Ok, that is different. Earlier you said it would stop 90% of his game. Just under 30 is not 90%. I agree that he could "hold" him, but not hold him by 90%. Only bad thing about this kind of single coverage D is that they could just shoot and Shaq would probably get the rebound and putback. Yao would probably not get many rbs. But as long as Shaq is...oh..say 10/27 for 24pts, and Yao's got...say 5/8 14pts, that will be ok,imo.
Dream was the best center the NBA has ever seen. Shaq is the most dominating. If you go out and ask 100 NBA centers who they would least likely want to go up against on any given night about 95 of them would say SHAQ simply because they don't want to pee blood for the next two weeks. He is freaking 340-350 lbs, about 100 pounds heavier than Dream or most other centers in the league. When he was with Orlando he was around 290-300. He has put on a lot of muscle since then and he has worked on his fundamentals. That is the scary thing about Shaq, he is 350 with little fat. And yes Clarence, Sabonis was a crippled man. But he never had the power Shaq had. He was a great great player and would have put up a good fight against Shaq. He may have even bested shaq but in terms of power and domination inside he would not have come close.
I dink in Yao's mind, he prolly want to dunk over shaq.It will be his main goal. Yao likes challenge...
Unfortunately I can't get 100 NBA centers to talk to me let alone comment on who they think the most dominating center of all time is. As a matter of fact Sean Rooks is the only NBA center that I have ever had more than a 2 minute conversation with and I completely forgot to ask him that question.
Touche crash, touche. But if you imagine talking to NBA centers, you could probably see that kind of concensus couldn't you?
Shaq is not only big and strong but is quick.There are a lot(relatively speaking) guys that are 7 ft 300+ lbs but they are not quick enough for the NBA.Shaq is comfortable on either block,while most centers are one sided.If you lean too much on him to stop him from powering in he will spin around you for the dunk.He is highly skilled.Spins either way and has a fallay jumper to either side and a baby hook,but those are complimentary weapons.His main weapon is to attack the basket.He does not have an outside game nor should he.He kills everybody in the paint. Ming has gone up against scrubs in China and will need time to adjust.Maybe in a few years he will be one of the better centers but certainly not now.As long as Shaq is 90% he will not be flying around him anytime soon.This is a rookie from China we are talking about.If he stays exclusively outside then Robert Horry can gaurd him while Shaq patrols the paint.Horry may not be able to block his shot but can get his hand to his eyes.Ming did not look comfortable playing offense with his back to the basket.I think the Rockets have good long term prospects but this Ming is going to neutralize Shaq and winning championships is way beyond homeritis.
that's pretty ignorant statement.... ALOT of 7'0 300+ lbs guys???? you must be outta ur mind.... BTW, shaq is no 300.. he's more like 360
This thread is about whether Shaq can defend Yao, not the other way around. We already agree that no one (including Yao) can stop Shaq 1 on 1. Please stay on the subject. Shaq cannot stop Yao 1 on 1. Even when he was 50 pounds lighter and without the toe problem, he couldn't keep up with Dream defensively in the mid 90's. I'm not saying that Yao is as skilled as Dream in his prime. But Yao is certainly among the quickest 7-foot centers Shaq is facing now. And Yao is not just a 7-footer. He is at least 5'' taller than Shaq and is at least as good a shooter as Dream was in his prime.
