Just some thoughts while watching Spurs and Mavs. Look, if you want to call this Yao bashing, so be it... When his team is in good rythm, you can hardly find TD -- he just goes with the flow. However, when it gets tough, he is solid as a rock! He is everywhere, doing everything and anything... I really feel these are qualities what Yao is sorely needed to become great...
when duncan is faced with the same tough defense yao gets, he is just as ineffective. the difference is that duncan gets the foul calls to bail him out in those situations.
Well, two things help Duncan that Yao doesn't have yet. One, Duncan seems to control the ball better, and is less likely to turn it over when he's double teamed. Two, Duncan draws a foul if his defender even BREATHS on him. In fact, I've seen fouls called just because his stupid little bank shot didn't go in, when a defender never touched him. The same goes for Dirk Flopinski. If Yao got that kind of superstar treatment, he'd score 40 a game.
Duncan has far better hands and he's a better passer. He doesn't get flustered by double teams, which is a particular weakness of Yao's (despite all the talk of him being a "great" passer; sorry, I just don't see it). Beyond that, he's just a far better defensive player. Yao's becoming one of the very top players in the game, but Duncan is still a cut above.
No, he sees and reacts to the defense better. Yao gets stripped by a guard about once a game. Rarely does that happen to Duncan.
What a flop by duncan. He was barely touched. But with that said, there no comparison between Duncan and Yao. Duncan is a all time great while Yao is trying to get there.
Championship experience, better team support, and being a seasoned veteran for a longer period of time will do that to ya. Yao still has some growing to do. Be patient and enjoy the ride. Also despite everything you say the Spurs are still losing and are down by 3 with 10.7 to go.
Were you implying Yao is as good as Duncan? I will be pretty surprised if you meant this. As I like Yao very much, but by no means he is at Duncan's level right now, miles distance there.
In the Rockets game this season Duncan had a poor game and was stripped often. In fact he had 4 turnovers and shot sub 50% going 7-16 the entire game. The fact of the matter is players who the offense runs through are going to have a lot of turnovers. Hakeem was always very high in turnovers yet no one remembers that. Shaq is always high in turnovers and gets called atleast one or two offensive fouls a game. Hakeem as also very raw in anticipating double and triple teams and didn't develop a knack for it til later in his career.
Tim Duncan is the appropriate comparison for Yao right now. He is the player our big guy should examine and learn from.
Define [bold]far better[/bold], please. I can understand overall Duncan IS better than Yao, but I really don't think the distance is that FAR.
Duncan blends in with the flow of offense better than Yao because of several things: 1) although he plays center occasionally, Duncan is mostly a PF which covers a wider range; 2) the supporting cast of Duncan, not just Parker and Ginobili, are at least a notch above that of Yao's, in term of depth, consistency, and experience; 3) through Parker and Ginobili, both of who can break down opponents' defense with relentless cutting and dribble penetration, Popovich runs far better motion offense than JVG does; 4) at 7" shorter and 60 lbs lighter, Duncan is naturally more fluid than Yao, duh A fews things Yao can definitely learn from Duncan. A better control of the ball and greater anticipation on both ends of the floor. Learn to whine about fouls and calls/non-calls the Duncan way. Better yet, learn that freakin' annoying Duncanesque stare at refs.
My point is that Duncan can normally run at a higher gear in 4th quarter (I guess I picked wrong game to prove my point...). But in most close games, that what Duncan can do. That's something I truly hope Yao can grow into...
