Rockets ready to strike where Yao takes them |
文章来源： 文章作者： 发布时间：2006-10-30 08:04 字体： [ 大 中 小] 进入论坛 |
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| Yao Ming(L) of the Houston Rockets pulls down a rebound1 as Shaquille O'Neal(R) of the Miami Heat watches during a preseason game on 25 October 2006 at the American Airlines Arena2 in Miami Florida. Yao seeks to establish himself as the National Basketball Association's premier3 big man and as long as he stays healthy this season could very well be his coming-out party. |
| LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30 - Yao Ming seeks to establish himself as the National Basketball Association's premier big man and as long as he stays healthy this season could very well be his coming-out party.
Yao was one of the league's best players after the all-star break last season and then he got sideswiped by a broken foot.
"He is the best regular-season centre in basketball. And the reason is he comes to play every night," said Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy.
Houston had high hopes for the giant Chinese centre when they chose him first overall in the 2002 entry draft and he hasn't disappointed.
Now in his fifth NBA season, the 26-year-old from Shanghai has increased his power and production each year, going from 13.5 points per game average in his rookie season to 22.3 last season.
He now rates among the best centres in the league but Van Gundy believes he can take that further and really put his stamp on the position.
"He has gotten better from his first game in the NBA through now," Van Gundy said. "And he is one of the few guys who does not need any outside motivation to be a motivated player.
"Those are the guys that have chances to be great because they care to put in the extraordinary work that Yao puts in. Every athlete would maximize their potential if they did what Yao did, but they don't."
Yao has never been afraid to challenge his critics.
When they said he wasn't aggressive enough, he went nose-to-nose with Shaquille O'Neal, who has four NBA championship rings and is considered one of the greatest centres of all time.
They said he couldn't play defence, but Yao has consistently held star opponents to lower than their average points per game.
In a recent pre-season matchup with O'Neal, Yao had a double, double.
Yao hopes to repay the Rockets faith in him by once again boosting his totals.
"He (Van Gundy) wants me to score, score, score," said the personable Yao, who keeps his teammates laughing with his unique sense of humour.
"If I score five times in a row, I don't think about passing the sixth time. I need to learn this.
"I feel like I am a better player. But it doesn't matter what I think. I can say I am better but I need to show it."
The Rockets have one of the best one-two punches in basketball with Yao and Tracy McGrady
Both players see plenty of double teams and they feed off each when they get a chance to play together. McGrady missed 34 games last season and Yao missed 22 games because of a left big toe infection and surgery. He and McGrady played in just 31 games together.
Yao still managed to average 25.9 points and 11.1 rebounds4 in 25 games late last season when McGrady was out.
How do you say unstoppable in Chinese?
"I believe he was the league's best centre last year," McGrady said. "Especially with what he did when I was out. In the second half of the season he was the best in the league.
"I know Shaquille O'Neal won a championship last year, but from an individual standpoint and putting up numbers, Yao was definitely the best centre in the league."
Obviously Yao still has a soft spot in his heart for his native China but he is very much a mega North American sports star now with endorsement5 deals from Apple Computer, Gatorade, McDonalds, Reebok and Visa.
But the focus will be entirely6 on basketball when Houston opens their regular season in Utah on Wednesday.
"It will be great to see him re-establish that dominance now that he has tasted it and knows how good it feels to have that sort of presence," said Rockets forward Shane Battier.
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点击  收听单词发音
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1
rebound
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| v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回 |
参考例句： |
- The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
- Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。
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2
arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 |
参考例句： |
- She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
- He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。
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3
premier
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| adj.首要的；n.总理，首相 |
参考例句： |
- The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
- He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。
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4
rebounds
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| 反弹球( rebound的名词复数 )； 回弹球； 抢断篮板球； 复兴 |
参考例句： |
- V is the velocity after the gas particle rebounds from the wall. V是粒子从壁上弹开后的速度。
- In the former case, the first body rebounds with practically its original velocity. 在前一种情况下，第一个物体实际上以原来的速度弹回。
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5
endorsement
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| n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注 |
参考例句： |
- We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
- His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。
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6
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 |
参考例句： |
- The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
- His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
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