I know a lot of people on this board always say how they would always take a Yao, a big, over a small, paul. I don't get this. When a player is special it shouldn't matter if they are small. I knew after this season that CP3 is a better player than Yao, even if he is a small.
Might as well want to see if he could still get his head straight if his teammates keep missing his dishes. His temper could be his major flaw and would hinder him from much success in the league.
Big men are usually a safer bet. You always want the guy who is plays on another level, but it's hit or miss. the big man shoots closer to the basket, is big enough to clog the lane, and is good for defenive purposes. the smaller player has to have so many things go right for him in order to get to that level. Overall, I think the big man has more of a chance to impact the game more than the smaller player, both defensively and offensively.
that happens to every pg. new orleans is actually a good shooting team, and chandler raises cp's assists per game by 1.5. agree on his temper" though. to me it's a personality issue, not just "temper".
For the last 18 years, I can think of only 1 all-star point guard that was the best player on their team to win a championship. Billups. Even that's arguable, there is so much parity for that Pistons team. While Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Arenas haven't won any rings, while guys like Avery Johnson, Derek Fisher, Kenny Smith, Steve Kerr have more rings. 3pt specialists, who would never be mistaken as the best player on their teams. They only won them rings because of Duncan, Hakeem, and Shaq. We have to all the back to 6'1" Isiah Thomas and the Pistons from 1989-90, for the last championship team lead by a PG or short player.
Now, I am not saying Paul is worse than Yao. He is amazing. If any PG can lead his team to a championship, it would be Paul. I think he can be the next Isiah Thomas. I was just showing why GMs and fans prefer big men over small guys in the NBA draft.
Yao is a terrible example for a big vs. small argument because he is a fundamentally flawed player. The counter argument against Yao in this discussion would be that he can too easily be taken out of a ballgame by the opposition and that just isn't true of a big man of Paul's caliber (say, Duncan in his prime). It's like me saying players that go to college fare better in the NBA than those who jump straight from high school and pointing to Tim Duncan and Gerald Green as my examples.
The homerism on this board is getting out of hand. Chris Paul has already done more in one playoff run than Yao has in 3+. What Chris Paul has already established is that he can carry a team. Yao has yet to come anywhere close to that in playoffs. You guys are citing examples of other great big men. Problem is, Yao hasn't dominated the league like those other big guys even though he is playing in an era which does not have too many quality big players.
Don't forget the biggest thing with Yao. He is constantly injured. You just can't depend on him. To have Chris Paul ready to play every game, would be a god send instead of dealing with Yao's "...head, shoulders, knees and toes...". The ability to penetrate to the lane and draw a foul is important also. Our best defense against an opposing team's big man, would be to get him into foul trouble.
yao is so overrated by houston fans its getting ridiculous. yao will never be as dominant or lead a team through the playoffs like shaq, hakeem, or duncan. he's just not good enough and his size is too much of a liability against fast teams. CP3 on the other hand has the potential to be the best PG of ALL TIME.
yao just has been unfortunate with injuries. big men take a bit longer to mature. the first few years yao wasn't ready (partly due to him coming from china). i feel from 06-07 season and on he's ready. just lost to injuries. otoh, i don't think cp will become one of the all time greats. the closest he can be imo is isiah thomas. i could be wrong, but you can't be too excited over one year. otherwise you get nash winning mvp 2 years in a row and even today many people still say he's one of the greatest pg's. just my opinion.
I don't know if that's true that big men take longer to mature. Duncan, Hakeem and Shaq were dominant in their first few years.
Dominant big men dominate from day one. Yao has yet to dominate a season. For big guy who was already slow he now has faced a season ending surgery plus is a year older. He will only get slower and more injuries are sure to come. Chris Paul 2nd in MVP voting (3rd year in the league) Led is team to second best record in the West Yao Ming ??? cp3> Yao
You people act like players never go through injuries at some point in their careers. If 25/10 is not dominant for a so-called slow big, I don't know what is. He's playing in the Olympics, he is not dead. I'd take Yao over CP anyday. CP3 beat a disgruntled mavs in the first round, big deal. Everyone knows that the Kidd trade didn't make them better. According to the current time, CP3 hasn't beat the Spurs yet. They are only up one game. No one gave the Rockets a chance after being down 0-2 to Utah, and this is the Spurs we're talking about.
