I am just really puzzled by this -- the year before last as well as last year, Yao was deadly in 4th quarter. Now his conditioning is better, everyhing improved but his 4th quarter performance just nose dived. What is the reason??
Greg Anthony in the and is still drinking the Lakers koolaid, saying the Lakers have a shot at winning a championship and comparing Odom to Pippen.
Well, as long as our record is good, he will be given serious consideration because you can't ignore how dominant he is offensively. However, considering the NBA's tendency to consider 'seniority' and other players that have come close to winning it in the past, it's much more likely that one of the following guys will get it: 1) Dirk Nowitzki, 2)Tim Duncan, 3) Lebron James, and 4) Kobe Bryant. The season is still young, but I would put my money on either Dirk or Duncan winning MVP honors. At least that's my opinion.
I should mention that a couple of weeks back on "NBA Fastbreak", Jamal Mashburn picked Yao as his early season MVP. I think he's getting his respect from the national media, but the voice of ignorance of people like Sir Charles just seems to drown out the rest. If you're watching the Lakers game now on ESPN, the play-by-play and color guys are drooling over Yao. Heck, Walton just mentioned Yao's and Dream's name in the same sentence.
Walton has always been a Yao fan. John Saunder's comment that he only called Yao the best center because Shaq isn't "100%" pissed me off. I don't care how healthy Shaq is, Yao has passed him.
Ditto. I think it's becoming more 'painful' and difficult for the few remaining doubters/holdouts who are still denying Yao the respect he's due as far as how far he's come and how dominant he's become. There isn't another center in the league that's even close right now. So unless Shaq miraculously plays again like he's 29/30 years old again, it's a foregone conclusion that Yao is the best 5 in the league.
During half time, Tim Legler just mention that Yao Ming is the best center, so definitely, Yao Ming is gaining much much more respect.
Yao is full package now, Shaq in his prime is not a full package player...his shooting is horrible -- i mean FT...
true true .. yao has better FT's but he also turns the ball over a lot more.. he also seems kind of of clumsy at times.. id take yao over shaq anyday just cuz of his personality but if i wanted to win a championship id take a young shaq in his prime over a yao in his prime any day
so you're telling me you would rather have shaq and (kobe or wade) than yao and (kobe or wade)? i think the combo of yao & kobe might be more effective than shaq & kobe
Shaq gets just as many if not more turnovers each game than Yao. Together, they are the most turnover prone centers in the league. They also get more touches than any other center in the league. Career Shaq has career average of 2.9, more than Yao. Yao has career average of 2.5. This year Shaq 3.5(4 games) Yao 4.1 Last year Shaq 2.9 Yao 2.6
I remember Charles Barkley acting like a r****d a couple weeks ago on TNT loudly proclaiming something like "If Dwight Howard does'nt get the most votes it's a farce" several times when they were talking about the All-Star game. Without Grant Hill they're a .500 team and without Jameer Nelson as well then they're a lottery team in a weak East. They did'nt mention Yao yet as the top vote getter but you could tell what an ******* Barkley was because he was trying to say Dwight deserves more votes than Yao without directly saying it. The other guys diplomatically turned the topic to something else. Last month Barkley also said Houston would'nt make the playoffs. He should make a bet again and if he loses he should get donkeyF__ed.
Talk about adding insult to injury to Orlando fans after their franchise lost Shaq in the first place.
If DHoward were in west, he would be schooled most of the time. But some people just like this kind of muscle guy.
