Ledger says some dumb things (Lebron is the best basketball player in the world), but he was spot on here. In truth Yao looks like he is leveling off. His block, rbds and points are pretty stagnant over the last 1.5 years+. Plus the guys is 24.5 years old. I think it safe to say while he is a good player now, and might be a very good player, but we are not talking about a Hakeem, Shaq or even Duncan talent. Look at what those guys did at comparable ages/years in the league--and they were not 7'5". I think Ledger's assessment is fair. And as far of team changes, no one changed more than Phx and they came out of the gate flying. That is not a good excuse. Counting on Ward and Lue cost us a lot of games early--major front office miscalculations though at least we got something in return for Lue. Finally, without at least 1 more major piece via trade, the best we can realistically hope for is an upset in round 1 and exit in round 2. We just are not athletic and formidable enough in the forwards or guards--depending on where you play Tmac. Tmac and to a lesser extent can carry us some, but later in the playoffs against the better teams we will lose every other match-up and that is too much load for them to carry for a 7 game series.
Legler nailed the Rockets part, IMO. The stuff about Yao is just plain true. I'll tell you something else: If Van Gundy and Yao stick around for another couple of years, and Van Gundy can get the right deal, I think he'll trade Yao. That's a lot of if's, since Yao has way more fan appeal (including to yours truly) than Grumpy does, and it would be hard to get fair value for Yao, and giving up the international star might be a bigger revenue hit than Les could stomach. And I have zero inside information on this. But look around: Van Gundy keeps repopulating the team with strong-willed characters. I wouldn't put it past Yao to become one. But if he doesn't, look out.
To tell you the truth, if a decision was ever made to let Yao go or trade him, Van Gundy would have little to no say in it. I don't think this organization has too much respect for Van Gundy's management decisions. And I agree with that stuff about Yao, too.
It's questionable whether Yao has shown gradual improvement this season. And any improvement has certainly not been consistent. Given that his numbers are practically the same as they were last year, it's understandable to conclude that Yao is close to reaching his potential. If he hasn't shown improvement this season, what is going to change that will cause him to show improvement next season and the season after that.
He was right on about Yao. Yao is what he is....a nice center. Not a superstar, just a nice good solid player. DD
If you believed Tim Legler's preseason analysis and prediction, Seattle Sonics would not make this year's playoff.
The season is only half over, I really think we should hold our horses and let the players develop. Same thing, a young kid makes some spectacular moves, all of the sudden, he could be the next Jorden. The actual number may not show the whole picture here. In the beginning of the season, the whole team was in confusion, even T-Mac didn't know what to do, which affected all their stats and games. After the Dallas game, the whole team picked up, the numbers improved, including Yao's. Look at the actual games, don't you think Yao is doing a lot better in offensive rebounds, and a little bit better in blocks, and he seems to have his shooting touch back, etc. Don't you think those are positive and encouraging signs? If you want to look at the number to compare with last season's, shouldn't we just wait till the end of the season? Bear in mind, none of last year's starting teammates are there, 2 of them played half of season with him, another 2 of them played only quarter of season or even less with him. It's a team game, you need time for a team to play together. Besides, Yao is not going anywhere this season and next season. Whether he reaches his potential or not, nobody knows until the time is up. Someone will be right, no one can predict for sure. However, given his past, and his current situation and actual numbers and games, I don't see any reason to make the conclusion that this is what he can do at most, it's all downhill from now on.
Yao is our complementary star to McGrady...nothing more, nothing less. As such, he is more than adequate. Look at other elite players' sidekicks around the league: Dirk-Finley KG-Cassell Duncan-Ginobili Kobe-Odom LeBron-ZIlg Yao is still an excellent second option (18PTS/9RBS). He just needs some help at PF. I'm suprised Legler didn't mention the team's real problem - the black hole at PF. MoT is as good as gone, Juwan is not much better, and Scott Freaking Padgett has been the best at the position lately. What Yao really needs to excel is more minutes. The best way to accomplish this is to get a PF next to him who can guard the other teams best low-post scorer. That way Yao can improve the two barriers to increasing his minutes: Stamina and foul trouble. If Yao can play weakside and off the ball, he can get a lot more rest defensively. Also, he can avoid the ticky-tack fouls he always picks up going for fakes. In addition, I think playing off the ball more will increase his rebounding and blocks by allowing him to position better for both. Someone like Ratliff, Kurt Thomas or PJ Brown might be available short-term. Long-term, someone like Elton Brand or Emeka Okafur(17PPG/11RPG/2.5BPG) could elevate this franchise to the elite status for a long time if paired with Yao and Tmac.
I hate Tim Legler, this guy is a moron. So is Greg Anthony. Personally I like to hear Stephen A. Smith and David Alridge. Legler is just annoying.
