April 24, 2009 11:00 am  |  47 Comments

What It’s Like to Guard Yao


Not exactly a boatload of fun, according to Blazer bigs: “Tiring,” Portland’s 7-foot Greg Oden said on the eve of Game 3 of the Portland-Houston playoff series. “Ain’t nothing else you can say. He’s very strong, even for being that big. He’s just a mammoth man. You have to try to use your quickness and mix up the way you play him.” Asked if it is fun to face Yao, Blazer center Joel Przybilla laughed. “What do you think?” he asked. “My wife says, ‘Don’t hit him too much.’ But you can’t give him an inch, and you have to do it from the start. If you let him start beating on you, he’ll get the calls. You have to hit him first. That’s one thing I learned from Tuesday’s game. When you go against him, it requires total concentration through the whole game.”

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This story is filed under: NBA, Other News, Playoffs 2009

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  • mat smith Posted: Apr.24 at 11:05 am
    And to think what was said when the great wall entered the NBA…. glad he proved the doubters all wrong.

  • Jukai Posted: Apr.24 at 11:29 am
    Uh, wasn’t “what was said” suppose to be that Yao would be the next Hakeem?

  • Allenp Posted: Apr.24 at 11:44 am
    Nah, he was called soft.
    He ain’t soft anymore. He’s still pretty slow, but he ain’t soft at all. He just can’t jump anymore.

  • nate the great Posted: Apr.24 at 11:51 am
    Go Blazers, Dont give Yao anything tonight.

  • IndyB. Posted: Apr.24 at 11:52 am
    anymore?

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 12:06 pm
    Jukai, lol who said that? I’ve never heard that before…

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 12:10 pm
    and apparently Przybilla’s hits get around..

  • Tyrone Shoelaces Posted: Apr.24 at 12:12 pm
    I have been nothing but impressed with Yao’s progression and am not suprised to hear stories about how tough it is to guard him. His post game as been amongst the best in the league the past couple years, but now he’s added that 15-18 ft range as a reliable shot in his arsenal as well, and if you factor in not being able to bail your team out with a hack-a-Yao mentality due to his extremely consistent foul shooting, you are looking at potentially the most unguardable player in the league (next to Kob and Lebron of course). I see no reason why Houston shouldn’t have at least a couple Finals appearances in the near future.

  • Mendel Posted: Apr.24 at 12:30 pm
    Basically Yao has some kung fu like focus and constant drills he trys to run all game without letting up at any time.

  • playboy Posted: Apr.24 at 12:43 pm
    so good and so dominant that he’s yet to be outta the first rounnd. Im not talking about tmac. but cmon 7′6 mammoth man cant get outta the first round by himself. another overrated nba player.

  • WhaHuh Posted: Apr.24 at 1:08 pm
    Odens quickness? I laughed

  • Coach Master Posted: Apr.24 at 1:43 pm
    …wussies…

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 2:05 pm
    AND he’s deaf in one ear..

  • Anton Posted: Apr.24 at 3:07 pm
    “Oden jamming it down strong”
    “If you get 6 poitns in a game, you shouldn’t be on the highlight reel”

  • Rome Posted: Apr.24 at 3:08 pm
    LEts remember, his opponents said all of this, and mammoth man aint even getting the rock like he should….imagine if he actually got the rock consistently…
    I love yoa, I just wish he would take over, be more Shaq, less Dirk…

  • Witness Posted: Apr.24 at 3:36 pm
    WTF? Yao is a beast. Oden and Pryzbilla are top notch defenders. If they have this much trouble guarding him then im sure Yao isnt overrated.

  • Witness Posted: Apr.24 at 3:38 pm
    The Blazers dont need to be worried about Yao tonight. Its the other guys who are gonna come up big. Mark my words. The toyota center isnt the best place to come in and play for opposing teams.

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 3:47 pm
    witness, Yao actually averages more pts at home, shoots better, and gets called for less fouls, so they should be worry about him some

  • Witness Posted: Apr.24 at 3:51 pm
    Thats not what im sayin. Have you seen the Rockets play at home?
    The role players look like theyre runnin drills sometimes. But then again Yao takes alot of the pressure off of his teammates.

  • Peach B. Posted: Apr.24 at 4:03 pm
    I love that Przybilla’s wife is giving him advice on guarding Yao.

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 4:16 pm
    the rockets as a whole play better at home, higher %, higher scoring, their defense is a lot better, they held their opp to like 41% shooting since the trade deadline…it’s a balanced attack, but Yao still contributes a bigger piece of the pie, so you gotta worry about him too

  • TADOne Posted: Apr.24 at 4:22 pm
    Um, I think all teams play better at home, RV. Unless, of course, you are the Pistons. Just ask Tayshaun Prince.

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 4:45 pm
    tad, i wasnt just trying to states the obvious, i wrote it in response to Witness implying its Yao’s teammates who only play better at home.

