Shaq, Amare and Dampier. It would be nice to compare Yao to players who have a offensive arsenal that consist of more then just Dunk. So i think comparing Yao to Duncan and Garnett is valid (adding Gasol might also be good). Yao has a much better shot then any of the other players you mentioned. So ofcourse he shoots more often then the others yao dunks enough IMHO, he dunks when he needs to. And when he doesn't need to he doesn't. I do not see a problem with that.
it becomes a problem when his layup gets blocked, which happens quite often throughout his career. I accept that Yao has his limitation such as this. the thread starter is just beating the dead horse.
smart players don't dunk much....look at tmac...its not like hes not capable of throwing it down more. the fact is dunking depletes your energy so smart player will try to do layups instead of dunks when possible. This is especially true since yao has poor stamina.
oh and btw, the blocks argument, while true, is not as significant because yao gets lots of goaltending calls.
nobody is perfect. shaq is quick and atheletic but yao's got softer hands and better FT shooting. they are just different types of players.
I guess that is because Yao is still recovering, he's trying to save some energy so that he can remain on the court for more minutes
Actually, the less you use your athleticism, the more you prolong your career. These guys are just pacing themselves. The fact that Yao is not dunking forces him to figure out how to score in other ways, which is why he has such a diverse set of skills. Kobe and T-mac are prime examples. Even Duncan doesn't dunk as much anymore. It's a smart move from my perspective.
Ah but for the record a dunk is still a much higher % shot than even a layup,freethrow, open shot, etc... How many times have we seen him just do a flicker soft layup only to get fouled and obviously the ball might miss the rim... What if he dunked it while getting a foul? So yes I'm not wanting him to dunk because it looks flashy and intimidating ( ok maybe just a little) but I'm really looking him to dunk over 50% of his shots because its such a higher % and that the chance for a 3pt play rises as well..
I tried to ignore this thread just to hope that it would disappear by itself very soon but apparently I was wrong, so what the hell. Yao dunks when he thinks that he can make it, Yao doesn't dunk when he thinks that he can not make it. You think Yao can dunk that ball doesn't mean he can. Let me ask you something, why does Hayes always release a quick layup instead of dunk the ball? Oh, and 1 star.
Shaq, Dampier, and Amare are just not good comparisons. Dampier's offensive capabilities are limited to stuff around the basket, Shaq too (although obviously Shaq is much, much better). Amare has a jumper but he has quickness and athleticism to dunk that Yao doesn't. Gasol is pretty quick and athletic too, if you didn't notice. IMO the best comparison to Yao is Duncan. KG plays a bit too much away from the basket. Duncan plays mostly in the post and under the basket although he'll pop out for a midrange J now and then. Uses the turnaround jumper, jump hook, up-and-under moves to score around the basket, and is not overly athletic, probably a bit more athletic than Yao even. But he doesn't dunk much, and somehow only converts 71% of his dunks.
If you don't like the other comparisons, how about comparing Yao in 2006-2007 to Yao in 2004-2005? http://www.82games.com/04HOU22A.HTM He had 15% dunks that year, more than double the percentage this year. That year all you'd hear is that he's a slow, soft, underachieving Chinese stiff, the biggest role player in the NBA. I think everyone agrees that Yao is far more aggressive now on offense than he was then. Therefore how much one dunks is not correlated with how aggressive one is on offense, which is what we want out of Yao.
Yao is the leader of the Rockets in dunks, and he missed 32 games. And according to that cbs page, he dunks more than stromile swift, and more than the slam dunk champion (gerald green). and I dont mind how he scores points, 2 points is 2 points. I prefer a effective player than a spectacular player. You would trade Chris Wilcox who has 123 dunks (5th in the NBA) for Yao who has 40 dunks (51th in the nba)? I dont think so.
The comparison is pretty dumb. Most of the guys in the list dunk a lot simply because they can't do much other than dunking the ball. When was the last time you saw Dampier take a jumpshot anyway? How often do you see Shaq take a shot more than 5 feets from the basket? Amare is trying to extend his game but he is still primarily a 'put the ball into the hole with both hands' player. Duncan plays center a lot of time and his dunking percentage is low (4%?). Why? Because he can do much more than than dunking. Do the Spurs fans complain that Duncan doesn't dunk enough?
