How good was Yao when he actually played on the court?

Seriously, how old are you?

You're just coming off as stupid.

 

Did you think the Yao and Tmac era lived up to the hype?

It's a pretty simple question.

The answer is a song by Flavor Flav and Chuck D.

 

Did the Ralph era live up to the hype?

 

Seriously, I think he's a lot smarter than you. When you brought up the argument that Sampson was the sure #1 pick to prove he's better, didn't it occur to you that Sam Bowie was drafted before Michael Jordan?

 

*sigh*

Child, Portland was desperate for a big man at the time. Do your research for Christ's sake.

 

He didn't. And Yao superceded his; which was the next Shawn Bradley. He was good, but he was not great. That will be his legacy.

 

I said the Twin Towers lived up to the hype. They went to the NBA Finals in their 2nd year.

The dynamic duo of Yao/Tmac were hyped to be the next Shaq/Kobe. (Magic Johnson said this when we were up 2-0 on Dallas)
they made it to the nba finals in their... no they didn't

 

Kid, no research needed, just common sense and basic logic. Who gets draft first really has nothing to do with how they'd perform later in NBA. Bowei/Jordan was the most obvious example no matter how Blazers were desperated.

If you want to prove Sampson was better, bring some real argument. Undisputed #1 pick doesn't help Sampson one bit, only hurts him. It means he had more hype than Yao, but still failed from Championship point of view.

Get smarter, kid.

 

Only Hakeems livedup to the hype. Sampson was projected to be Wilt/Kareem.

Yao/Tmac weren't hyped to be the next Shaq/Kobe. Nobody, including media and players, has ever said Yao would be as dominant as prime Shaq. Instead, he was compared with Bradley a lot more before the draft, Rik Smits early in his career.

 

The Rockets were two wins away from a championship in 86.
The Rockets of the Yao era were never that close.

You are right, Ralph had more hype since he was the best player in college.
However because of bad medical practices in the old days, he played when he shouldn't have.

For Yao, it's just unfortunate, he had too many obligations and his team was in disharmony, coaching changes, the other all star also having injuries.

For Ralph and the Rockets in 86, it was more devastating because the team stood toe to toe with the Lakers and Celtics, the teams that dominated the 80s.

Let's not forget that the NBA blew up the team by banning two of their best players for drugs. For me, it could be a conspiracy to stop the Rockets from impeding from the Lakers vs Celtics cash cow.

 

Hakeem and MJ had no injury history/weren't just coming back from injury. RA just wanted to win every game and sacrificed Yao's career for quick wins, playing him 40+ mins. every game the first time he got him. He even played him a lot in blowouts and not close games.

 

Two wins away doesn't count that much. Rockets was 3 minutes away from defeating Utah, but I never saw you gave any credit to Yao/Tmac for the worst possible matchup without help.

The standard should be set the same. If you don't give Yao/Tmac credit for what they improved Rockets from previous era, you shouldn't give that much credit to Smapson for lost in the final either.

Nobody except Hakeem in Rockets history has a clear cut advantage over Yao.

 

As I mentioned earlier, yao had a really good,but brief career. He lasted as long as many thought which was 8 yrs. He didn't play 8 yrs worth of games, but he was good when he played. If you lined up gms and were to ask to draft a center, I. Think yao would be under mourning next to daughtery. That's not a bad place, but a rightful spot.

 

Yao was playing like a bona fide superstar in 05-06 and 06-07 before and after some of his injuries.

Check out the game logs --> http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3599/gamelog;_ylt=AhEfu4VEMZPeDdGQBYdye5usPKB4?year=2006

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3599/gamelog;_ylt=AuyrC2IZqCsW0Dy1vZ0q_VusPKB4?year=2005

 

Yes they were hyped as the next Kobe and Shaq. Did you watch the Mavs vs Rockets series ? Magic Johnson said this in front of billions of people

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=95249


Game 2 might have gone a long way in establishing T-Mac and Yao as the Western Conference’s new dynamic duo, filling the void created by the offseason divorce of Shaq and Kobe.

Johnson, McGrady’s idol, was so impressed with the duo afterward that he said that if Yao played again like he did Monday, the Rockets could advance to the NBA Finals.

Yao agreed. “We can go very far this year, if we keep it up,” he said.

 

you pretty much insulted the entire 1986 team ( which Hakeem said himself that was the best team in terms of talent that was apart of ) and every Rocket fan who watched the 86 Finals to even compare that to losing to Utah in the first round at home.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/3663271.html


"It was not just like many teams that you see today," Olajuwon wrote in an e-mail from Amman, Jordan. "The 1986 Rockets were a complete team, and we were not lacking at any position.

 

Nah, it's just one of those Bill Walton's "best play in western civilization" Pippen's "Lebron better than Jordan" type comment. Do you really think Magic thought Yao was as good as prime Shaq? Tmac at his peak was comparable to Kobe, but Yao never was considered prime Shaq's level.

 

I'm not insulting the 86 team. Just try to measure teams/players with same standard.

If that team was such a complete team and failed in final, is it fair to blame everything on Yao/Tmac with a very much incomplete team facing the worst possible matchup, yet only 3 minutes away from defeating them?

 

Have you ever heard of the associated press? the stories from there go to EVERY MAJOR NEWSPAPER in the world.

here's the FULL ARTICLE.

<img src="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SPORTS/050419/SPAT_NBA_PLAYOFFS.jpg">

<a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7646480/"><font size="+1">Yao and T-Mac now NBA’s best 1-2 combo</font></a>
<b>Rockets duo finally clicking at the perfect time</b>

<img src="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/apmegasports/dna10504260456.vlarge.jpg"><img src="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/27/xin_5004022709225463072811.jpg">
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming celebrates after dunking against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.