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 4:47 pm
    and the rockets actually have a recent history of playing slightly better or the same on the road, this year they changed it up and truly have a homecourt advantage like playoff teams should have.

  • Z Posted: Apr.24 at 4:48 pm
    Yao was overrated, then underrated and now people have a fair appreciation of his game. When he came to the league, people were not saying that he could be the next Dream but POSSIBLY THE BEST BIG TO EVER PLAY THE GAME. I remember. Then he kinda disappointed people and they called him soft. Now, he is what he is : 20-10 with 2 blocks. Not GOAT numbers but still very very solid.

  • kwame Posted: Apr.24 at 5:12 pm
    yao is good, i just don’t know how much longer he will last…he is quite brittle…i mean…if he gets the summer off he’ll be a lot better…im still waiting for the next big thng in china cuz SUN YUE and Yi JIANLIAN are scrubbing it up right now

  • mat smith Posted: Apr.24 at 5:15 pm
    “people” also said Kw*lame*e Brown was going to be the next Shaq, tuttututututututut….

  • what Posted: Apr.24 at 8:24 pm
    Yao is still underrated… if his idiot teammates would force feed him the ball like they should be doing he would be putting up monster numbers.

  • RV Posted: Apr.24 at 8:59 pm
    force feed? You don’t force feed an entry pass into a center who’s being doubled and is using both hands to keep other guys’ hands off..unless you want to hit him in the face.

  • Holy Baller Posted: Apr.25 at 12:54 pm
    Exactly RV. Did no one watch when the Rockets played the Jazz a few years back. That’s exactly what happened. They force fed Yao and Kirkelenko came over on the double and stuffed him damn near every time.

  • doyouwantmore Posted: Apr.25 at 3:59 pm
    Yao has a physically imposing presence, body memory like Tim Duncan, shoots well, consistent free-throw guy, mentally strong, high b-ball IQ…and no killer instinct.

  • Nikki Posted: Apr.25 at 8:12 pm
    yao is <3

  • nba-jersey-king Posted: Apr.26 at 4:59 am
    @ mat smith - Kwame Brown is almost like Shaq - he has played on about 4 teams now….

  • ab_40 Posted: Apr.26 at 5:07 pm
    mat they said he would be a mix of TD and KG but probably a little more athletic CWebb with less of a passing game. not the next shaq… they said eddy curry would be the next shaq not kwame brown… come on now. And Yao is hard to guard he’s gained at least 40 pounds of muscle since entering the L and allthough his flexibility has decreased he’s still very nimble and move fairly easy for a man that big. and yeah any guy who’s 7′6 315 with a jumper and a post game is hard to guard

  • Quail Posted: Apr.26 at 8:14 pm
    i hate yao. with as big and strong as he is, he should lead the league in points, rebounds, and blocks. and be in the tops in steals.

  • dma Posted: Apr.26 at 11:29 pm
    worst officiated series ever.

  • Chuck Posted: Apr.27 at 5:24 am
    @ab_40: sorry to call you out, but where the heck did you hear that? how can a 7′5 giant be as athletic as CWebb or KG? I mean, Yao is nimble for a big, but KG and CWebb in his prime were freaks of nature. That was the weirdest comparison made to Yao that I’ve ever heard

  • Hursty Posted: Apr.27 at 6:47 am
    dma- its almost comical that Yao can get beat down on so badly by Oden and Pryzbilla and not get the calls, while any time there’s contact while HE’S defending it’s an instant foul.
    The referee’s were much better in the first quarter, CALLING those fouls today, and subsequently Oden and Ghostface both had 2 relatively quickly.

  • RV Posted: Apr.27 at 1:10 pm
    no game recap? Meh…

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Apr.27 at 1:24 pm
    RV, our guy was at the game but lost his computer. Truly.

  • rob Posted: Apr.27 at 1:55 pm
    YAOOOOOOOOOO MINGGGGGG FOR 333333333333

  • Rubens Borges Posted: Apr.27 at 1:56 pm
    yao is no george muresan

  • rob Posted: Apr.27 at 1:56 pm
    soon enough he’ll be knockin down 22 ft J’s in yo facee

  • RV Posted: Apr.27 at 2:14 pm
    Ryne, must of been due to the toyota center fans rioting after the game….NOT…i hate our corporate fans..and I hate our lack of a homecourt advantage..well we got some, doesnt compare to the rest of the league though..

  • chintao Posted: Apr.27 at 11:18 pm
    You guys with all your comparisons. Everybody got it wrong. Yao was supposed to be the next Jordan, but he suffered too many injuries. Otherwise, he definitely would have revolutionized the game of basketball.

  • Dacre Posted: Apr.27 at 11:54 pm
    As much as “ol Greg” and “ghostface” extol the energy required to D up on Ming Dynasty…T-Mac likes the chances of the Blazers getting a W in the Toyota centre tonight.

  • Phil Posted: May.1 at 1:00 pm
    Here’s what was said about Yao when he first came into the league: http://www.yaomingmania.com/blog/bad-predictions-about-yao

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