His offense was merely adequate. A few spin moves in the low post. A put-back of his own missed layup. A step-in that forced a foul. Nothing special here. Yao is still slow to the hoop, although he is learning to seal his man on his back in the low-post. Still, there are too many times when his moves simply aren't aggressive. (Only one rebound, wrestled from a brace of Celtics in the third quarter demonstrated any degree of feistiness.) There was one play in the third quarter that was especially telling: On a switch created by a S/R, Yao had terrific inside position a foot away from the rim while being defended by 6-0 Dan Dickau. But what did the 7-6 Yao do when he received a perfect entry pass? Kick the ball back out to Juwan Howard, who hit a jumper. Assists are wonderful, but even better are dunks over midgets. Twice Yao failed to meet entry passes and the ball was stolen away. Once he wasn't ready for an entry pass from T-Mac, a brain-lock that violated a basic principle of offense — ALWAYS expect a pass. He did set several effective screens — and only three of them were illegal. But during his entire NBA career, refs have always been hesitant to whistle Yao for moving screens. Yao's defense was likewise no more than adequate. After showing on a first-quarter S/R, he got lost and wandered around in the lane, not knowing what to do or where to go. He failed to throw a hand when 6-4 Delonte West pulled up in close proximity to shoot (and make) an 8-foot jumper. He diligently attempted to box out his opposite number, but routinely got shoved underneath the hoop. Young Al Jefferson did this to him on several occasions. When opposing centers take the ball straight at Yao, his outstretched arms are usually sufficient to force them to change the resulting shots. But when opposing centers can make spin and reverse moves, then Yao usually doesn't have the lateral quickness to bother them without fouling. Neither Jefferson nor Kendrick Perkins have mastered change-of-directions pivot moves, so Yao was indeed a force in the paint against the Celtics. Several of his rotations were late, and one was particularly damaging. This was in the fourth quarter when he was tardy and poorly positioned (below the charge-block arc) when Brian Scalabrine drove headlong into the lane. That's when Yao forgot the one basic and universal principle of playing defense in every level of competition, from the schoolyard to the NBA. Never play defense with your face. Yao can shoot. He's smart. Has a soft touch. Is huge. And is an all-around nice guy. But he's incredibly slow off his feet. Has incredibly slow hands. Can't move laterally with any haste. And is much too passive. (He was nailed with a technical foul for giving West a love tap after West had been tooted for a T for fouling David Wesley after the whistle.) All in all, it's absolutely appropriate that T-Mac gets the top-billing in Houston's offense, and Yao is only a secondary star.
