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The Emergence of Yao
Rockets center has become more assertive on offensive end
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Before showing up for Saturday's game against the Rockets, Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas had been hearing rumors about Yao Ming's emergence.
He found out Saturday that all the talk isn't just a bunch of gossip.
"He has gotten stronger and more confident with his game," said Ilgauskas, a two-time All-Star. "They are going through him a lot more now and he is very hard to defend. He is their go-to guy now.
He certainly is.
In his fifth NBA season since becoming the first international player selected with the top pick, Yao has asserted himself as a stronger and more confident offensive force heading into Tuesday's home date with the Golden State Warriors.
The Rockets (11-5) are off to their best start in a decade behind the center and are pounding the ball inside to their big man with increasing frequency.
Yao, of course, is responding.
The 7-foot-6 center is riding the best start of his NBA career and was recently named the Western Conference's Player of the Month for November. He was the Rockets' first player to earn the honor since Hakeem Olajuwon in Feb. 1995.
Through the first 16 games of the season, Yao's numbers are up in almost every category. He leads all NBA centers in scoring with 25.6 points per game and has already posted seven double-doubles.
The numbers, however, don't tell the full story about Yao's emergence.
The biggest change in the game of the Rockets center is that he has embraced becoming the focal point of Houston's offense. He demands the ball in the post and wants to be the guy carrying the offensive load.
Yao's time has arrived.
"He is playing with a ton of confidence right now," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "Yao wants to carry us and he has the ability to carry us."
The Rockets' big man has proved it over and over again during the first month of the season.
Besides coming up big in a matchup against Miami's Shaquille O'Neal and matching a career-high with seven blocks against the Knicks, Yao had another impressive outing when he took over Saturday's game after Tracy McGrady left with a mild concussion. He scored 20 points in the first half on his way to a 24-point performance, pushing the Rockets to a big halftime advtange. Even though his numbers went down in the second half, Yao threw down a dunk late in the fourth quarter over Anderson Varejao and made a pair of dazzling passes to seal the victory.
Yao said after Saturday's game that he needs to take over games down the stretch for his team to be successful.
"I said that I think I need to do more," Yao said. "I need to do more when
Yao, of course, has been criticized in the past for not being so assertive in such situations.
Rocket coach Jeff Van Gundy has never given such criticism much merit, but said that the Rockets center has been working hard to develop his game.
"He has more opportunities, but he is creating them for himself," Van Gundy said. "He's playing more minutes because of better conditioning and less foul trouble and our players are searching him out more regularly. He's gotten a little bit better each week and each month that's he's been in the NBA. You take that over a four-year period and he's made major improvements. I don't think it's just this year. I don't think it was at the end of last year. I think it was from his first game in the NBA and then on because of his work ethic."
Yao is getting recognition now for that development.
Besides earning the Western Conference's Player of the Month award, Yao is among a handful of names being mentioned as an possible MVP candidate.
Yao is ignoring such talk -- for now.
"I was very excited (about being player of the month), but I can only worry about today and tomorrow," Yao said. "That was the best month I've had since I've come into this league. I just want to continue to play well."
