Actually, being an All-Star doesn't mean anything BUT being ALL-NBA for the last few years does which YAO has been. He has been consistently in the 2nd or 3rd TEAM ALL-NBA in the last few years. Only 15 guys get on that list, now if there were 480 players (15/team x 32 teams = 480), then Yao is in the top 3% of the league. That my friend is MAX PLAYER/SUPERSTAR LEVEL. On top of what he brings to the Rox off the court (more revenue, good will, etc.), then it's easy to argue that even if he gets paid MAX MONEY, he would still be underpaid.
If Yao were not a an American he would not be starting? How do you make this comment and then follow it up with please only respond with intelligent responses when in fact you are the one speaking like an idiot. The only thing that Yao lacks is dominance, he just needs to get tuffer. There is NOT one other Center in the league that has his level of skill, not even Shaq did is his prime. Shaq was a force because of his size and he knew how to use it, but even to this day he does not have the skills that Yao has. Once he learns how to get tougher down low and command his space, he will be one of the greatest to play the game. the offense runs through Yao because he demands the double team, dont ever forget that. As far as the team being successful, this is a better team without Tracy, just look at the statistics. Basically Ron is going to step up and be what Tracy was unable to be for us due to injuries on the offensive end and he has already proven that he is capable of that. As far as Rafer is concerned, Im not sure that I would have traded him in the middle of the season, however, mark my words that Aaron Brooks will be better than Rafer ever was in the future. AB has all the tools, he just needs that insight and knowledge to learn more about the game. Once he learns the difference between handling the ball and dribbling the ball he has the potential to be one of the big names in the NBA. Also please keep in mind that your dealing with a guy that grew up playing ball in China and still to this day has played basketball year around, something that nobody in the league has to do. Once that stops and he starts working out here more in the off season he will develop in those negative areas. The only thing I feel as though we lack right now is that defense that we had when we were under Van Gundy. If we can get that defensive intensity back and our shooters remain consistent then we have great chances of advancing in the playoffs. And to address your comment about who is going to hit a winning shot, I dont know what team you have been watching but we have more than one person thats capable of this and to me that makes us more dangerous. I have watched Ron, Yao, Von Wafer and AB all put the teams on their backs and hit big shots for us. So for the opposite team thats wondering who we defend, u never know with us. With a team like the Lakers you know where the ball is going so just double team him and make someone prove they can beat you. Im sorry but the majority of your comments I have to disagree with especially about Yao. there has not been a team in the past 10 years thats won a championship without a talented big man down low. So if we get rid of Yao then what do we do because there is definitely nobody out there better to replace him with that we could get.Would you suggest we follow the Don Nelson/Dantoni method which is running up and down the court to see how many points we can score without a big man. Sorry but the last time I checked that has not worked for anyone in the league.
Again, you just make stupid assumptions. Anyone who says Yao only makes the all star game due to the Chinese vote fails to realize he always wins the fan voting done at every basketball stadium as well. So unless the majority of fans attending NBA games are Chinese, he is voted in by fans from America as well as from China. Are the Chinese the ones who vote for all NBA teams as well? You say we have only beaten bad teams and one playoff caliber team. Yet you dont mention that team is the one you called more consistent then us. also you were talking up the Suns but all they did was crush the Clippers twice and the Thunder once. Why should fans think they suddenly are great for beating bad teams, but we are somehow overhyped when we beat bad teams.
1. If Rafer is as good as you said, he wouldn't have that little number of assist in his career. He doesn't have the vision as Kid nor Nash. 2. The Rockets is definitely going to the playoff without T-Mac, we will see. 3. There's no perfect Coach in NBA. 4. Your need a healthy TMac to kill your chemistry, I rather lost him. 5. Ron will stay here in the rest of the season. 6. This showed your ignorant. If you are right, neither Aldeman nor Van Gundy will need to play Yao like 39mins. Please find me 29 centers that can take Yao's minutes in NBA now, because you said Yao kant start. 7. Who knows? What if you sign LBJ two years after? How long is that? You are just not qualify to be Rockets' Fan, so you better stop bull****ing there.
Good post man, i completely 100% agree with this. no is no denying that yao is a definite force in this league.
Why is it that in all games Yao demands a double sometimes even tripple team. Ummmmmmmm i think it is because he is a dominate center which no one can defend one on one... Idk that my suggestion. That is why he is on our roster! He is a SUPERSTAR!!!
