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Tough times ahead for Yao?

by Terry Brown

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Chad Ford, ESPN's NBA Insider, is traveling through Eastern Europe this week with NBA international scouting guru Tony Ronzone. Together, they're checking out some of the top European prospects for the 2003 NBA Draft. Follow Ford's trip in his daily journal:

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Welcome to the NBA, Yao Ming. Now go home.

"The first time through the league, they've never seen you before," said Rocket teammate Maurice Taylor to the Houston Chronicle. "But the second time it gets a little tougher. You can expect that. It's going to happen."

Remember when Yao scored 27 points and grabbed 18 rebounds on 10 of 18 shooting on Dec. 3? Well, the San Antonio Spurs do, too.

Or when he scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds on 10 of 12 shooting on Nov. 21? The Mavericks do, too.

Or when he dropped 20 points on the three-time defending champs by shooting 9-of-9 from the field in a stretch that read 31-of-35 shooting? The Warriors, Blazers, Suns and Cavs remember, too.

"The better you are, the tougher it is," said Hall of Famer Bill Walton. "No. 1, when they find out you're really good, they start knocking you around. They start knocking you down and coming after you. You have to learn how to protect yourself, because this isn't about milk and cookies. This is men playing nasty basketball at the highest level for the biggest prize."

Yao Ming

Center

Houston Rockets

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

24 12.7 7.7 1.1 .599 .765

In his first six games of the season, Ming averaged 3.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, totaling two blocks in 85 minutes. In his last eight games, he has averaged 19.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.

"I think it will be tougher the second time around," Yao said. "I'm finding that it's getting more and more physical."

Just ask Stevie Francis of co-ROY fame.

"It was tough, because during my rookie year I was basically more of a driver," said Francis, who scored 18 a game back then. "I was always driving to the bucket, so it really was kind of easy for a team to put together a tape of what I did. That second time [through the league], they get physical, and they set their defenses against you."

On Jan. 17, Yao matches up against the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time, with ornery Shaquille O'Neal replacing vagabond forward Samaki Walker in the paint.

On Jan. 20, Ming faces reigning MVP Tim Duncan in a rematch.

On Jan. 21, the Dallas Mavericks and the best record in the league will have a little something for the Rockets.

"We'll probably be seeing some different defenses, but the good thing about Yao is that he's versatile, and if they double-team, he's a great passer," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "What I'm seeing in Yao is that he's versatile, and it's all about the team. If they [opposing defenses] do something to shift some people over, he's going to hit a teammate [with a pass] for an open shot."

Double-teams. Versatility. Team. In early balloting for the upcoming All-Star Game, Yao trails You-Know-Who by less than a 10,000 points at the center position.

"There are two sides to it," Yao said. "On one side, it would be a great encouragement to me, but on the other side it would be just more pressure. If I make it, I just hope to have some fun."

On Oct. 30 against the Indiana Pacers, in his NBA debut, Yao went scoreless in 11 minutes.

Last Wednesday, in the rematch, he tallied 29 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.

Twenty-four games into the NBA season, we are re-opening the question as to who is the second-best center in the league today. Who knows? In another 58, we may find out that the answer is Shaquille O'Neal .

Yao's easy street due to get mean

Michael Murphy / Houston Chronicle

Rockets' Francis, Yao high in All-Star voting

Michael Murphy / Houston Chronicle

Yao's turnaround is becoming BIG NBA story

Steve Aschburner / Minneapolis Star-Tribune

No one's crying for the Lakers

Who are the Lakers trying to kid?

"Come June, the Kings, Mavs, Nets and Hornets will still get their pants pulled down at the free throw line and we'll be bracing for a confetti dousing," writes New York Post columnist Jay Greenberg. "If The Globetrotters have cut down on the shtick, somebody has to do it. And the Lakers are playing us like Red Klotz."

Remember, he said this AFTER the Lakers got bounced in the Meadowlands, 98-71.

"I'm probably the only guy who can speak from experience about this but after you win a few championships it's real tough to push the guys to that level where they have to go," Laker coach Phil Jackson told the Post. "That's what we're experiencing now . . . Every loss you have, you have to make up two on the other side. It makes us feel like this might be a critical juncture."