Alright, here's the thing, great centers just cannot be stopped. Remember the Western Conf Finals against the Spurs, where Dream had one of the most (if not the most) remarkable performances in NBA history? People tend to forget that David Robinson got his points too. The Finals against the Magic? Again, Shaq got his points. When Dream faced off against Patrick or Robinson or Shaq, they all got their numbers. Now, it's still has yet to be determined whether Yao will turn out to be a great center or not, but if he does develop into one there will be no one who will be able to stop him. This is the reason that the NBA is a big man's game. Now that's in the future, for the present, it depends on when the Rockets play the Lakers. In their November meeting, I think Yao is going to be pumped up and will get himself into foul trouble--that coupled with the fact that I don't think Rudy T will stick him out there that long to take that kind of abuse--and not be much of a factor in the game. The game in January, Yao should fair much better. He'll have 2 months of NBA experience under his belt and a better idea of where he fits in on the Rockets. I'd expect the Rockets to play a lot of high-low post with Yao and Mo T/Kenny T--if he's still healthy--alternating between the high and low posts. Possible double-double that game. In Feb. and beyond is when I think the long/physical grind of an NBA season will start wearing on Yao. I'd expect to see his legs get tired and his outside shot to start hitting the front of the rim instead of the back of the net. When the Shanghai Sharks won the title this year they played all of what, 40 games? That's not even half an NBA season. Also, I think too many people fall prey to lavish praise heaped upon Shaq by Bill Walton, NBC and all of ESPN. There is no one like Shaq offensively. His game might not be as pretty as Dream's in his prime, but it's just as effective. Where people tend to hype Shaq too much, though, is defensively. People are too quick to call Shaq a great defensive center simply because he's big. The number just don't justify that. What are the two basic stats for measuring defensive prowess? Blocks and steals. Compare Shaq to two guys who I think are pretty good defensively (Dream and the Admiral) Shaq = 0.7 steal/game 2.6 blks/game Robinson = 1.4 steal/game 3.1 blks/game Dream = 1.7 steal/game 3.1 blks/game The fact is that Shaq is an above average defensive center, but only because the league, as a whole, is lacking in centers. Hell, when Marcus Camby passes for a defensive guru, you should know there's something wrong. Well, there's my two cents.
Until Yao develops his conditioning the answer is Yes. Unfortunately It won't matter if Shaq cannot stop him if Yao is not sufficiently conditioned to stay inthe game.
I think Yao could use his quickness and agility to get Shaq in foul trouble. That could be valueable if the Rockets ever met the Lakers in the playoffs
Yao cant stop Shaq. No one can stop Shaq. This is a moot point. However, Shaq has never been a great one on one defender. He never has been and never will be in Olajuwons class as far as defensive prowess. Yao's style is not to bang and bully his way into the lane. I think Shaqs overall numbers will be better than Yaos head to head. But we know the Rockets will double or triple team him in order to keep him under control and thats when Kobe will go nuts and thats why the Lakes have won 3 championships in a row! Yaos numbers will be no better or worse against Shaq than any other team. Shaq is, at best, a slightly above average defender.
I think some posters are stupified, mesmorized, and electrofied to realize the realistic possibility that Shaq can NOT stop Ming!!!...
Lets get real here guys, Yes Shaq will be able to stop Ming. Ming Shot over guys not nearly as tall in China. Shaq does have a longer reach and his experience has taught him where to position his body so that Ming cant get a descent shot off. Yes Ming will hit a few but his 15 points wont compare to Shaqs 30. We all know for a Big Man Shaq moves pretty well and his ball handling skils for a Big man is above average. When Ming comes in he should not put the ball on the floor at all. It makes no sense for him to do so. Ming should keep the ball up high, he is to tall to dribble for the most part and that is a big setup to get ripped and alot of turnovers (we all saw that in the scrimmage.) But just think when Shaq first came into the league, Hakeem Dawged him bad, aftyer years of learning now Shaq has turned the tables on Hakeem. Ming does have an age advantage and a Hunger advantage over Shaq. The diesel has about 4 more years until his performance starts to slip a little (IMO). By that time I will give him 3 more titles. I mean lets face it as long as Shaq is on top of his game and Kobe keeps developing and they play together they will win LOTS-O-Championships. But by that time the hunger from the diesel to win a title will die off a bit. 4 years from now is when I expect to see Ming start to control games more (OFFENSIVELY&DEFENSIVELY) Hopefully we will see consistent flashes in the mean time. Remember it took Duncan a few years before he started to take games over, it took shaq time as well. So be pateint but by no means will Shaq not be able to stop Ming at first. Just give Ming time, hopefully he will pan out... The kid is young we have nothing but time...
Ming is crafty with the ball - said by Moochie Norris- and agile. It makes no sense for him not to put the ball on the floor when he's isolated one on one against Shaq. If Ming is quick enough to put his feet beyond Shaq's ankle in one step Shaq'll be in big trouble. It's the quickness factor that matters here. We'll need to wait and see. I'm not sure you are referring to NCAA or NBA. I think Duncan got a ring as a sophomore in the NBA. Just want to point that out.
