Out of curiosity: Yao or Howard, now that we have Howard

No contest! He can play PG, too, so he'd fit right in
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The nostalgia is astounding. Dwight is a much better defender and rebounder. Offensively he's a tad worse. Dwight can thrive in any offensive pace. And Yao was a fastbreak LIABILITY. Overall, durability is an attribute and Yao was terrible at it. Dwight is better.

 

Tag you TALKING about? Yao played a measly 30 mpg his first 3 years. He sat the bench a full quarter and a half. His body broke down because of all the weight he gained. He bones couldn't take the mass. Which is why I say Shaq was one of the rare freak of nature's to be that big and consistently healthy.

 

My comment above: Wtf*. Not "Tag"

 

Seriously, huh?

You honestly believe that when opposing centers front Yao(with a soft double from the back) with today's Rockets personnel, they wouldn't just attack the hell out of the basket? You really believe that Harden, Parsons, Lin, etc. won't have a field day just getting layup after layup?

That fronting defense crap worked because the Rockets had Rafer/JHo/Jumpshooting T-Mac/Battier, none of whom could drive by ANY defender. Or even if they did, can't finish at the basket. Remember Rafer's teardrops? Replace him with Beverley or Lin and you think those bricks don't turn into points?

I can't imagine a Rockets fan who went through the Yao years would honestly believe that he was a better fit with those players than he would with this current group.

 

A healthy Yao playing without pain is a lot preferable. His height combined with soft hands and IQ, he's a force to reckoned with more than Howard. Of course everything is still dependent on what play the team runs. Sometimes, Howard is preferable especially if you are going to run a lot. Yao is not so athletic for this type of plays.

 

Tag you TALKING about. Yao only bones Ye Li. Moran.

 

I've always preferred Howard over Yao ever since the rivalry started. You can incorporate Howard into more plays, he can run back, and the ability to jump just adds another level on both sides. Lastly, he's healthy more often. But, yeah, watching Howard on offense makes me miss Yao. Yao could nail hook shots and mid-range automatically. The problem is getting Yao the ball. How often was Yao shut down by people fronting him? And Yao wasn't very mobile so you had to play that throw-down. I honestly never thought Yao and Tracy played well together.

 

I'm with you that the current Rockets players would no doubt be able to play with Yao. However, it will depend a lot on the pace that the coach will opt for. Fast paced game isn't Yao's game. I think he's more suited to forced half-court game like the triangle but then you would prefer more shooters rather than penetrators like Harden and Parsons (though they are also quite capable shooters, it's just that they prefer to shoot/drive mid-to-deep).

 

But ... in those good years, when both were healthy enough, didn't we basically end up where we are right now standing wise. Imagine

Rafer
Harden
Battier
Juan
Howard

And the Luther, Bowen, coming off the bench ... you think ...?

 

*fixed*

 

Defenses play Yao where their center is about 18 feet from the basket and would have no chance to get to the paint because Yao is between said defender and the paint.

If that kind of defense doesn't call for penetrators, then I have no idea what kind of defenses would Parsons or Harden would like to see. I mean, you would think Harden would prefer to see Tayshaun Prince in the paint when he drives instead of Marc Gasol, for example.

 

I Love Dwight but a prime Yao Ming all day. Offensively Yao was so polished, that turnaround J was cash MONEY..

We have been blessed with so many talented Centers over the years, but Yao really was special.

 

Why do posters keep bring up 2006-07 NBA Playoffs? The one series Yao struggle in out of the hundreds of games he played. You want to know who Howard struggled against ... 08-09 Lakers. He looked like a world-beater against Gasol and Bynum ... They were keeping him off the boards, making him shoot free-throws, and never let him establish consistent offense. I wonder if they did the same to Yao. For as much as Yao struggled against smaller, fronting teams, I could say Howard struggles just as much if not more against other dominant centers or centers that as big and strong as he...he used to struggle against (and still would) the Pistons (Ben/Rasheed Wallace) and Celtics (Perkins/KG). Shaq would eat Dwight (2014), alive, if he is anywhere close to his prime. He's an inferior post defender against a real center.

 

Hakeem is more special to me...

 

FOr all that great rebounding and defense with slightly inferior offense, last season, the Lakers barely made the playoffs with both Kobe and Dwight, along Gasol on the team. His game is not as flexible as you are making it sound. It works now, because Houston is an uptempo team, but what happens when Dwight has to be a more efficient half-court offensive. He's much inferior in that regard.

 

I'm not asian, and I'm on my tablet which is why some words are coming out wrong.

 

I refuse to have to explain to you why last season is an omission for his career.. if you can sit here and bring up last years season then you're obviously Dwight hater and you have some type of bias against him... Or an extreme bias for Yao. which makes no ****ing sense, he was a perennial playoff loser and cap liability year in and out with his constant year-ending injuries.

 

I still remember that stretch where Yao was absolutely going nuts (multiple 30+ point games, high rebound numbers, great defense) and he just took it to everybody, then got injured . I can't remember what season this was. It was an incredible strech of basketball to watch. Similar to Durants stretch earlier this season. Miss the big fella, wish his career had turned out differently....he deserved better. I would take HEALTHY Yao over Dwight any day. His offensive game was probably the closest we will see to Hakeem for a very long time. His footwork for a man that size just incredible.

 

And LOL @ Yao being 'substantially' better on offense. Let's take this season from Dwight for instance, 19 ppg on 59% shooting. 2 apg

Yao in 07: 22ppg on 52% shooting.. 2 apg

There's nothing substantial about it.