YaoMingMania.com

Scoring one of his 5 field goals, Yao Ming launches a fadeaway jumper over New Orleans' center Jamal Magliore Friday night in New Orleans. The Rockets beat the Hornets 83-74 to improve their road record to 5-6. Yao finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 1 block. (Photo courtesy AP)

FRIDAY, 12/05/03 - The Rockets played one of their best road games of the season, defeating the Hornets in New Orleans 93-84 It was an up-and-down game. They started off sharp and led 23-14 at the end of the first quarter, but then were smothered in the second quarter where they were outscored 29-16 in the second quarter, but played great again in the third (26-12) and hung on in the fourth quarter to win it. The Rockets' shooting was halfway decent -- 44% from the field. And for the second consecutive game, they shot very well from the free throw line (18-of-22 for 82%). They also played great defense, holding the Hornets to 36% shooting and their lowest scoring total of the season. Three-point specialist David Wesley only shot 3-of-11 from the field (two of them shots after the game was already decided), and superstar Baron Davis was held to 6-of-21 shooting by a double-teaming defense. That's saying something considering Davis is putting up Jordan-like rankings by holding high spots in NBA rankings for points per game (3rd), 3-pointers made (1st), assists per game (2nd), and steals (2nd). Yao had a very efficient game, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and scoring 15 points, and grabbing 10 rebounds. He was also aggressive by going up for multiple dunk attempts where he got fouled, resulting in 5-of-6 shooting from the line. Moochie Norris played 11 effective minutes. Although he only scored one field goal, which was a big 3-pointer in the 4th quarter to hold off the hard-charging Hornets, he showed solid ball-handling by not turning the ball over once, he beat the pressuring defense through smart dribbling, distributed the ball effectively, and even blocked a jump shot! With his commitment in the off-season toward getting more trim and fit, Moochie actually seems to be more of a pure point guard than Steve Francis (3-for-12 from the field Friday night), who still tries to hit "home runs" way too often. To Francis' credit, though, he did have 6 assists and was a key contributor to holding Baron Davis to his low scoring output. Maurice Taylor had an excellent game, providing the firepower the Rockets need off the bench. The recipient of many teammates' passes down low, Taylor was an amazing 8-for-10 from the field and scored a season-high 17 points. The investment the Rockets have made in Taylor and the patience they have show with him through his injuries and personal problems off-the-court may finally be paying off. Cuttino Mobley continues to be accurate from the field, shooting 4-for-8 from three-point territory and finishing with 16 points. Kelvin Cato was a monster defensively in the paint, blocking 4 shots. However, he continued to shoot ill-advised fallaways or long jumpers, which is not part of his repertoire. It looks like he may have a bit of Eddie Griffin-itis. Just stick to the dunks, blocks and rebounds, Kelvin...please. Out of nowhere, the Rockets suddenly got the idea of "sharing" the ball in the second half - they were passing more than normal and racked up 20 assists, which is above their average of 17.4 (third-to-last in the league). We even saw our first ally-oop play in ages when Francis found Cato for a slam dunk, just like yesteryear! Next up After losing three in a row on their recent road trip, the Rockets seem to have renewed confidence after consecutively beating two good teams near the top of their division, Utah and New Orleans. The Rockets will continue to struggle on offense this season, but their defense will keep them close or carry them to many victories like on Friday night. I predict they will play well against the Pistons (14-6 and winners of 4 in a row) on Saturday night at home and get a W. Missed shots Yao could have dunked Over the past 12 games, Yao has had four missed shot attempts that perhaps should have been dunked. His supposed lack of aggression still seems to be a myth. However, it would be nice when Yao is fouled on a dunk or layup attempt (and a field goal attempt is not recorded), if he could power through the foul and finish the shot for an "AND-1" opportunity. About this chart A lot of people in the media, especially in Houston, seem 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 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 - Kelvin Cato jumps the opening tip for the Rockets.
9:43	Free Throws	On a semi-fastbreak, Francis throws a pass up court to Kelvin Cato just beyond half-court. Cato dribbles twice to the free throw line and throws a pass to Yao on the baseline along the right edge of the lane. Yao goes up to dunk it right-handed, but P.J. Brown comes flying from behind to block it! Yao should try to dunk these shots with two hands rather than one! Yao gets the rebound in front of the basket, pump fakes to get Brown up in the air, and is fouled by Brown on the way down. Good thing he was fouled, because Brown was able to block his shot immediately afterwards, but it doesn't count because of the foul beforehand. Yao goes to the line and makes both free throws, and the Rockets lead 7-2.
7:30		Francis passes the ball to Yao along the left edge of the lane, and Yao immediately spins toward the hoop between two defenders and scoops a shot off the glass for the bucket! This was kind of a funny play to watch because Yao is so tall, he didn't even have to jump to lay it off the glass! Yao is 1-for-2 from the field and has 4 points. The Rockets lead 9-4.
6:52		From the right corner, Jim Jackson passes the ball to Yao on the right edge of the lane. Without any hesitation, Yao spins and shoots a fallaway jumper that's perfect! We love it when Yao doesn't hesitate or pump fake because it ends up not giving the defense time to react. Yao now is 2-for-3 and has 6 points. The Rockets lead 11-4.
4:15		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets lead 16-10.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets lead 23-14. The Rockets shot 47% from the field, whereas the Hornets only shot 24%. Yao has 6 points on 2-of-3 shooting. Cato starts the quarter in place of Yao.
8:51		Yao checks into the game for Cato. Houston leads 25-21.
