I believe centers tend to have longer staying power than wings and guards, so that might be good news. Hakeem peaked around 31 or 32, but that is unusual. The average NBA player peaks at around 26 years old. But who knows what the peaking age might be for a guy of Yao's physical stature. My fear is that his body will break down prematurely, in which case he may only have a few more years for us to really see what he's capable of. If I had to guess, Yao's peak will be in the next two seasons.
If you're talking about the post all-star peak, then there's ZERO CHANCE he can possibly top this. Not over a full season, not when T-Mac's back and getting his share of the shots. If he can even score in the 24-26 ppg range and get 10-12 rebounds, that would more than enough for me. Of course, he and T-Mac need nice enough role players to truly ascend to championship quality play though.
I'd be ecstatic if he could sustain 28/13 the rest of his career. I wouldn't care if he's peaked now, as long as he sustains it until 2016
I dont care how Yao's stats will be in his prime. 35/15? then what? Why cant he cure cancer and AIDS?
I think Yao is far from peaking. In terms of his scoring, he's putting up big points, but his FG% isn't close to as good as it's been in the past. If Yao continues to refine his post game and further ingrains the muscle memory for those fakes, drop-steps, spins, and fade-aways, I don't think it's a stretch to say that he has the ability to shoot over 60% from the field. Combine that with his FT shooting which seems to only be getting better and more automatic, I wouldn't be surprised if Yao does have multiple 30+ ppg seasons. In terms of his rebounding, it's all tied in with his stamina. Yao's stamina is getting better, but I think there is still room for improvment. And I think that improving in that area will benefit his defense and rebounding the most. I remember a game a couple of weeks ago (I think it might have been against the Mavs), where a guy (Possibly Dampier) went for a rebound and had it in his hands, but Yao just went in and ripped it away from him. No doubt about it, Yao has the strength to steal rebounds away from anybody, but his stamina keeps him from covering quite as much ground as he possibly could. I definitely think Yao has a chance to be a 30 ppg scorer, and a 12-13 rpg guy. 13 rpg is a lot. He'd be a top 3 rebounder with that kind of number. If Yao's stamina and lateral quickness, improved even more, I could see him being a shut-down post defender that would take every crunch time low post scorer like Duncan, Brand, J O'neal etc. That would pretty much be the upper limit of Yao's ceiling. Which is pretty crazy if you think about it. How many guys were ever a top 3 scorer, rebounder, and post defender? But I think it's an outside possiblity for Yao.
Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves... I would be ecstatic if Yao could average more than 12 rebounds a game for the entire season. I would be happy to settle for more than 11 rebounds a game next season together with 25 plus points and a slightly higher field goal percentage. Plus the thread starters number were all rounded up, not that I doubt Yao could average that for the entire season during his peak, but let us reframe from giving him such lofty expectations only to criticize him for not achieving them later on. I would be more than happy if Yao could prove me wrong. -G'day-
I don't think Yao has peeked just yet but with that being said 27-12 (similar to what we have seen over the time since the all star break) is about what we should hope for over the next five years or so. I think Yao is very close to what is gonna be his offensive peek that I hope he will sustain for many many years. This level right now is pretty close to dream he still definatly has some work to do but I don't see why he can't be as good as dream on that side of the ball. Defense is another story, Yao has gotten much better on the boards and much better being in the right spot but he has lots of work to do if he want's to be an elite defender. With this guys great attitude and his work ethic he can be one of the all time greats!
It depends how you define "right now". Do you mean how he's been playing the last game or two? The last 10 games? Since coming back from injury? All season? If it's either of the last two things, I would say no. I think Yao will put up better, more consistent numbers in his prime. I now think 25 and 12 for a full season are reasonable expectations for his prime. If you mean how he's been playing since the All-Star break (and I guess that's what you mean), then yeah, it's difficult to imagine him getting better than the 30 & 12 beast we've seen lately. He would have to be mentioned in the arguments for the greatest center of all time, in that case. I don't think that Yao's play after the AS break is an indication of who Yao is right now, though. I mean, it shows Yao has gotten a lot better, but I don't think he's THAT much better yet. Do you really think Yao can average nearly 30 points and 12-13 boards for an entire season? I hope he can, but I just don't see it.
his stats have gotten better every year he's been in the league, i don't how much more they'll improve in particular when tmac comes back, but i expect him to remain a 20/10 guy for the next decade
Damn. I actually remember that thread. The idea that Yao had peaked 20 games into his NBA career was so out of bounds with logic, it's truly insane. It's almost as bad as Aries_Tim putting Channing Frye and Melvin Freaking Ely ahead of Yao. Seriously, who in their right mind would choose Melvin Ely over Yao. I'm telling you Aries_Tim is certifiable, and polypheus isn't far behind. Hmm. I wonder if they are the same guy.
I agree when some guys describe Yao as a cerebral player.He knows his advantages and disadvantages and he has his own way to play the ball. Because of the whole team's bad situation during this season, he has to face criticism all the time...with his injured toe. He may feel downcast and surrender but he never did. Though we still can't enter the playoffs, we can see his effort. I don't think everyman can do as well as Yao in their lives and careers. In another thread in this forum, I saw people talking about trade Yao for KG. Are they serious? I don't wanna begin a talk about KG's power and ability. I respect KG as a great player, but can't we just broaden our sight to see how young Yao is and how much potential Yao still has? PS:I am a "rookie" which means I haven't registered for many days, and I did see some new guys post some improper threads which bring on many dissatisfaction. I am sorry for that and I hope Clutchfans could wait a bit. Only real Clutch fans hold out until the last.
I think Yao's numbers after the break, around 28 and 12 are numbers he will put up in his prime. Maybe shave off 2-3 points with a healthy prime tmac but increase the fg% for Yao. I don't think he will improve that much more in terms of scoring and rebounding. But I believe that he will get much better in other aspects of his game such as passing, blocking shots, protecting the ball better and just being more efficient as a scorer. I'd prefer Yao giving us 25 pts 12 rebs 4 ast 3 blks 1 stl at around 56% fg and 90% ft shooting than 30 pts 12 rebs 1.5 ast 1.7 blks .8 stls at 52% fg and 85% ft shooting.
I am sick about all these rookies, they should pay more to enter here!!! Kick ass like Aries_Tim out please