Ba-humbug says Greenberg: "It's just so [censored] hard to play over the violins the Lakers want played for a team that they want you to believe has lost its heart. Thirteen days ago, the Mavs were walking off with it, when this maniacal grin came over the Lakers' faces and a 27-point lead disappeared faster than an informant into the Federal Witness Protection Program."

So the jokes on who?

"I think it's a seismograph kind of energy that's coming from the earth," Jackson said smilingly to the New York Times. "Astrologically we don't fit together as a team quite as well as that group did, and the junction of certain planets have kept us apart."

So who, exactly, are they (they being the Lakers) talking to?

"I was just trying to light a fire underneath them," said Kobe Bryant of the tongue lashing he gave to certain unnamed teammate. "It wasn't out of frustration. I think a lot about what I do. So it was important to try and light a fire to try and get them going. Some of them took it the right way and some of them didn't . . . but I was just trying to get him and these guys going. It was never personal."

He said. She said. The fact is, the Lakers are 10-17, including a 2-12 road record that needs every bit of their win against the Clippers at Staples for half of that win total.

Fact is, they just got hammered by a team they swept last season in the NBA Finals, a team that had lost two in a row before handing the Lakers their second loss in a row and fourth in five games, a team that played without its starting center because of injury.

Fact is, there is very little Laker GM Mitch Kupchak can do.

"We are going to let these guys roll and let them figure it out," Kupchak told the Los Angeles Times. "We are not shopping a single person. Not one phone call."

No, not even for Horace Grant or A.C. Green or Sven Nater. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are not walking through that door, Rick Pitino would say. Jerry West works in Memphis these days, where the team has won five of its last seven7.

"They're having a little ... derailment, I guess you can say, for a few games, or whatever, a quarter of the season, and people are going crazy," Nets coach Byron Scott said before the game. "They're still the best team in this league until somebody can prove it differently in June."

That is, of course, if they make it as far as January.

Don't Buy Lakers' Sob Story

Jay Greenberg / New York Post

The Planets Aren't Aligned in Jackson's Universe

Liz Robbins / New York Times

Even Kobe Can't Answer All Laker Questions

Jim Gray / Los Angeles Times

No Bark or Bite, Just a Howler

Mark Heisler / Los Angeles Times

Kupchak: No Deals in Works

Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times

Peep Show

Jermaine O'Neal

Forward-Center

Indiana Pacers

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

25 20.4 10.3 2.2 .486 .755

Indiana Pacers: Power forward Jermaine O'Neal has been downgraded from Yao Ming's poster child to day to day. His moderately sprained left knee will keep him out of tonight's game against the Bulls but not the two weeks initially feared. He hurt the knee against the Rockets after bumping into teammate Brad Miller.

Milwaukee Bucks: "Our team is Flu-ed up," said Milwaukee coach George Karl. Kevin Ollie, Dan Gadzuric, Ronald Murray and assistant coaches Don Newman and Sam Mitchell returned to practice after being sick but were replaced in triage by Ervin Johnson, Joel Przybilla, Michael Redd and injured-list forward Toni Kukoc with the same virus. According to Karl, Przybilla had lost 10 pounds. Also, Jason Caffey sat out Thursday's practice because of a dislocated finger he sustained in the Toronto game.

James Posey

Guard-Forward

Houston Rockets

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

25 14.1 5.8 3.1 .373 .843

Denver Nuggets: Mark Bryant is coming but might be placed immediately on the injured reserve list. Predrag Savovic may be activated off of it. And big man Chris Anderson just had the pins removed from his right thumb and could be ready in about 2½ weeks. Then they can all help make up for the 14 points per game traded away with James Posey. "We're not talking about a player that was shooting a high percentage (37.3)," said coach Jeff Bzdelik.

Seattle SuperSonics: Vitaly Potapenko played his first game of the season Wednesday, sat out Thursday's practice recovering and is ready to go again. "I didn't know what to expect," Potapenko said. "I was nervous that it might get swelled up in the morning, or something worse. But it was a good thing it didn't swell up." He scored 4 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in his debut.

Looking for a quick recovery

Tom Enlund / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Newly acquired Bryant's status uncertain

Staff / Denver Post

O'Neal out of lineup tonight against Bulls

Mark Montieth / Indianapolis Star

Vitaly's sore, but happy

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune