Big Georghe Muresan can stop Shaq. Seriously though, think about this: Muresan (7'7, 303 lbs) might be the only player Shaq ever faced that he just couldn't do much against. Now Yao comes along, and he's 7'6, 295 lbs, and getting bulkier. Hmmm..... I still don't think Yao can stop him (only Wilt could ever have stopped Shaq cold), but you never know.
haven - I totally agree with you about Shaq's dominance fading... And I think it's going to be sooner than later!! I think Shaq really believe he is super-human, and it's going to be a guilty pleasure watching gravity take its toll on his behemoth ASS !!! On another note, if Ming really did say that about Barkley, then all I can say is "Right on Baby"! Chuck talks out his rear even more than Walton does, and if Ming has enough attitude to come back at a future hall of famer like that, then more power to him
It depends on the whistles. One could redirect Shaq's force or meet it with softness, like in Aikido. This would send him slightly left or right to an unprofitable position underneath the basket. One cannot dunk from underneath the basket without hitting one's head on the rim. It also allows weakside defenders a chance at the ball. If the whistle blows as soon as Shaq catches the ball, then any defense is useless, and you may as well foul for free throws. The league should let Yao play. May as well start the pr campaign now. Shaq's not a big baby, you don't have to put a dress on him.
To stop Shaq isn't really the most interesting question ... but rather will he stop everyone/anyone else ... I don't question for a second that he can become a dominant offensive player beeing 7'6 with offensive skills ... I am however not at all convinced that he will become a major defensive force ... while he'll block some shots it will be very interesting to see whether he is a good positional defender and a good rebounder ...
Hmm...perhaps Yao can do more damage if he fronts Shaq. He can slide down from the high post to stand in front - set Taylor or Cato behind Shaq to box him. Now, the Lakers have to pass the ball to Shaq over or around 7'6'' Yao. No easy lob pass. The Lakers don't have any particularly-skilled interior passing pgs. Of course, this shifts the Laker's attack to the perimeter, where we are defenseless. Yao's not gonna be much help out there, tho, anyway. You have to plan on the other team missing a few, and get some quick pts going the other way.
Well, in an indirect way, Ming likely will help the perimeter defense. Take Kobe Bryant, for example. I'm not saying he's a bad defender, but this is merely an above average perimeter defender who actually got a vote for defensive player of the year. The reason, of course, is Shaq inside. Kobe has freedom to guard players very tight, because even if they get by him, Shaq is standing there inside. This is something that gets overlooked when people compare Francis and Mobley's defense to other premier guards. Kelvin Cato and Kenny Thomas aren't exactly an intimating threat inside, so Francis and Cat have to give other guards room on the perimeter. If they can't stay in front of them, nine out of ten times it's a layup... not like Cato will do anything about it. Ming should help our perimeter defense a lot, as it will give Steve and Cuttino more freedom to stay on their men.
Teams with multiple big bodies will very soon have the advantage over Shaq.. Cato, Collier, Eddie Griffin, Ming, heck even Mo Taylor.. that's up to 27 fouls to lay on him, and since he has no problem waving his elbows around and trying to knock people down, I believe the 27 fouls (not even counting fouls from the 1,2 or 3 spots) should all be HARD fouls.. not flagrant or dirty, just make sure he feels em. His body is giving out - his feet can barely carry around his mass anymore at the level of pounding the NBA gives it.. his free-throw shooting is going to go right back into the toilet.. he'll get creakier and creakier.. and fatter and fatter.. he may still manage to get 30 points a game sometime, but the poor free-throw shooting and decreasing mobility will have him getting his points but the Lakers more and more often coming out with the 'L'. Two years max, then he hangs it up. So the question is not whether Ming can stop Shaq (why would we ever try to put him in a position to have to do that), but whether Shaq can withstand all the other teams in the league asking themselves 'How can we stop Shaq?', and the only answer being, 'We can't, but we can sure make him work harder for what he gets.' Now, especially with the addition of Ming, the Rockets are probably in a better situation, center-wise, than any other team in the league shy of the Lakers. The future does look bright!
DOES IT MATTER?!? Once Shaq's contract is up, he's going to retire. So Basically Yao Ming will get some awesome experience battling Shaq for the remainder of his career, and once Shaq's gone, it'll be Yao's world!
