The Unheard Rockets' Fan

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By FRAN BLINEBURY Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Don’t count Dikembe Mutombo among those who are applauding Yao Ming’s recent penchant for stepping in front of driving opponents to draw a charge.

Follow up:

“I’m very critical,” Mutombo said. “Those are bull. I told him that. He’s too tall to be taking charges. He needs to learn to play defense without using his chest. You don’t block a shot with you chest. You block it with your hands.

“The man who taught me the game, John Thompson, never said that a 7-footer should take a charge, even in a basketball 1-on-1. There’s no rule or writing in the books that you should take a charge. They teach you how to rebound and block shots. So I’m going to work on that.

“Maybe Yao is listening to Shane (Battier). Maybe he wants to be a guard or something. Man, I’ve got a lot of things to work on. Maybe he’s planning to lead the league charges. So I have to stop him. I have to teach him to lead the league in blocked shots, not charges.”