7:01	Turnover	From the left sideline, Eric Piatkowski delivers a pass to Yao about 7 feet from the left edge of the lane. Yao dribbles once then pivots quickly and beautifully just to the left of the basket with only one defender on him. To fake the defender out, Yao pump fakes, but he ends up shuffling his foot just slightly and is called for traveling! This is a legitimate travel call. Yao should not pump fake but instead just power through any block attempt and take the foul, then concentrate on slam dunking the ball after the foul.
5:50	Foul on Yao	Yao is jockeying for position with Steve Smith under the basket for a rebound as the Hornets' Baron Davis shoots a baseline jumper. Smith shoves Yao in the chest with his right forearm as the ball is in the air. Not taking too kindly to it, Yao rapidly lifts his right arm to get Smith's arm off him, and the refs call a technical foul on Yao! Terrible call! He was just getting Smith off him! Even coach Jeff Van Gundy is seen mouthing these words to the ref: "That's a bull**** call!" Yao shows great restraint by walking away from the situation that could have become volatile. By the way: the Hornets have gone on a 17-5 run and now lead 31-28.
5:25		Yao checks out of the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 30-31.
3:44		Yao checks back into the game for Cato. The Rockets trail 32-35.
1:24	Assist	Yao gets the ball about 3 feet outside the right edge of the lane. Double-teamed, he sees Cuttino Mobley all the way on the other side of the court behind the 3-point line, and whizzes a perfect pass to the Cat. Mobley squares up calmly and drains the trey! Great assist by Yao, and great conversion by Mobley! The Rockets now only trail 37-38.
Halftime - The Hornets outscore the Rockets 29-16 in the second quarter to lead 43-39 at halftime. The Rockets are shooting 38% from the field, but New Orleans is only shooting 37%. Houston has 8 turnovers compared to 2 turnovers for the Hornets. Yao is 2-for-3 from the field and has 6 points.
3rd quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
10:14	Free Throws	Yao tips an offensive rebound to himself just to the left of the basket and tries to lay it in off the glass, but he is fouled and misses. It would be nice if Yao could score on these shots where he is fouled. The fouls actually bail him out, but I'm greedy -- I want the three-point plays! Yao makes the first free throw, but misses the second. He now has 7 points (3-for-4 from the line).
9:50		Cuttino passes the ball to Yao about 2 feet outside the left edge of the lane, and is only guarded by Jamal Magliore. Yao hesitates for just one second, then immediately spins baseline on Magliore, dribbles once towards the basket, jumps high using both feet, then kisses a layup off the glass using the right-hand! We haven't seen that spin move along the baseline in quite awhile! Houston trails 42-43. Yao has 9 points and is 3-for-4 from the field.
8:46		On a rare Rockets fast break, Steve Francis is dribbling the ball up the left sideline, takes a couple of steps inside the three-point line, then lofts a perfect pass to Cato above the rim for a much-awaited ALLY-OOP SLAM DUNK! That must be the first ally-oop for the Rockets in weeks! I mention it here because it's such a rarity these days! The Rockets lead 44-43.
8:30	Intimidation	The Hornets' George Lynch gets the ball on the right baseline. He decides to drive to the basket where Yao is standing. Yao holds his ground and actually leaves Lynch with nowhere to go underneath the basket. Lynch then tries to desperately lay it up off the glass, but Yao easily blocks it! George, don't drive the basket on Yao! A few seconds later Baron Davis decides to drive down the middle of the lane and float one over Yao, but as he gets closer he sees how big Yao is and puts up a panicky shot that misses badly! Great intimidation by Yao just standing there!
5:40		Yao misses a jumper on the right edge of the lane. The problem is he double-pumped again, then leaned in and threw up a wild shot that didn't draw iron. If Yao had just shot his normal fadeaway jumper, he would have had a better chance of scoring.
4:27		Yao gets the ball outside the left edge of the lane, dribbles twice into the center of the lane, then lofts a beautiful right-handed hook shot that SWISHES THROUGH THE NET! NICE! Yao has 11 points and is 4-for-6 from the field. The Rockets lead 53-48.
3:56		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor.
4th quarter - The Rockets outscore the Hornets 26-12 in the third quarter, and they lead 65-55. They had 9 assists in the quarter, moving the ball around and hitting alot of their shots. Yao has 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Taylor starts the quarter for Yao.
10:07		Yao checks into the game for Cato. The Rockets lead 65-67.
6:00		Moochie Norris dribbles the ball up the court on the pressing Darrell Armstrong. Moochie dribbles to the three-point line, then shifts to his right by dribbling through his legs, and Armstrong falls to the floor on Moochie's wicked crossover move! Moochie then takes a couple of steps to the free throw line area and bounces a pass to Yao on the left edge of the lane. Before the ball gets to Yao, Armstrong (who is still trying to get to his feet) tries to teach and deflect the bounce pass, and he falls to the floor again! Kind of funny to watch! After receiving the ball, Yao takes two giant steps toward the basket and goes up for a one-handed slam, but he's fouled by two Hornet players. Yao was able to get his hand to the rim, but the ball popped out. To his credit, it was a feat to fight through the fouls to even have a chance to dunk it. Yao makes both free throws. He is now 5-for-6 from the line and has 13 points. Moochie should also be congratulated on beating the pressing defense and delivering a perfect pass to Yao. The Rockets lead 72-62.
1:42		Yao gets the ball about 3 feet outside the right edge of the lane, guaded one-on-one by Magliore. Yao dribbles once toward the lane, but reverse pivots toward the baseline and shoots a fadeaway jumper...AND SCORE THE BUCKET! That basket just about seals the Rockets' victory! Yao is on target tonight with his accuracy! The Rockets lead 79-68, and they go on to win 83-74. Yao finishes with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.