Your criterion for "best player on the team" is extremely arbitrary; you also conveniently ignore the fact that McGrady was contained by Derek Fisher, that he shot sub 40% and 25% from 3pt range, and didn't even have to play any defense during the series, and got burned by Harpring when he tried, while Yao was assigned to the Jazz's best player, who even managed to torch Duncan, while Okur managed to contain Duncan. Anyway, let's analyze the phases of the game and try to compare Yao and McGrady. On offense, Yao averaged slightly more ppg than McGrady and at a far higher FG% and FT%. McGrady is a superior distributor of the ball, but we'd expect him to since JVG put him in that role and he is a guard. On defense, McGrady coasts and thus is most of the time an average defender; we got Battier so he could do that. Yao plays decent to average defense and is a superior helpside defender/shot blocker and rebounder to McGrady; but we'd expect this because Yao is far taller. Based on these criterion it seems that Yao and McGrady are fairly equal, but I think that Yao is superior, because of his efficient scoring, because post players are very rare these days, and because Yao is only 5 years into his career while McGrady is 10 years into his career. Snyder is a shorter version of Stromile who can't jump as high. Spanoulis does not have NBA-level skills. Novak can shoot but that's it, he is too weak and plays absolutely no defense. They are not legitimate prospects. I've watched every Rockets game for the past 3 years, so stop pretending that you are somehow a superior fan or whatever. Against Dallas I would pick Yao, because they like to double and trap on the perimeter at the cost of allowing inside players to be more effective, against Phoenix I would take McGrady because they double post playersoff the ball, and against Utah it is a wash since Utah plays single coverage on everyone anyway. Besides, this is a ridiculous question since it doesn't account for who's replacing Yao or McGrady.
this always seem to go on. let's just say we won't reach our dreams without one or the other. but i'll say this: for this team to beat EVERY team, tmac has to be the best player on the court. when he is, the way he can score in bunches can deflate teams. more importantly, he's arguably the most versatile player in the L. it's harder to neutralize him b/c he's on the perimeter; yao is in the post. but like i said, yao can carry this team for the first 3 quarters, tmac finishes it (ala shaq-kobe style)
You conveniently omit the fact that the reason Yao was assigned to Boozer was because Okur would have eaten him alive on the perimeter. Hayes managed to shut down either - Yao was the defensive liability, so don't pretend that Yao was somehow "assigned the Jazz's best player" due to some necessity due to his defensive ability. He was exposed and we went home. At the same time, Yao was single covered by Okur all series long and failed to capitalize. NEWSFLASH: Centers that are the best player on championship teams shred up double teams and sure as hell don't let teams get away with guarding them in single coverage. By saying Yao can be good enough to be the best player on a championship team, you are comparing him to the likes of Duncan, O'neal, and Hakeem - they would have eaten Okur apart. McGrady was guarded by a combination of Fisher, Kirilinko, and Harpring. He at the same time was burdened with the task of creating for Yao and everyone else, along with himself. Those glossy assist numbers didn't happen on their own. Should he have torched Jazz defenders? Yes, and McGrady failed. However, within the scope of this discussion, historically, great swingmen who have led their teams to titles have been stopped by the right matchup. Dwayne Wade was contained by Hinrich and company just two series' before exploding in the Finals. He was clearly the best player on the Heat. On the other hand, great centers aren't shut down in any of their titles runs by solo coverage. That tells me Yao simply can't cut it. Can McGrady? He hasn't but history proves he atleast will have a chance. McGrady has never been pulled off the court by his coach because he simply could not compete in the game. This has been done many times to Yao against Dallas, Phoenix, and Golden State. That's all that needs to be said. The relevance of this escapes me. We're talking about who is a better player now. I was being sarcastic. How is it a ridiculous question? You are the one who responded to my argument that Yao could not be the best player on a title team and are now running away from your claim. I'm not sure what who replaces either player has anything to do with anything.
If you're just a kid under the age of 12, then nevermind...if not, you're a complete moron! If anything Asians' muscles age better and retain longer because they tend to be more flexible, and therefore muscles hold up better over time. However, even that is a load of BS, but still much more credible than your statement. Yao's game is based on skill, not athleticism. Therefore, I feel he will be a top tier player for several more years. He will not always be the horse he is now, but he can be the most valuable piece of a "system" offense well into his 30s.
Hayes didn't shut down anyone in that series. Boozer owned him too. The reason the Rockets had Yao guard Boozer is because they wanted Yao in the paint to help on cutters and to protect the basket, not because Okur would have done anything to him. Okur was terrible offensively in that series, and it had nothing to do with Hayes. It had everything to do with the fact that he expended all his energy to contain Yao. In fact he said this himself. Fisher is 6'1", AK was in a sh*thole and crying in a corner, and Harpring is very slow. None of them should have been able to contain McGrady, McGrady was given single coverage, and he managed to shoot sub-40%. Duncan didn't exactly eat up Okur in their series, and he averaged 18 ppg on 44% shooting against the Cavs. Yao getting taken out of games due to matchup issues hasn't happened in a while. You were claiming that if we magically removed Yao or McGrady we could show which one is better. It absolutely depends on who the replacement is. Instead of replacing McGrady with Head and Yao with Deke, imagine replacing McGrady with another Battier while replacing Yao with Jackie Butler. There is a huge difference.
peak years remaining is a guess. imo, 2 years on Tracy, 4 on Yao. either can easily exceed or fall short of those estimates. it's just a opinion. anyone claiming certainty otherwise is a fraud. the quality of the supporting cast lends another dimension to their effective longevity.
rockets11 Member Since: Jan 2003 Posts: 1 Member: #10585 you first and only post in 4 and half years, and a lame one -liner if all you got to say? LOL
David Stern wants to put butts into the seats. As a result, the newer rules favor teams that run and have athleticism. It's precisely why Van Gundy's Rockets bombed against Utah. You can slice, dice, analyze and spin it any way you want. But the bottomline is a perimeter, athletic player that can get his own shot has more value than a stationary low block player who can be neutralized by a zone. End of discussion.
anyone remember Sabonis' last years in Portland? he was pushing 40 and his knees were shot, but he was still very effective although for limited minutes.
When talking about Yao's body and his career, you need to take a look at how long he has been training, and what kind of training he has had. Chinese players start systematic training very early, and basketball players usually start weight training as early as 12 years old, unlike here, you don't do weight training until high school junior years, when the player is already 17, or 18 years old. Yao's strong lower body is a directly result of those early weight training. With the mileage on Yao's body, I'd think he is at the peak of his career right now, will be on the down side of his career in a year or two. Of course, that doesn't mean Yao will become a bad player all of sudden. He can reduce that process by better taking care his body, and still be a top center in this league for a few more years.
----------------------------------------------------- i agree to most of what you had said except for this one: At the same time, Yao was single covered by Okur all series long and failed to capitalize. --- Yao was NEVER single covered by Okur the whoe serie. I've watched the re-runs for several times and I say, NEVER.
It really depends on health issues and injuries. He can play for next 10 years,thats for C ok but we don't have to worry about it,new franchise players will come and go so as Yao.
