I disagree, because this is what the media wants to see from Yao. If Yao is averaging 3 blocks a game that means he's better defensively. You're talking 30/12/3, shooting 87% free throw, bringing A game to the big stage when everyone's watching, and the rockets are contenders. He will win MVP.
yes, people keep bashing yao for not being able to impact the game at the end, but thats really a stamina problem.
as long as the cavs don't win the division, yao still have a shot at mvp. good that now pistons r catchin up with the cavs. good that spurs lose tonight. rox=div winner and cavs= not div winner yao=mvp.
If Nash can get MVP before getting a ring, so can Yao. Vote him now, then he will get the championship to top off the season.
I think this stems from Duncan's ability to make accurate, quick passes using only one hand. He also has a much better sense of balance and can shift weight from the left of his body to the right with ease. The majority of the time Yao needs two hands to pass out, which requires collecting himself... by which time it's too late.
Yao needs to practice Taichi... joking, I find yao can be quick considering his size, but his sense of balance is just terrible. its one major shortcoming preventing him to be a better player. what Yao can learn from TD is to read the defense better, and be more poised, control his frustration.
Amen. No disrespect to TD. He's a great player. But Yao is great in his own right and if there is any distance between them, it's not much. Yao is the best low post scorer in the world at this stage. No one commands more attention and yet is as efficient. He doesn't have the high post game that Duncan has, but that's not the way he plays these days. People knock Yao defensively but he's a tremendous low post defender. Have you noticed that no one tries to post him up, save Shaq who is not all that successful at it and Eddie Curry who gets shut down consistently? Be grateful, people, for the treasure we have in Yao. He's still on the rise, while Duncan has plateaued and will soon be passed up.
I also think that Yao has still a lot of upside while Tim Duncan has already reached his plateau of performance plus he has had better team built around him in the past which made his job easier.
I think Duncan gives Yao the most problems as a legit center... even this year... in my mind... Duncan is better....than Yao right now but skill level id put them even... Yao being better on offense.. Duncan Defense...
Yes Duncan is better than Yao. But by far? Offensively, Duncan has the blank shot, that lil kiss of the glass fundemental thing, and a good amount of post moves. Yao on the other hand, is a better jump shooter, has a longer range, and process an arsenal full of post moves, and if you watch closely he is actually able to adjust his moves to suit whoever's defending him; Yao's a natural scoring C, he just has it period. To top it off, you can't even hack-a-yao as he's shooting 86% from the charity line. Defensively, Duncan would get the nod. He moves quicker, reacts quicker, rebounds better, at least equally good at blocking shots, and is just a generally "smarter" defender. Duncan also has a better stamina, and is a proven winner, which is big in this league if you wanna get onto the "ref factor" wagon. Right now Duncan gets the nod, but I'm not so sure if I agree that he's on another level over Yaozer.
Yao really came into his own since the second half of last season. Really consistent Night in and Night out. I would not say TD is another lever over Yao. Just has more experience than yao. That is it.
Yao is the best center in the game but TD is on another level until Yao brings his A game in a playoff setting (didn't Duncan carry the Spurs to the title in season 2?). Yao is nice offensively but if I don't see me giving him the rock over TD in crucial situations. TD is a better defender as well.
A significant proportion of games I watch, I feel like there are a lot of "superstars" and even role players who get better refereeing than Yao.
Duncan is obviously better than Yao at this point. If at some point Yao can score on Shaq at will in the playoffs, then win an nba championship, like Duncan did a few yrs back, then maybe Yao can be considered better. Watching them play, Duncan is way more mobile and better at boxing his man out... though he does get away with a lot of over the back rebounds. An overall better defender. Yao is better offensively, though its not playoff tested.
A closer look at some of the stats from wiki- Tim Duncan- 2-time NBA Most Valuable Player: 2002, 2003 3-time NBA Champion: 1999, 2003, 2005 3-time NBA Finals MVP: 1999, 2003, 2005 8-time NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 8-time All-NBA First Team: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 6-time All-Defensive First Team: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 Only player in NBA history to receive All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in his first 9 seasons Yao Ming- Ugh, why bother? I love Yao but let's not put them both in the same sentence again. We almost forget how great Tim Duncan is because ESPN doesn't hype him up like they do Lebron because Tim is just naturally a mild manner fellow.
