The thing to remember here is that Dwight's offense is NO WHERE near Yao's, never was, and never will be. Meanwhile Yao was not terrible on defense, that was FAR from the case. He was a plus on defense in fact and later he learned that just by throwing his arms up he could affect any shot that came in the lane and became a true defensive presence. No he could not guard a guy like Boozer but obviously he couldn't because Boozer is a PF, at the same time Boozer couldn't guard him. No one could when he was at his best. Howard could be guarded and made ineffective. The only reason he's considered a great defensive center is because most centers in the NBA are scrubs and don't have a post game better than Howard's. You put him up against the best centers to play the NBA and he's going last on that list. Really now? Whens' the last time Howard played against another great big and won that matchup? Right now he's just feasting on bigs who are considered good centers because they can run and chew gum at the same time.
On a per possession basis, xRAPM rated Dwight Howard +6.5 over his career. +1.6 on offense and +4.9 on defense. Same stat for Yao was +3.8 over his career. +1.0 on offense and +2.8 on defense. Yao, season-by-season: Code: [B]Season OFF DEF OVRL POSS[/B] 03-04 +0.9 +2.8 +3.7 9572 04-05 -0.3 +3.5 +3.2 8977 05-06 +0.9 +4.0 +4.8 6974 06-07 +2.7 +2.2 +4.9 6468 07-08 +1.3 +2.3 +3.6 7693 08-09 +1.7 +3.6 +5.2 9683 If you take Yao's best offensive year (+2.7) and best defensive year (+3.6) combined, its still less than what Dwight has averaged in his career. And this isn't considering durability or ability to play heavy minutes either. Edit: My bad, Yao had a +4 on defense one year. Still think the overall package Dwight brings makes him more valuable.
While this is true the question was either Yao or Howard. If we extend the conversation beyond the two players I could bring up Jason Collins and Kendrick Perkins as players Howard had trouble against. This is like saying "who was better: Dream or David Robinson?" and then bring up Dream's bad games against Mark Eaton as evidence. So between the two, Yao wins IMO because while Howard's defense and rebounding are better than Yao's, Yao's offense and his ability to be counted on at the free throw line trumps Howard any day.
The numbers are good and all but Dwight isn't a guy you go to to get you points. He never has been, not even in Orlando and the numbers aren't telling you that. I really don't care what the numbers say when I see a team hesitant to go to such a player when they really need to. Also, When you think of great players you always think of who they went against and how they did against those players. When I think of Dwight I think of all the decent centers he had problems against. Pretty much any guy that could match his strength and hold his ground would completely shut down Dwight's game. This is why I'm taking Yao. I think Yao would have a shot against Centers in the 90s and Dwight would not have a chance. He'd be a scrub player to those guys, not exaggerating.
Yao by a landslide.... Yao would not pull the **** that Howard has pulled. Howard is obviously the better defender, but Yao was a very underrated team defender and he kept the lane empty. Offensively Yao is far better, and was not even at his peak when he was injured. Also, Yao would be on the court at the end of the game, Howard would be doing everything possible to not be involved in the play. This does not even take into account chemistry, etc....
I would take dwight because he gets his numbers without any plays run for him. You can play like the modern rockets, up and down the court.
Is this healthy Yao the one that straight up dominated everyone before Tim Thomas fell on his leg? If so Yao every day of the week. Hilarious how back in the day, everyone was like "hey Dwight is young now he will improve!" and that never happened.
Yao had heart. Yao performed against one of the best centers in history (Shaq). Yao was unselfish. Yao... :'( <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u1ZyVAHLzAM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Yao/Deke Scola/Landry/Hayes Artest/Battier TMac/Vafer Brooks/Lowry That's a champion team if healthy. It's not that hard to build around Yao.
Since we're talking hypotheticals with Yao being healthy. A healthy Yao on an eastern team would have just as much success as Howard, if not more.
I didn't brign it up, somebody else did. Anyway, Yao gives you a lot less flexibility as a franchise because he totally changes the way you have to play on the court with his overall cloggyness/plodding - I'd go with Howard since he's more versatile and far, far more durable.
There never was a "prime" Yao to compare with. His career stats suggests that he was constantly battling back from injuries. We got a glimpse of what he could have been for about a two weeks stretch when it culminated with Yao tearing up Shaq when this Superman was in Miami. Many of you will recall that during this stretch JVG had Yao sprinting down the court and flashing in the paint before the opposing teams could set their defense.
In bad taste: Spoiler <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/svsHlH-IvbY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I loved Yao but I'd take Howard.
I did not expect that I'd be a member of the 8.43%! I guess I just have too many bad memories of Yao being fronted with the entire shotclock just ticking away from the team not knowing how to get him the ball.
Me too, Fronting defenses, stamina issues, Memet Okur/Carlos Boozer in the playoffs, etc. Yao had a lot of glaring issues even though he was at times dominant on the offensive end.
I like Yao, but this was my biggest problem with him too. Because of it he could be completely removed from a game. And it's why the whole "limited minutes" idea for bringing him back from injury was such a huge mistake...the idea that you could flip a switch and play a bunch of minutes without him...and then become a completely different team to play alongside him...was just not going to work.
U guys realize Yao still avg 22 and like 12 in that series against the jazz with the fronting. While Howard avg what 12 and 8 against Yao. Was Yao perfect? No but don't act like Dwight is some monster player. Yao held the fort down on a top 2 defense for years, as soon as he leaves were one of the worst defenses in the league, coincidence? This comparisons a joke Yao was a way better player than Howard is and ever will be. The talent just isn't the same. Mark my words we will see another Dwight Howard (Drummond) but we will never see another Yao Ming. He was a rare talent and even rarer human being.
