My friendmade a comment about yao yesterday...actually a few comments. the frist thing he said was that yao is over hyped. I agreed with him on this. Then he said yao is over-rated. while that sounds close to being over hyped he clarified that statement with this: "If yao were 7'0" he wouldn't be anything." I countered with: "If shaq were 230lbs he wouldnt be anything either." My friend said that shaq would still be strong enough to dunk and rebound wich is all be does now. yao wouldn't be anything at seven feet because he would get blocked all the time. I thought I made a good enough point to back my argument up. aparently I failed to convince my friend. does anyone have reply that might get through to him?
If Yao was 7', he'd be more mobile. Anyways, the 'if' argument is stupid. If Jordan wasn't so athletic, he wouldn't be that good. If Spurs didn't have Duncan, they wouldn't be that good. You can say that about anything. The point is Yao is Yao. Jordan is Jordan. All their upsides and downsides are part of who they are.
hmmm. Tough one. Have you tried telling your friend that he sucks as you plant your foot in his crotch? Works for me.
Part of what gives Yao and Shaq their advantage, is their strength/weight/height. I think ya'll are both right in a way.
Simple, if Shaq were 6'6" instead of 7', he'd be another Reggie Evans......banger, with zero offensive game except put backs and dunks, with horrible free throw shooting............another aging Weatherspoon who would have trouble dunking and a worse FT shooter, who couldn't defend anybody and couldn't get his shot off in the paint. Or If he were 230 pounds, he'd be another Tony Battie/Keon Clark clone who was a decent defender but who would get pushed out of the block and out of his range once he was outside the paint, and an even bigger liability than he is now at crunch time with the horrible free throw shooting.
Just tell him height didn't do Shawn Bradley or Gheorghe Muresan or Manute Bol any good. And then plant your foot in his crotch.
Exactly. I'm not sure why there's such a big deal made about Yao's height. I mean, if it's such an advantage to be that tall, why hasn't the likes of Bol, Bradley, or Murasean dominated the league? The best 7-4+ playes I can think of are Ralph Sampson and Rick Smits. If anything, it's amazing that Yao can run up and down the floor despite his his huge bulk.
1. Accuse him of being racist and say he probably feels insecure about Chinese people bigger than him. If he's Chinese, say that he's just jealous that Yao got better genes. Accuse his masculinity and ask him if he feels insecure about "...something. Because your ex-gf has been telling people...." 2. Say something like, "Typical response from [state political group he belongs in]" and mock his inability to distinguish 'facts' from propaganda. State that you are more complex and superior to him. Spitting on him or asking him to clean your yacht would be good punishment. 3. Step 1: Pull out lots of statistical analysis, game tape of yao's jumpshot and comparisons of his footwork at 7'5 with other players at 7'0 and note that yao has a better jump shot, better footwork, better post moves than 90% of the players at 7'0. Then compare him to past retired players and state comparisons to Bill Walton and Kareem, as well as statistical analysis comparing Yao's progression with KG's. Use graphs, powerpoint, pie charts. Compare him to other 7'6 players who have played in the league and show how unique Yao is to the rest. Step 2: watch as your friend sticks with his original notion, using silly banter or accusing you of sticking with [your political party] ideology. Accuse you of not being patriotic, comparing you to Hitler, for reasons completely unrelated to the topic at hand. Step 3: Karate chop him in the upper lip (there are a lot of nerve endings here) and trip him to the ground. Continue to punch him in the armpits (it surprisingly hurts quite a lot to get punched here, plus, it will make him wonder why you are punching him in the armpits). Get a tweezer and begin to pull his nose hairs out one by one until he agrees with you. Insist that you are doing this only because you care about him. 4. Admit that he may have a point then use the same logical reasoning he uses to bash his favorite player, ex. "Y'know, Kobe is good but he wouldn't even be in the NBA if he was (three inches shorter/white/without phil jackson/straight)."
Calling Yao overhyped or overrated is old hat and really something people say when they don't know anything about his game. When people on message boards all over the world call a player overrated or when media pundits always question his ability to dominate, at what point is a player like Yao actually underrated? Really, who is overrating him anymore? Even Bill Walton has stopped comparing him to Dream, and he went so far as to express disappointment towards Yao early in the season. It is now cool and accepted to call Yao overrated, and so I claim that he is now underrated. No one talks about the good aspects of his game anymore. All the hype and overrating was in his rookie year when he showed the world that he could play. Clearly, everyone in the media and many fans went too far with the "he'll change the way the game is played" comments. Unfortunately, Yao is still feeling the backlash of that in terms of fan and media perception. Those who call him overrated and overhyped are still referring to the hype he got that rookie year (in which he didn't even win ROY). Maybe it's the all-star appearances. He's clearly not overrated by the coaches and voters for awards, because he didn't even make all-nba last year (do you really think Detroit wouldn't trade Ben Wallace for Yao?). Bottom line is this: Yao is about 5 mpg from averaging 20 and 10, and when that happens everyone's perception of him will magically change. 18.5, 8.5, and 2.0 is a disgrace, even in 30 mpg on 55% shooting, but 20 and 10 is a special club reserved for the league's elite. He might even start getting a favorable call here and there. Unfortunately, even when he reaches that level, a few people will still probably compare him to Rik Smits, despite the fact that Yao is already better than Smits ever was. When he pushes people around and gets called for offensive fouls, some people will still call him soft because he doesn't foul hard enough. I guess what i'm trying to say is: ignore these people.
If Yao were "just" a 7-footer, he'd still have excellent footwork, ball fakes, and passing skills. He'd still have his left and right-handed jump hooks and layups. He's got the bank shot and the up-and-under in his repertoire. He's got the turnaround jumper and fadeaway. He's got an excellent baseline spin move. Oh yeah, he's got a pretty good range too. He's shown us a behind-the-back dribble in full stride and a crossover. He hits free throws at nearly 80%. Ask your friend to name all the 7-footers that can do all that.
If there was no sun, there would be no life on earth. I have heard someone said if Mugsy Bogue were a 6 footer, he would be a superstar, an elite player and the best point guard in the league. If Tim Duncan was 6'7", would he have enough quickness to find a job in the NBA as a SF? If Charles Barkley were 6'11" instead of 6'6"... Tell your friend if his parents didn't meet, he would not be in this world and so he doesn't need to worry about what kind of player a 7'0" Yao would be.
Tell your friend if he's 7'6", he'd be a stiff whose career is to reach the tree tops collecting fruits in a Brazil farm.
