I just think Yao is too slow to ever dominate, he can be an effective number 2 man, but he is just too slow of foot, too slow to react and too nice to really use his size. Yoa is a good complimentary player, but IMHO, he will never dominate the game night after night. Tmac needs to be the one to take charge, and let the rest of the team follow his lead, he is the only player with that ability on this Rockets team. DD
Yao should never have been in the All Stars game in the last 2 years, and he doesn't deserve to be in this years!! I really hope all them fans in China stop choosing Yao for the All Stars game!! Affirmative action does not belong in the NBA!! Yao is a good average center in the NBA. Teams like the Warriors that needs a true role playing center could use. Cleveland could use Yao if Z wasn't there. But Yao ain't no where near the elite like Shaq/KG/TD or Amare or Dirk!!! I said this 2 years ago and I say it again...Yao is not mentally or psychologically capable of being a superstar!! He is simply a 7'6" wimp p***y who is 10 x better than Shawn Bradley and that aint saying nothin. Yao was lucky he wasn't tossed into the NBDL for a few years to learn American basketball. Fans who vote for Yao for the All Stars game are a billion times more dumb and more embarassing than the Detroit fans who attacked the Pacers.
If Yao can't dominate, there goes our championship dream. TMac can't get it done, period. Let's pray we could get another Duncan or Shaq, or Les opens his purse to bring an all-star line-up. By the way, Amare won't get you a ring unless Nash, Marion, Joe Johnson, Q are on his team (even those are not enough). Suns was a lottery team even Amare put 25/10 after the all-star break last season, and they still had Marion, Joe Johnson, Jacobson. Do you think Yao would lead that team to lottery?
It is you who are greatly mistaken. It's fans in the US who chose Yao over Shaq in starting in the all star game. Shaq led the online ballots while Yao led the paper ballots. Besides, fans get to choose whoever they like in the all star game. That is the WHOLE FREAKING POINT!
I can't believe I agreed with Amed once in this thread. I have a really bad taste in my mouth. Yao had dominated half of our games so far. He sucked in the other half, largely due to foul trouble. That is a good sign, right? An average player will score around 15 every night. A good one will score 20 every night. A great one in the making scores 30 half the time and 8 the other half. We have seen what Yao can do. Is the Yao hater's memory really that selective and short? Yao is learning to do it every night. So far he sucks at it, he fails half the time. However, do you really not see that he is dominating more frequently? His first year: 10% of games second: 20% this year(till now): 50% It's not like we are not seeing progress. And keep in mind in his little over 2 years in the league, he's played for 3 different teams. 3 different coaches. While learning new language. While learning new culture. While refs hate him. And you don't think his progress is impressive?
Let me just weigh in without digging through all the craziness too much. First, it was a huge mistake to place a value judgement on Yao when he entered the league. He had never played college ball, never really been matched up with the best of the best for his age group and never had the benefit of American training regimens designed to build his muscle and stamina. In many ways, he was more like a high school player entering the NBA than a college player. Second, we are in a center-starved league. The era of the dominant big man ended back in the mid-90's when Hakeem, Shaq, Robinson, Mutumbo (in his prime) and Ewing were all still in the league. Any decent big man is going to be hyped through the roof at this point because there are so few comparisons in today's league to draw from. Third, defensive rules have slowed the game in the paint. This isn't to say guys like Jabbar, Olajuwon and O'Neal wouldn't domainate this game. O'Neal still does. It just means that centers in particular have to work harder to fight for shots and that means those guys must assume a much more agressive stance, which brings me to... Fourth, we are used to agressive play out of all basketball players. It isn't shocking and, for some, even acceptable when fights break out and even spill into the stands. We pay these guys to be tough and agressive and battle. That isn't what Yao is about and it never has been. All of the things that we most prize among humans - kindness, decency, unselfishness, honor - are the things that Yao possess. Unfortunately, those are not the most prized characteristics of NBA athletes who need competitiveness, agressiveness and sheer will to overcome the play of other guys who are going to battle equally as hard. Fifth, Yao was drafted by a team with a long and storied tradition of developing hall-of-fame centers, the last of which was one of the greatest players ever to step onto the hardwood. Naturally, the comparisons to those players are inevitable, but they aren't fair, particularly with Dream, who pretty much dominated from his first game as a rookie until very late in his career and did it in a league LOADED with great big men. ---- In some ways, I think it is better to make the case that Yao was unprepared to enter the NBA when he did and make our assessments from that point rather than to think he was ready to dominate like many big men did when they entered the league. As a result, I see his development on a larger curve than Shaq or Hakeem. Personally, I don't think we'll be able to accurately guage his game as a big man for at least another season or two. And, even then, I'm not sure he will ever match the hype that followed him when he was drafted.
Finally somebody who is watching the same Yao Ming I am watching. I cannot agree more with this post and as soon as we rid ourselves of YOF then this will be a better place.
