Dunk The Damn Ball

What a menacing sight, eh? Too bad we don't see enough of it.

Houston center Yao Ming has often been faulted for being too soft––for not dominating when he should be kicking the ass of every center in the L. That he doesn't take the ball inside enough, and that he is too much of a finesse player. Hey, I have no problems with a tall dude who can shoot the ball from the outside, I just think it's ridiculous that almost half the made shots of the NBA's tallest player came outside the paint. (See graphic below.)

Don't get me wrong; hitting 9 of 12, or 75% of one's shots, is excellent. But shouldn't more of these come on dunks or something? With his height and his skill, Yao should be imposing his will on the game, and not adjust his to the defenses thrown at him.

I didn't watch the Rockets play the Mavericks last night, so I don't know if the shots Yao took were by design or by force of circumstance. Under new coach Rick Adelman, Yao will be playing more from the high post than in previous years, and if that works, fine. But the only way Yao Ming will cement his place as the L's best center is by doing what centers do best: stuffing the ball down the throats of their opponents. And something tells me the Rockets will be way better when he does.

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images
Graphic taken from ESPN SHOTCHART