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Yao vs. Lakers - 4/1/04

DEFLATION! Yao goes up against Shaq on Thursday night, but Yao had one of his worst games as a pro shooting only 3-for-15 from the field and scoring 6 points. As a result, the Rockets lost 93-85 to the Lakers. To see more photos from the game in the YaoMingMania.com discussion forum, click here. (Photo courtesy AP).

THURSDAY, 4/1/04 - If someone had told me this kind of game was coming, I would have thought they were an April Fool. After Yao's last two games against Shaq, we thought he had gotten over the hump and had figured out a way to give Shaq lots of problems on the defensive end. But after making his first shot attempt of the game in Thursday night's Yao vs. Shaq matchup, Yao would only make two out of his next fourteen shots to finish 3-for-15 from the field. End result: the Rockets lost a game they could have won, losing 93-85 Thursday to the LA Lakers.

Let's face it. With all the mistakes and turnovers the Rockets usually make (along with poor rebounding -- getting outrebounded 58-25), which they did true-to-form in this game, this loss can be pinned just as much on Yao's performance.

It's very rare we say that because he rarely has this kind of night. However, we have come to expect so much from this 23-year old whiz kid in such a short amount of time. Is it really fair that we expect a second-year pro to put a team on his back when his team has players who make much more money than him, and have been in the league much longer? We don't expect nearly as much from those guys as we do from Yao, except maybe Steve Francis.

We know Jeff Van Gundy expects a lot more from Yao because he thinks if Yao is going to be one of the all-time greats, then he needs to perform at a high level in big games. It's not like Yao got dominated by Shaq, despite Shaq saying after the game he is still the most dominant center. I wouldn't exactly say 7-for-17 from the floor and 4-for-10 from the free throw line is a dominating performance, Big Man. But he did make a defensive adjustment by just stepping closer to Yao so that he had to either shoot a fallaway jumper or dribble away from Shaq in order to get a shot off. I wouldn't advise Shaq to say he is a dominant player just because he is moving a step closer to the man he is guarding. The way for Yao to counteract that kind of defensive tactic in their next matchup is to just throw over the top of Shaq to a cutter in the lane, or just perfect those fallaway jumpers over big 7-footers.

Yao had the following comment after the game about Shaq's influence on his shots:

"He (Shaq) put a lot of pressure on me at the beginning of the game and didn't give me a lot of space to adjust my shot. I think he had a big effect. But in the latter part of the game, he came off, and I couldn't put the ball in the hole. It's just one game. You're always going to have bad games."

With this loss, though, the season is not over. The Rockets are on track to make the playoffs barring another collapse like last year. And they have a big game in Denver on Friday night - a game I predict they will lose because so much is at stake for the Nuggets to remain in the playoff hunt. And those fans at Pepsi Center go crazy once Carmelo gets on a roll, which can be hard for visiting teams to overcome.

But Yao has a chance to prove how great he is by proving how well he can snap back after a poor performance, which he usually does. He also has a chance to put this team on his back once again and overcome adversity in a hostile arena.

I don't have much time to talk about the other player performances in this game since it was a late-starting game, but I do have to give credit to Cuttino Mobley (26 points on 12-of-23 shooting) for having a great game. Several times he burned his man, usually Kobe Bryant, to catch lead passes and make several layups. But it wasn't enough to stop LA's winning streak, now at 10 games. Meanwhile, the Rockets have lost 3 of their last 4 games, with all three losses coming against Western Conference playoff teams.

