Don't want this to be another Yao bashing thread.. but we need to come to our senses.... Can we all come in to accordance on a date where we no longer accept the "yao is still adjusting" and "yao is still learning" excuse... and officially declare him the next Rick Smits and expect nothing more? I would say that deadline should have passed already being that it is the end of his third season and he hasn't improved as much as we'd like.... we know for a fact that he will never average more that 35 mpg, will probably never be a league leading shot blocker, scorer, rebounder, or passer.. There are players younger than him that are doing much more (Wade, Lebron, Amare) and probably have even more potential... we need to focus on T-mac carrying this team for the next 7 years or so and hope that he stays healthy and that Yao can be a very reliable second option.
speaking of senses... my spidey sense tell me that the next Poll may read "Is yangstax a douchebag?" in either case I give this 0 stars if you going to start a train wreck, flame thread - at least be original on your topic !
Don't want this to be another yangstax bashing thread.. but we need to come to our senses.... Can we all come in to accordance on a date where we no longer accept the "yangstax is still adjusting" and "yangstax is still learning" excuse... and officially declare them the next lancet and expect nothing more? I would say that deadline should have passed already being that it is the end of his sixty-third post and he hasn't improved as much as we'd like....
this thread is asking for it.. Something more than zero for this I wish we had an autolock vote system or something
Believe me.. I want Yao to develop into a dominant center as much as anyone here... but I think i'm just being more realistic (maybe just more pessimistic) in my expectations... if he can't play more than 35 mpg at age 24, I don't see how he can play any more than that as he ages.
I wonder how often people said that about Jermaine or KG, thinking they peaked and it was over. Probably not quite as much, since their bodies were prototypical and their race was more well-known to succeed in bball. I think that it's more because Yao is unique to the NBA (in all its history) that the general population isn't willing to give him as much time as it took other players. Curry and Chandler are still coming along. Yes, there have been the Lebron's who succeeded right away, and the Amare's whose games jumped faster (regardless of the reason behind it)... but I'm a long way away from writing off Yao as "peaked" based on his progress, his willingness to learn, the skills he has shown in the past, and his overall attitude.
Sorry, dude, but if you are looking for people who are down on Yao, you won't find one here. Facts as I see them: Yao has improved offensively in each of his three years. Yao's development will be much more analagous to players jumping from high school or coming over from Europe than players drafted from American colleges, meaning that his DRAMATIC improvement will be seen in years 4-6. Because of Yao's considerable skills, our opponent's game plans are focused on how to stop him first and foremost. Rik Smits never had that kind of impact. Yao has still not received even half of the respect from the referees that Shaq, Divac, Webber, or any number of other players enjoy. AS he improves, the respect (and the foul calls) will come. In only his third year, Yao has made the adjustment to an entirely new supporting cast and is beginning to thrive with them. As they continue to learn how to play together, the passing will get better and more easy baskets will be the result. Yao has already started to learn how to avoid silly fouls by standing straight with his arms up. There is still plenty of room for improvement, as there is with any player, but I have seen the learning process just over the course of THIS year. Now, I am not annointing Yao as the next Jabbar, Olajuwon, or O'Neal, but Yao already draws as much attention as those guys did, affects the opponent's game plans as much as they did, and has shown flashes of being able to produce like those guys did. The only thing Yao needs to improve IMO is consistency. Mark my words, you will be eating yours soon.
Yao is already a more dominant player than Smits ever was. Smits was a jump shooter and had a decent hook, that was it. Yao is stronger, can post better, and is a better rebounder and shot blocker. Smits was extremely one-dimensional. Yao probably won't be as great as Dream, Jabbar, or Chamberlain. He'll never be as dominant as Shaq. But, once Shaq is gone, Yao will be the best center around until another great comes along, and Yao will be the most dominant player. I've seen plenty of flashes of dominance from him this year, because despite his nature he is a competitor.
Thanks for giving a serious response... I didn't mean for my original post to be taken so negatively... and i'm sorry if this issued has been beaten to death in the past already.. I see your points... He has added some new elements to his game in his three years... Rick Smits was an exaggeration I'll admit... I'm just a huge tmac fan and I don't get it when people are so convinced that Yao will ever become better than him. Tmac will probably go down as one of the nba's 50 greatest players... I don't see that in yao yet, unless all star votes has something to do with it. I just see so many things working against him right now.. that it would make me think that it's highly unlikely that he'll ever be our first option with Tmac on the team. 1) It's not physically possible to have him on the court long enough ... No player that I know of above 7'5" could average more than 35 mpg...(obviously guys like bradley never earned the right to play more than the minutes than he got) http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BOLMA01 http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MURESGH01 http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BRADLSH01 2) China won't give him a rest 3) Lacks mental/physical aggressiveness... This is something I think he is really developing too slow... Yea he complains to the refs more, but he still soft and can't get post position.. maybe its just not in him to play any other way.. i dunno..
I think it all depends if he can get a summer off this year. If not, that is it, he has reached his peak. Because if he can't get a summer off this year (national games), he won't get any next year (Asian cup > national games), and the year after (Olympics >> Asian cup). By then the time for development is over and he hits 28. Since Yao has promised up front that he will play this summer and he is a man of his words, only when Shanghai explicityly tells him to stay will he stay in Houston this summer. So far, it looks like a 50-50 chance for him to stay.
