i dont really care if howard is better than yao, if the rockets are better than everyone else in the league thats all that matters to me. howard is a beast though and will easily be a top 5 player come few years from now, but is it just me or did the kid just gain a crapload of muscle from the day he was drafted to the day he reported to training camp his rookie year? i am not saying he took helpers or anything but it just didnt seem possible for someone over a period of a few months to put on that much muscle. does the nba test?
yao can never be shaq like- the thing about shaq, which seperates him from many other big men, is his ability to move, to be explosive. Likewise, with the dream, he could move, with quickness. YAO is huge, has great touch, has a great shot, but he'll never be quick like shaq and dream. He'll never be able to move his feet with such skill. Dwight howard has that potential which yao doesn't have. Don't call me a hater, but i like dwight, i've been high on him since the draft, I love yao, i got his jersey, but i gotta give it up for dwight, he's just that good.
To be Shaq like you need to be bigger than everyone else and have that ability to move. Yao has the size but not the explosiveness. Howard has the explosiveness but not the sheer size. I would still take Yao because of the offensive skillsets at his size....very rare. Physical traits like explosiveness go away with age or injury, but Yao will always be taller than everyone else and have his skills package.
everything you say is true - i will concede that yao will always have his amazing skills in combination with his amazing height - so, i guess we'll have to wait and see.
you're absolutely right, i meant in the context of his situation, if he wasn't chinese and was an american.
I also noticed that. he seemed very lanky and lean before being drafted and when he stepped on the court his first preseason game he was ripped.
Holy crap...you're right. If Yao was african-american he'd be in every top 5 list in the country. Just wow.
Well, Shaq can't shoot either. The scary thing is DW can score more points than Yao without being a good shooter. And, he will be a better rebounder forever, period. he's no better than Yao overall now but I'm in the crowd that think he will make a good case for the best center in the league in a couple years.
IMHO, we are just "mesmerized" by athletism just like the media and most American fans. But you know why team USA keeps getting whipped in international games, despite having THE best athletism in the world? Because this is the game of basketball, not a game of jumping and running. Basketball players need to run and jump, but they need to do a lot more than that. In fact, it is a lot more than just the physical game, but the mental game, the basketball IQ, is at least 1/2 of the equation that makes a great player. Most of all, unlike track and field, basketball is a team sport, so it is truly a matter of how a player makes the team better - and win - that defines how great the player is.
it doesn't change that fact that individually, D-ho is blessed with a more versatile body for the center position. ANd yes, athleticism in it of itself does not win ball games, but it sure does help - pistons would beat any team in the world a couple years ago cuz they're skilled, smart, and can run and jump. Keep in mind that other world teams have played together more than a couple weeks. IT's just our athleticism doesn't outweigh their synergy. Think about dream team 1 and 2. Incredibly athletic, never played together, and unbelievably dominant, and i think, even though they didn't play together like a team, they would still beat anyone in the world.
But that's not even true. When Yao was on the court, DHo practically couldn't do anything other than rebound. The only non-free throw score he got was a dunk from backdoor Alley-oop, when Yao was distracted defending Grant Hill. DHo can jump better, but he couldn't get past Yao regardless. In fact, only because Yao's jumpshots and hookshots were rusty that Yao didn't score all day long against DHo. Even then Yao had more points head-to-head. Jumping better doesn't make one a better player. Using Dream Team 1 and 2 was simply bad example for this argument. Dream team 1 and 2 were BEFORE European League took off and European players knew how to play. That's like asking Americans to play rugby with the Brits - irrelevant.
I love Dwight Howard when I'm playing NBA LIVE 2007,more athletic,Power dunks,perfect defence.But I don't think Dwight Howard>Yao now,He may be stronger than Yao serveral later if he can do better on his offence,while Yao can not decline his to.
Do you know how strong Yao is?? I am pretty sure i read an article in which falsone said Yao is the strongest athelet he ever trained with..and he has trained with some strong athelets
Nobody is saying Howard = Yao right now, just that the guy has a very high ceiling and will challenge Yao for best center in a few short years. Only complete homers among Magic fans say Howard is better than Yao right now.
Yao has the touch and shooting skills better than at least 75% of this league, and most big man cannot shoot to save their lives. In fact, here's a list of big men who can shoot (as far as my memory goes) Mehemt Okur Dirk Nowiztiki Brad Miller Peja Pau Gasol Atawn Jamison Other than those big guys currently in the league, I can't think of anybody else who can shoot better than Yao Ming on jumpers. Dwight Howard will never have Yao's touch on offense, and his atheleticism, great as it is, will fail him at the end of his career, while Yao is still shooting jumpers over opposing centers.
