He did not dorminate Shaq, didn't not lead Rockets to the second round ... in his second season. He held his won against Shaq and Shaq had a very subpar playoff series by his standard. No, he did not play great in that series, but not bad either overall.
All this Yao hate wounds me. Seriously. Here we have 7'6 giant at the 5, humble as all can be, a serviceable rebounder and bona fide offensive talent and we cannot finad anything better to do but to tear him down because he cannot matchup to our (inflated) expectations. Reality Check: Shaquille O'Neal couldn't live up to the expectations placed on Yao. Hell, Wilt the Stilt, man of a thousand lovers, couldn't live up to the expectations placed on Yao. Even if Yao grew into the 20/10 player we're willing to "settle" for, I don't think the critism will be quieted -- and that is too bad, because Yao is already showing he is a special player. We're not 6th place without him -- we are 6 from the league cellar, if we're lucky. His mere presence in the post is more than most teams can claim to bring to the 5. This is not to say we should 'settle' -- but I really don't understand the lack of patience.
