Not the Sky Hook, but Ralph skyin' on Kareem and stuffing him. As to the topic, I love Yao, but Dream would make him look out-classed at the same point in his career. Hakeem was just too quick, and when you combine that with everything else he could do, Yao has no chance. Not in single coverage. Yao and a healthy McGrady together would be another story. A double by the two of them would be interesting to watch.
Thank you. I wonder why people do not fight based on these career numbers cited above. People would rather fight based on the ESPN top 10 list or some anecdotal evidence.
Puke or what, Yao has never led the Rockets deep in the POs, let alone championships. Advantage: Dream Yao plays in an era of weak centers while Dream was playing against some of the best centers night in and night out. Advantage: Dream Yao's stats are inflated and Dreams' was undervalued. See above. Advantage: Dream Dream is the best defensive player in the history of NBA. Yao is not even top 50. Advantage: Dream Yao has better supporting cast including one of the best swingman in the games. Advantage: Dream Yao has only had 4 1/2 years legacy with the Rockets. Advantage: Dream
I'm not sure PPG can be used to truly measure a player's offensive capability. It is definitely a good barometer but does not tell the whole story. Shaq has a very limited offensive game even though he got 28+ PPG. Some of those points were probably from hack-a-shaq. A lot were probably on layups and dunks. I would much rather have Hakeem's all-around game which featured power (albeit not at Shaq's level) but also the plethora of post-moves, good jumpshots, turnaround, etc. At the end of a game - down by 2 points, you would want the ball in your best offensive player's hands. That would mean Hakeem and rarely Shaq. In this regard, Yao already has bested Shaq. He has hit (and missed) his share of clutch shots. Shaq? he would probably brick 2 from the free-throw line. Hakeem was very clutch and his effectiveness as a late 4th quarter scorer is far greater than Shaq's. It definitely looks like Yao is going to become that sort of player too.
Clutch, use your power you invested in yourself. You should have identified some targets for banning practice by now...
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No number-supporting evidence, just words, not enough for argument, please come back with more number support and read the post on bottom page of page 11. Thank you.
Because.....styles make fights. Hakeem's style is ideally suited to cater to Yao's weaknesses. More so than any of the other great big men.
I think local Houston fans miss the point here: the original question is what will happen if Yao and Dream play head to head in their PRIME. Well, can someone tell me what Yao's prime will look like? Anyone knows? That is right, you don't even know that! Then how can you make that bold assumption (Yao would have been destroyed by Hakeem in 10-20 mins) before you even see the whole picture? Time and time again, people set limits on Yao. They keep doing it. It happens from the first day he entered NBA. They said he would be another Shane Bradley; then they said he would be another Rik Smits; then they said he would never be as good as Ralph Sampson; then they said he would never have that mean attitude, he would always be soft, blah, blah, blah. Guess what? So far, Yao does a pretty good job proving those people wrong. I was one of those ppl who said Yao would be another Rik Smits. I said Yao would only average 21/10, at best, even before this season started. And I admit I was wrong. I think I learned my lesson. I will never predict anything on Yao because this guy just keeps proving ppl wrong. With that being said, I think it is unfair, to both Yao and Dream, to make any comparison between them right now. Yao only begin to get it and start to get his stats and become dominant while Dream had done it over 10+ years for Houston. Hakeem had won two Championships, final MVP, regular season MVP, and had multiple playoffs successes while Yao still struggles to win regular season games without T-Mac on the court. He still has a loooong way to go. But as I said, don't ever underestimate him. He may make you, including you, Clutch, look like a fool someday in the future.
Did Dream domianted a 25ppg+ center on a consistent base before? Did any best center in the NBA of any era got dominated consistently by any other center while he's still in his prime before? Did any 27ppg center in modern era got dominated consistently by any other center before? I'm not talkin about outplay, but dominate. If the answers are no, then I don't think there is a reason to believe Dream would dominate current Yao. Imagination and wishful thinking are not equal to reality.
"So there is no argument Shaq's better offensive player than Dream and Yao could end up better than Dream as well offensively." Excuse me, but this statement is BS, with all due respect, that clearly shows you haven't watched Dream or Shaq play. If Shaq is close to the basket, he's going to score. Dream could score in a host of different ways, from a myriad of spots and distances from the basket. He had a superb midrange game, even early in his career, when he was supposedly just a scorer close to the hole, like Shaq. Dude, I'm sorry, but you're exposing your ignorance. If you think stats tell the story, you will continue to be clueless. I suggest watching the games. Whoops, sorry... you must have missed them.
I have watched NBA games as many as you have, I have watched Dream won the 2 championships. But it does not matter. If you do not trust stats, that's fine, but games are win on stats, which team scores more points, it is not win on who dunked more and who had more blocks. If you can't come up with a convincing number comparison, there is no point arguing because there is always a reason to say otherwise. So please read again the numbers on the bottom of page 11. As far as Shaq is concerned, he is better than Dream offensively even though I don't like his game. The guy won 4 championships. The last time I checked, 4 > 2.
You aren't considering the 1994 playoffs where Hakeem averaged 28 ppg over 20+ games and the 1995 playoffs where he averaged 33 ppg over 20+ games. Has Yao even averaged that during the regular season over a similar span? Until Yao does something like that, I am going to have to go with Hakeem. The playoffs are where your offensive stats really matter. Not only that, it is also where it is much more difficult to score. I don't think Hakeem could stop Yao though. Good offensive players are hard to stop, I don't care who you are. If I remember correctly, Hakeem never really stopped Shaq, Robinson, Ewing, etc., on the defensive end, he just demolished them on the offensive end.
Good point and I agree. Even if Yao averages 33 ppg now, I would still go with Dream offensively in the playoffs because Yao is unproven in playoffs.
I've been watching the Rockets since they moved to Houston. I was very unhappy that Elvin Hayes, my favorite player at the time, stayed with the team just one year after the move. I watched the NBA before that, of course, but I figured mentioning the Rocks, when one considers the topic, would be more appropriate. Again, even though Dream's numbers are incredible, numbers don't tell the story.
Yes. Exhibit A- Hakeem Olajuwon vs. David Robinson in the 1995 playoffs. Robinson was the MVP that year. I would agree that Hakeem didn't dominate Robinson though. Dominate is way too soft of a word. Rather, Hakeem made Robinson his bi^&% for life. Robinson averaged over 29 points that year by the way. And Hakeem left no doubt as to who was the better offensive player.
