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How GOOD was Yao Ming Actually

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by amaru, Nov 3, 2018.

  1. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    Should have traded Tmac for Vince Carter
    We all know the trade was on the table

    yao would have gone far
     
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  2. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

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    You can really tell who didn't actually watch him play.
     
  3. jiggyfly

    jiggyfly Member

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    How the heck can you ever mention Holmgren and Chet in the same breath, there is zero comparisons.

    Embid is a far better athlete than Yao way more flexible, maybe Yao would have developed more skills but Embid is a real Unicorn.
     
  4. TheRealist137

    TheRealist137 Member

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    Yao is overrated by Rockets fans. He had severe limitations and was not very mobile after he put on the weight. Fronting absolutely killed him. If he were in this era I could imagine him being worse than Adebayo. Better offensively but worse defensively. He simply couldn't guard on switches, he was never that quick and his defensive instincts were never elite.
     
  5. Scarface281

    Scarface281 Contributing Member

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    wonder how the rockets changed their security for players after that. so weird seeing Yao begging for these fans to get out of his garage. can't even find anything about it online anymore like it was all scrubbed. yeah those fans wouldn't even had made it through the lakeforest gate had it been harden or paul.
     
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  6. Yung-T

    Yung-T Member

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    Breh ded like Kenobi.
     
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  7. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    what entitled suckers
    they never thought what they did was wrong
    stalking people and following them home because you want a stupid picture

    today they would have been shot, especially if someone is following a nba player home
     
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  8. durvasa

    durvasa Contributing Member

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    I think people tend to focus on the wrong things with Yao. He was a great foul shooter, but long jumpers were never the strong part of his offensive arsenal. His passing ability was also overrated. But get him the ball with his back to the basket and a guy behind him, and it was pretty much over for the defense. Like clubbing baby seals, as they say.

    It's true that he struggled defending on the perimeter. But the most underrated thing about Yao was his elite defensive impact around the basket. His size and immovable bulk near the basket was a major deterrent, even if he wasn't making the eye-popping shot-blocking or rebounding plays due his lack of mobility.
     
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  9. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    Yeah, how many of the great centers in the past could defend on the perimeter? Were they all bad defensive bigs? Of course not. It's just the evolution of the game.

    On offense, as someone pointed out, Yao kind of fell in between times. He came into the league when the illegal defense rule had been changed but the 3pt shooting spacing was not in vogue. Defenses could double him front and back without the ball. It made it so difficult to make an entry pass to him. It didn't help that he played a large part of his career under JVG, one of the least creative offensive coaches. By the time Adelman came, he and McGrady kind of took turn getting injured.
     
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  10. Jontro

    Jontro Member

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    rip @Yaozer he was a real one. may he party in peace in valhala with mando and obi
     
  11. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN
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    I'm not sure that Hakeem wasn't the only great center from the past who was a deadly perimeter defender. Who else could do it?
     
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  12. Juxtaposed Jolt

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    First of all, huh? Holmgren and Chet? Lol?

    Second, I'm not trying to say who's better between Yao and Embiid - I'm just saying that the closest player to Yao in today's game, is probably Embiid. Far better athlete is a bit of a stretch, since Yao never really needed to rely on footwork in his era. Yao would just back his defender down and jump hook it over him, or just shoot it over him because of the disparity in height. If Yao had to play in this era (and without all those Chinese national team obligations), I'm sure his game would cater towards athleticism than just backing people down.
     
  13. pmac

    pmac Contributing Member

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    I don't know why people are mentioning perimeter defense. The struggle Yao had defensively was against quicker 4s masquerading as 5s constantly attacking him with quickness or making him work to get back to a mid range fadeaway. Not 3 point shooters. The times that teams did play all smalls it wasn't defending the perimeter that was the problem, it was finding a way to get Yao the ball with the smaller guy fronting him with help coming over.

    Yao was a special player, one of the best bigs of his time, but some of the people here really need to get a grip with the mentions of him being better than Shaq or a 3 point shooter.
     
  14. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
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    To be honest, even today, it's extremely hard to find a guy who can defend well both inside and outside. (That's why Jabari Smith is such a rare talent on defense.) The best most teams can do is either play small ball or use some scheme to counter the PnR hunting.
     
  15. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    It is amazing they had problems passing him the ball
    He’s taller than everyone else
     
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  16. RocketsDraftTV

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    rich mans rik smits
     
  17. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Yao Ming was 290 when he entered the league, how is that different from Jokic who weighs 284 pounds? If Jokic can be effective at that weight why can't Yao?

    Yao doesnt need to be a thin dude and do behind the back ankle breakers to be a perimeter player cuz guess what Yao is 7'6 if he rises up for a 3 who is blocking that shot? Look at players like Embiid, Jokic and Porzingis on how they can be effective scoring in the perimeter despite being massive dudes.

    As for Shaq yeah he can lead fast breaks, but he also doesnt have good shot mechanics so it makes zero sense for him to play on the perimeter. Yao shot 81% on fts if he developed his jumper he had potential to be a 3 pt bomber.
     
    #117 roslolian, Aug 1, 2022
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2022
  18. Jontro

    Jontro Member

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    what year was this? i don’t remember. but who would trade mergady for vins back then?

    i only remember jvg ruined yao by making him into a tree and planted him in the low post. breh was also standing at eye level with me whenever i attend games and sat up in poor sections, crazy tall. watching from way up there was like seeing miniature players running around and then a full sized yao standing in the middle
     
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  19. roslolian

    roslolian Member

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    Yao isnt better than Shaq but judging from his elite ft% he could def have been an above average 3 pt shooter at least if he had worked on it.

    I repeat dude shot 81% from the free throw line. How many active players are shooting fts that high and cant shoot 3s? So everyone saying Yao couldnt shoot 3s just dont know what they are talking about. He didnt shoot 3s cuz he played under JVG and Tom Thibs who hVe no clue there are other ways to score besides the post. But if he played in the modern era instead of being taught post moves again and again he would been allowed to expand his game and shoot 3s. At 7'6 he literally towers over everyone else when he jumps and shoots a 3 very few people can even reach him to block his shot.
     
    #119 roslolian, Aug 2, 2022
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2022
  20. Roomba

    Roomba Member
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    Agreed, I think Siakam and Pascal have more comparable games :p
     
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