[Examiner.com] Is Yao a MVP candidate?

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Is Yao a MVP candidate?

January 12, 12:17 AM
by David Hartnett, Houston Rockets Examiner

Yao, 2008-09 MVP? (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

In the bold prediction post before the season began, I made the declaration that by the end of the season the MVP debate would be between Yao Ming, and LeBron James.

As the season has dragged on, so far LeBron is widely regarded as the leading candidate for the MVP award, and rightfully so. He’s the best player on the best team, and quite possibly could be the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple double throughout an entire season. He’s their leader, takes the big shot, rebounds, plays good defense, name it he does it.

While LeBron has been playing as well as he should, and received the notable MVP accolades, Yao hasn’t.

Though despite the lack of discussions being held towards Yao's MVP candidacy, that isn’t to say Yao hasn’t played well, nor that he should be seriously considered for the MVP award. For in a league where stats typically define a players worth, numbers may not necessarily reflect the true value Yao brings to the Rockets, but should still consider him as one of the more valuable players in the league.

When you take a look at Yao's stats, he averages 19.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. Nothing eye-popping, and when compared to the “Best Center in the NBA” Dwight Howard (19.9 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 3.3 bpg), Yao falls a bit short in all categories. Nevertheless, while Howard outperforms Yao in all statistical categories, it’s hard to believe that Howard’s value — with the exception of maybe three players in the league — or anyone else’s value to their respective team is greater than Yao’s is to the Rockets.

Yao has missed only one game throughout the season. Of the Rockets’ “Big Three”, Yao is the only one to remain a consistent presence in the lineup. Moreover, during the game he missed his absence was apparent. Look at the only game he missed — the 96-86 loss to the Mavericks —the lack of size the Rockets had due to Yao’s absence absolutely killed them. Jason Terry had far too many easy baskets, and without Yao, the Rockets have no consistent shot blocking presence.

For a team that ranks 28th in the NBA in blocks, Yao’s ability to not only get the occasional block, but force opponents to alter their shot, is something that often goes unnoticed.

Furthermore, look at the assists — or lack thereof — Yao has. Maybe the previous statement sounded a bit like there is a conspiracy against Yao (as some believe the league holds against the Rockets’ center). Though this wasn’t wasn’t the intention, but the way statistics are defined in the NBA it allows for some of Yao’s offensive contributions to go unnoticed.

Let’s look at a typical offensive set for the Rockets. It begins with an entry pass to Yao, a second defender coming to guard Yao, Yao passing the ball off to a teammate — for the sake of this situation we’ll say Rafer Alston — who then passes to an open Rockets shooter — let’s say Ron Artest — who then attempts a 3-pointer. If Artest makes this hypothetical shot, Alston would be credited with the assist. Now Alston did very little in this situation to acquire an open shot for Artest. Because of the added defensive presence placed on Yao, somewhere on the court, someone is open. From a statistical standpoint, Yao did nothing.

The NBA’s assists are far different than the NHL, where by the NHL assist rule Yao would be credited with an assist along with Alston. Yet, I’m not advocating an alteration to the NBA assist rule, just simply acknowledging that while Yao’s assist stat is less than two a game — he creates more opportunities for his teammates than stats acknowledge.

This whole argument of “valuable” is so subjective. Look at what happened a few years ago. Alex Rodriguez won the American League MVP award in 2005 despite the value David Ortiz gave the Boston Red Sox. In critical situations Ortiz’s ability to not only drive in the game-tying, or go-ahead run were unmatched by anyone, including Rodriguez. However, because of the higher home run, OPS and his ability to play defense, A-Rod narrowly claimed his second MVP award.

The point of that anecdote is that too often people become caught up in the numbers, rather than what each player offers their team.

Now this isn’t intended to disparage any of the other MVP candidates, LeBron is the front-runner at this point, Dwyane Wade is the only reason the Heat are above .500, and Chris Paul is making everyone around him better. However, that isn’t to say that Yao presence on the court isn’t valuable to his team, and "the big fella" should at least be acknowledged in consideration for the prestigious award.

Yao’s very presence on the court makes the game that much easier for everyone else. For a roster, which has faced injuries throughout the year, Yao has been a consistent presence in the lineup. Maybe he isn’t the MVP of the league at this point, but he ought to be in the conversation.

Furthermore, it’s time to start acknowledging the value he has that far too often goes unnoticed.