Good post Jeff. It was a fair and down to earth post. I would like to point out that the rule changes is also affacting Shaq this year. He is nowhere near his old self this season. This could be due to his injury or like yao, his teammates are still learning how to use him. He also had a lot of tacky fouls called against him this season, and it's bothering his game a lot.
This another reason why Yao is struggling so much. This era in the NBA is that of a quick athletic center. Every team has a shorter but quicker center who can move his feet. This is why Yao gets in foul trouble and gets fatigued so qucikly. He just can't move his feet quick enough. When Yao was drafted I thought he would dominate because of his size but its evident that he doesn't know who to take advantage of it. The quick centers in this league are just beating him to the rebounds and beating him to the post. When teams face the Rockets they go to a small line up and out quick them. Yao is just over matched athletically everytime he gets on the court.
Without zone defense, Yao would dominate on the offensive end. His defense, he needs to play in a zone system to limit his foul trouble. What a puzzle!
Here you are!! Give us something new. "cause all I hear now is Blah, Blah, Blah!! Oh, BTW, where were you when Yao scored 20 plus points per game?
That's right. This is why Yao needs to establish a consistent mid-range jumper, and the Rockets need to play zone defense. Yao is just too slow on the court. He's really not that much different that the other NON-BLACK giants in NBA history. Guys like Rik Smits and Arvydis Sabonis have had problems with speed guys. The way Shaq abused Rik Smits in the Eastern Conference playoff finals in 1995 was just sad. Shaq's not even a speed guy. Shaq almost made Arvydis cry in his numerous matchups with the Blazers in the playoffs. Anything involving moving his feet is a sigificant negative for Yao. Yao does not have to move his feet or put the ball down on the ground to shoot a jumper. I think Arvydis in his heyday is a better player than Yao. Yao has no jumper as of today.
By the way, has anybody thought that missing summer training in the US 3 years in a roll might have something to do with Yao's inconsistent performance? On the other hand, Amare has benefited from summer training and rest for sure.
My assessment of Yao after +3 seasons is his potential is more limited than I first thought. In Yao’s first season, I thought he was a player that could be just as good as anyone in the league. That if he realizes his potential, he could do anything against anybody in the league anytime he wanted to. Can’t say I feel that way anymore. There are just certain things about him that are always going to limit how good he can be, main his mobility and stamina. There are always going to be certain types of players (quick athletic) that are always going to give him problems, certain types of teams (fast tempo), certain types of defensive schemes (fronting), and certain type of situations (ie. playing in foul trouble or playing tired). And I don’t think it’s a lack of talent or drive. It’s his size. There’s a reason why there has never been a great +7’5 player in the NBA. Doesn't mean I want to get rid of him, but he's going to need a much stronger supporting cast and probably at least one more star player next to him.
At this point, he is still more limited by his mentality and confidence than by his physical skills. He has decent mobility, great footwork, good strength, superb touch. There is no reason he can't be scoring 20+ points a game. I agree with Jeff. Some guys just take more time. Rashard Lewis is one example of a guy like that. This is his 7th year and it looks like he is finally going to break 20ppg barrier and be a dominant force, instead of just a good player. Let's hope Yao can do that sooner.
So, which is it, is he good or average? And, so your saying that teams would want and need a true center on thier rosters. Brilliant assesment! I don't know man, you're the one trashing a player ONLY after a bad game. Just like fans who decide to cowardly punch and throw beverages at players while they are defensless and thier backs turned. Looks like your the dumbass and prick to me, especially when you're mysteriously missing after games in which Yao score 25+. And having Yao-bashers is any better? At least the YOFs show up around here no matter a good or bad game. I don't know where you get that there are tons of YOFs here anyway. If you were actually around these boards after a good game by Yao, you would see that there is not a whole lot of "Yao love" going around. Sure, there are those who praise Yao's play, but there is no one labeling him the "next great center" because of one game's performance. On the other hand, you have labeled him a failure after 11 games where he is averaging better than anytime in his career.
It is so funny? Your two are the Yao haters, of course you agree with each other. Where were U when Yao had a good game?
Haven't you already noticed. This jedi kid is neither a YOF or Yao basher. He or she just likes to make ignorant statements to stir things up.
I think, more than anything else about Yao, this is the one aspect of his game that frustrates me the most. It's one thing to develop slowly - i.e., getting your ppg gradually up steadily, but to score 30 pts in one game, and then 8 pts in the next - it's just too erratic. Everyone has bad games, but a guy who can score 30 ppg should NOT have a bad game where he's only scoring 8. At this point, I don't really care about Yao's rebounding, shot blocking, defense, assertiveness, leadership, low post positioning, etc.. If he can just improve this one aspect of his game this season - to get his really sucky games up to 15 ppg MINIMUM, then I would consider the season a HUGE success for Yao Ming.
