Ok it's time to revisit this classic topic again.... (what else is there to do in between games? ) There is no doubt that both are superstars and are needed together in order for the Rockets to do anything in the playoffs. They are great alone and together energize the team in a uniquely synergistic way. You can virtually put any three role players with them and it would be a good team, kinda like the MJ + Pippen Bulls. However serious and varied differences in their influence and 'superstarness' arise upon closer inspection. First let's examine Yao. He is clearly the more efficient and reliable scorer, mainly due to the fact that the majority of his shots come in the paint. The downside to this is that it is dependent on someone feeding him the ball appropriately (read-- Rafer not pretending not to notice Yao in his initial postup efforts and waiting til a worse situation/desperation post up effort is needed). It is also dependent on the other team's defensive schemes of fronting and doubling and tripling, although there are always ways to counter each and every defensive strategy. From a straight up 1 on 1 stand point, Yao is unstoppable when legally defended, as JVG would say. There are always 2-3 obvious fouls that are not called every game, and that's not just because I'm living up to my handle. Let's also look closer at T-Mac. His greatness lies in the fact that he is a much more versatile scorer than not only Yao but virtually any player on the planet not named Lebron or Kobe. But it doesn't end there as he gives you excellent passing, and good rebounding/defense from the guard position. The problem with T-Mac, as well as with most guards/swingmen is the outside shot is bound to fail on some nights. This results in some atrocious shooting percentages and wasted opportunities for the rest of the team. When T-Mac does decide to drive, which is all too rare, good things tend to happen. All this was quite evident in Game 2. So there is my short take on the T-Mac vs Yao rivalry. But I think it is a good one because they both happen to be on the same team, so the positives they do individually will always help the team and overshadow any kind of negative ego clashes/ shot hogging subtext that may or may not be festering. Hey forget De La Jolla vs Mayweather! It's YOF vs TOF time!!!
Didnt you see them joking and encouraging each other at the press conference? Its obvious there is a power struggle going on between them, duh!
i'm assuming TC is asking whether tmac or yao is the leader of the team. i think it's unquestionable that t-mac is the leader of the rockets. kareem was to magic as yao is to mcgrady. kareem was a great player, but everyone knew magic was the leader. thats the same case with yao and mcgrady.
I think the topic creator made this topic with good intentions, but this is going to bring all the YOFs and TOFs from the caves and rocks they live under. IBTL
I hate threads like this.... PURE STUPIDITY! Next topic please! Wasted my time on something stupid. Bring this topic up when Yao punches T-Mac or when T-Mac rats out Yao for having strippers at his party, otherwise there is no rivarly.
Someone's been doing standup at MIT's open-mic night I see. Oh yeah, this is a stupid thread because there is no Yao-Mac Rivalry. Only idiotic Yaofanatics would think there was one.
Stupidity!! Would you say your middle finger is more superstar than thumb? Or like the time the all the body parts decided to prove that they are the most important, brain was kinda leading the discussion till the ******* shut down for a few days..........and the conversation was then full of bull****. This comparison only matters, if it gets in the way of them prodding eachother to greater heights. If it doesn't stay out o this bull****..
This is a stupid thread and your reply only adds to the stupidity. Yao's fans will sooner or later jump in to tell us why they disagree with you, which in turn will upset the Tmac fans. Next thing we know there is another 10 pages of senseless debate about who owns this team. If anyone really needs to know, Leslie Alexander owns the Houston Rockets and JVG is the leader of the team. We are 2-0 in the playoff and on the verge of getting out of the first round in years. Give the stupid debate a rest now. Sweep the Jazz! Go Rockets!
One reason I have so much confidence in this team is the comraderie between Yao & T-Mac. With other stars on the same team, there are ego clashes. If not ego clashes, then chemistry problems, or offensive flow things. These two are rare superstars who are UNSELFISH. Yao is the most unselfish of them all. Rivalry? There will never be any kind of negativity between the two.
Stop making this pointless thread. Making threads like this only leads to a debate that does not need to happen. Besides, instead of making this thread again, post it in the other threads. You're not bringing anything new to argument anyway. You obviously know your Rockets/Basketball stuff, so put your time and effort into something err........ meaningful, because this is seriously the opposite of that.
Hey, I read somewhere yesterday that T-Mac didn't want to give his press interview alone. He wanted to wait for Yao to come out of the shower because he wanted to make sure that credit was also given to Yao for his role in yesterday's victory. This OBVIOUSLY goes to show that there is a GREAT RIVALRY between Yao and T-Mac. T-Mac should have done his interview alone, taken all the credit for himself and dissed Yao for not putting in 50 points and getting 30 rebounds. Only then would fans conclude that there is no rivalry between the both of them.
