vladimir Stepania gets delivered a ball on the left baseline, and he goes up for an uncontested dunk, BUT YAO COMES OVER AND JUMPS WITH HIM, THEN BLOCKS THE BALL FROM BEHIND!!! For sure Stepania thought he would have an uncontested shot. The ball bounces off the iron, and the Rockets start a fast break the othe way.
6:25		With the score at 66-71, Yao misses a fallaway from the right baseline. That would have been a big bucket if it had fallen. The Rockets still trail 66-71.
6:02	Good "D"	The Blazers gain possession, and Stepania tries to establish position down low aginst Yao. As he makes his move along the right baseline, Yao follows him closely, then establishes position for just a half-second. That's when Stepania is a little bit too aggressive, and he gets called for charging! YAO IS DOING IT ALL TONIGHT! The entire Rocket bench rises from their seats! ESPN analyst George Karl makes a good comment about the Houston bench: "Look at the Houston bench. They are in a very difficult game, not playing very well, and you have 7 guys standing up 11 games into the season. That shows a lot of good stuff is going on with the Houston Rockets team."
5:45		Trailing 66-71, Moochie Norris bounce passes a ball to Yao in the post on the right side of the lane. However, Yao mishandles the pass, and for a second he loses control of it. This makes Stepania, who is defending him, lunge slightly for the ball. However, Yao is able to gain control of the ball, then sees Stepania is out of position. SO YAO SEIZES THE OPPORTUNITY AND GOES UP STRONG AND SLAM DUNKS IT DOWN HARD WITH AUTHORITY! GREAT AGGRESSIVENESS SHOWN BY YAO! The Rockets only 68-71 now. Yao has now made his mark in this game by making 3 great plays in a row. He's taking over! Yao now has 21 points on 7-of-12 points, and leads all scorers thus far.
1:58	Ouch!	Leading 78-74, the Blazers' Rasheed Wallace misses a trey, and the ball comes down to Yao for an easy defensive rebound. With this rebound, the Rockets have a chance of getting back into the game on the ensuing possession. Unfortunately, Cuttino Mobley also went after the rebound and knocked the ball out of Yao's hands, and the ball came to the Blazers' Stoudemire! This gives the Blazers another 20 seconds to tick off the shot clock. Then Stoudemire finds Jeff McGinnis, who is standing behind the three-point line along the left baseline. McGinnis squares up and launches a trey, and it goes in! That extends the Blazer lead to 81-74 with 1:37 remaining, and the Rockets virtually have no chance of winning.
1:00		Yao checks out of the game, and the Rockets trail 74-83. That's it for Yao, who finishes with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and 7-of-8 shooting from the line. He also finished with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.