The original post was a GREAT analysis. I am not saying I agree with every point the author made, but he's got insightful substance to back all of them up, unlike ESPN analyst Tim Legler. On a side note, Legler's Daily Dime that was full of crap on ESPN.com has been removed probably due to the large volume of reader responses bashing him for not doing his "analyses" based on actual, current NBA game play (i.e. he's not doing his job). My guess is perhaps he's suspended and if so, deservedly so.
thest are yao ming stats Season Team G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 08-09 HOU 54 54 32.8 0.543 0.000 0.868 2.8 6.9 9.6 1.7 0.4 1.7 3.19 3.10 19.8 Career 458 448 32.6 0.523 0.111 0.831 2.6 6.7 9.2 1.6 0.4 1.8 2.71 3.30 19.1 these are Dwight Howard stats Season Team G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG 08-09 ORL 54 54 36.2 0.573 0.000 0.596 4.4 9.7 14.1 1.2 1.0 3.0 2.98 3.30 21.0 Career 382 381 36.0 0.568 0.100 0.602 3.6 8.9 12.5 1.4 0.9 1.9 2.94 3.20 17.1 now I dont know any other center in the nba that i would take over these two. i will say that this year Dwight Howard has taken over the best center in the leage honors. but besides him yao is the next best. and every one needs to stop hating on yao he will never be #34 or even close to him but as a 20 pts and 10 reb a game player he is defently a big piece to a championship team. but we will need a bonafide superstar to pair up with him and artest like a lebron, wade, durant or kobe not saying we need one of them but someone like one of them. i am not a tracy hater but i just dont see him doing anything with his career. who knows but it is clear that we need a leader. i like brooks i think this experiece is good for him with this he could maybe be a leader this team needs but he is still wet behind the ears but you never know he could be a d wade in the making remember his 1st playoff series???? we will just have to wait and see how the core players get going and hope the have enough time to gel together
J-Wood I can't finish reading your post because my eyes hurt. Your post looks like "Lost - Season ?" May I suggest you separate your points with paragraphs for the sake of our eyes?
First off, let me commend you on a great post. Despite the fact that you knew you would be flamed relentlessly, you posted your opinions anyways. Kudos. Now lets get down to business - I agree with the majority of your post that - 1. Rafer will be more effective in Orlando. Should be obvious to all that he will thrive in an environment where he is needed to create and distribute rather than spot up shooting. 2. A healthy Tmac this year would have led to a 60 win season and at least a trip to the WCF. Even with a healthy Mac, I'd rate our chances against the Lakers as a tossup. Anybody that really believes that a healthy Mcgrady would make us a worse team really needs to stop drinking haterade. Fact: when healthy, Tmac brings something to the table that only a handful of others have (Lebron, Kobe, Wade). It is a certainty that throughout the course of a playoff game, the play becomes more and more rough - players get away with more holds etc... As much as some you hate him - Tmac isolations are the most effective play with 8-10 seconds left on the shotclock. We don't have anybody now that can play that role. 3. I don't really agree with RA being a bad fit for this team. He could have handled the Tracy situation better but generally he seems to have a pretty good grasp of the team. I agree that Yao isn't exactly tailor made for the offense but the other 4 players thrive in this situation. RA is essentially making due with what he has. 4. Continuing to build around Yao is a mistake. You went overboard with saying that Yao wouldn't start for half the teams in the league - Its obvious that he is one of the top two centres today. Thats not really saying much considering the lack of the depth at that position today. An apt analogy would be comparing the centre position to that of a used car lot - Yao is essentially the nicest car of a really bad bunch. The goal of any season is to to ultimately win a championship. Is Yao enough to take you to the top of the mountain? I doubt so. Yao can average 20/10 but gives up so much in other areas of the game. He is a complete liability on the defensive end and gets exposed on pick n rolls constantly. Shaq used to and continues to be exposed in the same manner - but the difference was Shaq more than compensated on the offensive end. 29/12/2.5blks >> 20/10. Yao is essentially the 21st century version of Brad Daugherty and I doubt anyone would build a team solely around him. Like it or not we need an elite wing and Tracy was that. Its a shame that we didn't have the pieces that we have now 2 or 3 years ago. Unless Morey can pull some of his magic, i believe our window is fast closing/closed. rant over.
It's funny how people on this board underrate the center position and overrate the perimeter of today's players. I am in my mid 30's and have watched ball since the 80s. I grew up watching the golden age of basketball being a fan of the Showtime Lakers. By my eyeball test, I can confidently say that Yao could've thrived during that era due to the illegal defense rule and the emphasis of the center position. If Kareem was able to be successful into his 40's, I'm confident that Yao could do the same. On the other spectrum, the so-called great wing players of today wouldn't get far with the hand-checking and sheer physical play of eras of the past. I would cringe at the thought of McGrady going up against the Bad Boys or even Michael Cooper. So the people that call McGrady "elite" may be right in this overrated era of perimeter players. Also remember that Yao was averaging in the mid to high 20's and double digit boards before he got injured. I fully expect him to get to those results when he fully recovers.
