The Power of Dignity (Feature) A Call for Peace (in National News) Huge Budget Cuts Will Affect APAs at City College (in Bay Area News) Rockets Beat Lakers in Overtime (in Sports) Anti-Abercrombie (in A&E) Golden Stuff Tarnished by Tolbert Race Apology (in Opinion)

Rockets Beat Lakers in Overtime

By Eric Lai | Special to AsianWeek

Photo By AP.

After all the controversy about race-tinged trash talk, after all the hype over the most-eagerly anticipated NBA game this year, what did I learn about Yao Ming after his first matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal last week?

That he’s still too lean. But that he’s developing that little bit o’ mean. And that he’s already an accomplished Shaq-fu blocking machine.

The first five minutes of the game were exhilarating, simultaneously a blast from the past and a forecast into the future. On his first touch, Yao unleashed an unhurried hook shot — a carbon copy of an old-school, ’70s-era Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — over Shaq that arced gracefully and swished. It’s the unstoppable inside move that everyone’s been clamoring for the 7'5" Ming to develop, the final piece in the puzzle that will potentially allow this agile, sure-handed 22-year-old to dominate the NBA for years to come. And in front of tens of millions of fans in America and China, Yao showed he had it.

Yao didn’t stop there: he was eager to let us see what else was in his big bag of offensive tricks. So after out-hustling O’Neal back on offense, Yao got a loping layup in transition. A few possessions later, Yao, as befits the sweetest-shooting center since Tim Duncan, let loose with a mid-range jumper that was nothing but net.

Five minutes into the game, Yao had scored the Rockets’ first six points, while O’Neal had none. Not that the Laker center hadn’t tried — three times he went up for powerhouse slams against Yao and thrice he was rejected. Can anyone remember Shaq being blocked three times by the same man in such a short span of time?

The rest of the game, alas, was less satisfying for Yao fans. Yao jammed his finger mid-way through the first quarter while on defense, which hurt his shooting touch (he shot only five of 14 the rest of the way). Every other part of his body was also suffering from the pounding administered by Shaq, who gives up four inches but is fifty pounds heavier than Yao. Time and again, Shaq bulldozed Yao, even dunked on him, but Yao stood his ground, refusing to fall away, nor declining to flop and draw a foul. All of that colossal effort left Yao depleted by the middle of the second quarter.

The final stat line belonged to O’Neal, who had a Lakers’ high, 31 points and 13 rebounds. Yao, who appeared to be forcing his fadeaway jump shot, ended with a respectable 10 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocked shots. But that included a game-winning dunk in overtime.

Still, Yao, who had shot 9-for-9 against a Shaq-less Lakers earlier in the season, showed that this rivalry is for real. And that behind Shaq’s poor choice of jokes and Yao’s gracious acceptance of the veteran’s apologies, there is a growing respect between the two.

“He’s a nice guy and I have nothing against him,” O’Neal said. “I have no enemies, the Asians, the blacks, the whites, they are all my brothers. This was a good game for Yao. I was maybe trying a little too hard. Yao Ming is my brother.”

Moses Malone, a former Houston Rockets great who watched the game next to another ex-Rockets Hall of Fame center, Hakeem Olajuwon, predicted great things for Yao.

“Yao is just next. MVP to MVP to MVP. That’s the way it should be.”

When Yao was about to come into the NBA, there were two schools of thought. The positive one said that Yao was the most skilled big man to come along in years, if not decades. That he had a great shot, sticky hands, competitive fire and a clear intelligence, all of which added up to unlimited potential. The negative one said that Yao was the next Big Stiff, an ungainly whippet whose future NBA career would only look good when compared to that of other current and seven-and-half-footers like Shawn Bradley, Manute Bol, or, horrors, Gheorge Muresan.

I was one of those people who, if not exactly in the negative camp, was hedging my bets. But increasingly, Yao is putting doubts to rest. A column on ESPN.com claimed that NBA coaches already view Yao as the second-best center in the league.

This may be early, but assuming that the Rockets don’t make it deep into the playoffs this year, there are a few things Yao should already be thinking about to improve on during the coming off-season, to make it a true rivalry with Shaq.

1. Develop the hook shot, not the fadeaway jumper, into your trademark shot. For a seven-footer, that shot is money. Improve it, and your legacy — championships, MVP honors — will one day rival Shaq’s or Kareem’s.

2. Keep working on your comedy act with that Chinese-speaking white guy who is your interpreter. Unlike Shaq, who calls himself an “idiot prankster,” Yao’s quotes are truly funny, up there with the Barkleys and McEnroes. Yao, on why O’Neal didn’t come to his place for dinner before the game: “I don’t think our refrigerator is big enough.” Or here’s Yao, in a prepared statement to journalists at the beginning of the season: “I look forward to taking each and every one of you to dinner sometime in the future. But the check is on you if your reporting makes me look bad.” Not only is Yao a comedian, but, as he showed in the “ching-chong” flap with Shaq, he possesses the diplomatic skills of Colin Powell.

3. Put on some weight! More muscle to make you more explosive and less easy to shove around in the paint. I recommend the sumo wrestler diet — train all morning, have an apprentice (I suggest Chinese national teammate Mengke Bateer, who’s averaging less than a point per game this season while mostly riding the San Antonio Spurs bench) cook you a huge pot of that rich Japanese stew, chanko-nabe, chow down, and then sleep all afternoon. The only problem: you may gain twenty pounds, but it probably won’t be all muscle.