Detailed Yao Analysis
vs. LA Lakers - 4/01/04

1st quarter
11:06	Assist	Out near the three-point line, Yao sets a screen for Mobley. Mobley comes around the pick, stops behind the three-point line and fakes a shot attempt, which gets Kobe to commit and jump in the air. Cuttino then passes it to Yao instead of taking the shot, and Yao passes it back to Cuttino who drives down the middle of the lane and scores on a layup! Yao gets a sweet assist! The Rockets lead 2-0.
10:28		Yao gets the ball a couple of feet outside the left edge of the lane, then squares up on Shaq, pump fakes, dribbles once, then reverse pivots toward the baseline and launches a high rainbow jumper over Shaq along the left baseline, AND SWISH! Yao is perfect on a beautiful high-arching shot! The Rockets lead 4-0. Yao sprints back the other way and seems to have alot of energy tonight!
9:50		Yao misses a leaning fallaway right-handed hook shot in the lane and misses way short. Yao is now 1-for-2 from the floor. The Rockets lead 4-2.
9:18		Long shoots a long jumper from just inside the three-point line, and it misses long. Yao is now 1-for-3 from the floor with 2 points. The game is tied 4-4.
3:52		Yao picks up his second foul after fouling Shaq intentionally once Shaq got great position down low next to the basket. It appears that Yao didn't realize he already had one foul on him. So Yao has to check out of the game for Charles Oakley. The Rockets lead 17-13.
:2.6		Yao checks into the game for Charles Oakley since the Rockets have the ball for the last possession of the quarter.
2nd quarter - At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets lead 23-18. Cuttino Mobley has hit 7 of his first 8 shots for 15 points! The Lakers only shot 4-of-15 from the field, but made 10-of-13 free throws while the Rockets didn't go to the line once.
11:46		Yao misses a jumper on the left side of the court from long distance -- almost at the three-point line. Yao is now 1-for-4 from the field. The Rockets lead 23-18.
11:17		Yao rises high along the left edge of the lane and puts up a jumper, but he misses again! That's Yao's fourth straight miss in a row. He is now 1-for-5 from the field.
8:52		Yao misses a turnaround jump shot from near the left elbow of the lane. He is now 1-for-6 from the field, and the Rockets lead 27-24.
5:55		Yao gets the ball in the lane with Shaq guarding him one-on-one. Yao goes straight up and puts up a right-handed jump hook, but it goes in-and-out for the miss! Yao is now 1-for-7 from the field. The Rockets trail 29-30.
5:37		Yao checks out of the game for Maurice Taylor. The Rockets trail 29-32.
3:32		Yao checks into the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. The Rockets trail 33-39.
3:03		Gary Payton gets the ball in the lane and tries to scoop a shot in, but Yao blocks it! It doesn't matter, though, since the loose ball comes down to Karl Malone on the wing, who passes to Shaq for an ally-oop slam dunk.
2:24		Steve Francis throws a perfect bounce pass to Yao in the paint, and Yao catches the pass so that he can use his body to shield himself from Shaq and other Lakers, and Yao lays it in off the glass for the score! That's his first field goal in 7 attempts. Yao is now 2-for-8 from the field with 4 points. The Rockets trail 38-44.
1:31		Yao misses a shot leaning to his right in the lane over Shaq. Yao is 2-for-9 from the field with 4 points. The Rockets trail 38-46.
1:15		On a Rockets fast break, Jim Jackson gets the ball in the left corner and is guarded by Devean George, then JACKSON SEES YAO STREAKING DOWN THE COURT INTO THE LANE WAY AHEAD OF SHAQ, AND JACKSON THROWS A NO-LOOK PASS TO YAO WHO GOES IN FOR THE SLAM DUNK! Yao is NOW 3-for-10 from the field with 6 points. They trail 40-46.
1:02		Yao checks out of the game for Clarence Weatherspoon. The Rockets trail 40-46.
Halftime - At the end of the second quarter, the Rockets trail 40-47. The Lakers ended the second quarter on a 15-8 run. While everyone is walking back to the locker room, Jeff Van Gundy was very upset at one of the officials and had to be restrained by Rockets trainer Keith Jones.
3rd Quarter - Yao starts the quarter.
11:00		Yao misses a fallaway jumper along the left baseline over Shaq. He is now 3-for-11 with 6 points. The Rockets trail 40-47. After this miss, though, the Rockets hit two three-pointers and another basket to go on an 8-0 run and take the lead 48-47!
6:04	Good defense!	Shaq gets the ball in the lane and spins quickly around Yao and puts up a layup attempt which he misses! However, the rebound comes down to Shaq in front of the rim and he goes up for a one-handed slam, BUT YAO GETS HIS HAND UP TO MAKE SHAQ MISS THE DUNK! HAHA!
4:14		Yao misses another baseline jumper over Shaq. Yao is now 3-for-12 from the field. The game is tied 59-59, and it's amazing this game is tied with all the shots Yao has been missing tonight!
2:40	Bad turnover!	Yao gets a rebound underneath the basket, but for some reason he is leaning backwards and doesn't try to gain his balance. As he is falling out of bounds, Yao is forced to pass the ball prematurely and he tries to throw it to Steve Francis but throws it away to Kobe instead, and Kobe takes it down the lane and dunks it! What a bad mistake by Yao. And that turnover could be a big momentum-turner. The Lakers now lead 64-59. That one hurt!
1:56		Yao checks out of the game for Charles Oakley. Houston trails 61-64.
4th Quarter - At the end of three quarters, the Lakers lead 67-66. The Lakers shot only 6-of-23 from the field in the third quarter, whereas the Rockets shot 9-of-17 to outscore the Lakers 26-20. Shaq was 1-for-6 from the field in the quarter.
10:25		Yao checks into the game for Charles Oakley.
9:49		Yao misses a fallaway jumper over Shaq along the left baseline. That shot was short, so perhaps Yao is getting tired? He is now 3-for-13 from the field with 6 points.
6:14		Yao steps across the lane and misses a jump hook over Shaq. Yao is now 3-for-14 from the field with 6 points.
5:20		Yao misses a jump hook in the lane again that was so badly shot, it was basically a brick and a prayer put together. But the Rockets are still only down 71-78. But the Rockets can't close the gap despite having their chances. Turnovers and poor rebounding are their main problem tonight, as well as Yao's poor shooting. Yao finishes with 6 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the field. He also had no free throw attempts!