injuries do factor in so i understand what you're saying (but healthy, howard is nowhere close). it's like people syaing carmelo or pierce or guys like that are better than tracy. our stars just need to stay healthy and things will fall into place and they will get their props.
Right now I would take howard over yao, if Yao can prove himself healthy then ill prou take his style of play because it fits in good in the west. But howard is a better defensive player then yao. Howard just needs to develop a post op game
Although that may be true, most of his offense comes within 5 feet of the rim where he can dunk. IMO he needs to expand his game beyond those 5 feet. Yao can give you that with efficient hooks and mid range jumpers. There is no doubt that Howard is more athletic but in no way is he a better center than Yao.
Those were much more skilled big men and the rest of the world wasn't as good. Now, the slower more power driven big men are alot less useful in fiba. Alot of the moves they do could be considered offensive fouls and teams aren't afraid to double and leave shooters wide open. Other than rebounding, there just isn't much use for muscle bound bigs who mainly dunk in international.
I think Dwight Howard is an incredible player, and with some work he could develop into the best center in the league, no question. However, there is no real indication of that yet. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/22536-nba-most-efficient-offensive-players-in-07-08-season Yao didn't qualify for the list because their was a 70 game minimum, but if you plug Yao's numbers into the formula, you get... #5. Dwight: .589 #3. Yao: .612 And with Dwight's freakish length and athleticism, it's safe to say that he would be blocking significantly more shots than Yao if he were truly a better defender. That's not the case.
I doubt 20 points a game all come from 5 feet within the Rim. Hes a better defender, and offensively right now Yao is a better offensive player but Howard is still really young
Yao played what like 9 more minutes a game then Howard and only averaged 2 more points a game? Thats not more efficient
Lebron had Drew Gooden as the second best player against Duncan, Parker and Ginobli in their prime!?! Even Jordan wouldn't have a prayer against that team.
Is that why the rockets have been one of the top three interior defensive teams every year since we drafted yao?. were the magic even close to us in that regard. people tend to forget how good of a interior defender yao is. he alters more shots then anyone in the league.
93.8% of his non-free throw points come from close/dunk/tip range. http://www.82games.com/0708/07ORL16A.HTM
They may not all come from within 5 feet of the goal but the majority does. Hey let them run a fastbreak and throw the ball up and Howard will catch it and dunk it. He can't back down his man and create his own shot. What I'm saying is if you take his athleticism away he's nothing. Yao with no athleticism has managed to create an arsenal of offensive weapons that has his defender scratching his head. Better defender? Idk, there certainly is alot more to defense than blocking shots. Stuff that doesn't show up in the stat sheets.
Regardless, give Kobe the team that Lebron had and if you think he can beat Detroit (which Lebron did) then pass me whatever you are smoking. Considering that same Detroit team ripped Kobe, Shaq, Malone and GP a new one just a year or two ago.
He's not a Redd/Allen type of knock down shooter but he is a much more capable shooter than the other guys people consider streak shooters (Tmac, Carter, Wade, etc.). You can not even try to argue that Lebron's shooting is even on the same hemisphere as Kobe's. I think we all understand that FIBA is different than NBA as well. Melo was much better than Lebron in those outings. Oh well, its obvious that you take this personal you called one of the best players in the league a "cancer".
