More so than other players, stamina is too big of an issue for Yao to be a truly dominant franchise player. There have been numerous games in which fatigue kept him from being effective down the stretch. Because of this, I'm really wondering how he'll fare during a deep playoff run. Will he be able to play at a consistently high level in more than one seven-game series? Or will he be too gassed by the second round or the conference finals? That said, there's no question for me that Yao is a valuable and dependable second-tier star. He just needs help to get over the hump. No shame in that.
You can win with a dominant superstar (top-5 NBA players) with a number of good role players (see Clutchcity Rockets); you can also win with a few stars and no true superstar (see Detroit a few years ago and Boston last year). Yao Ming is not a superstar. He is a top 20 to top 30 player but not a top 10 player in the league. You need a few stars of Yao's level to win a championship. If your best and only option down the stretch in a playoffs game is Yao Ming, you are toast.
shaq hasn't won without kobe and wade. hell he even had penny. yao without a star of that caliber likely won't win, either.
Yao is my personal favorite player and obviously a tremendous talent, but he's showing again and again he can't be the number one option. He's too much of a turnover machine. He just can't carry a team.
I bet you guys anything if Yao dominates the Bobcats on Friday, everybody is going to change their mind. Too many bi-polar people here.
oh yes, the bobcats!!! you have got to understand the problem isn't who yao faces, its' the defenses that yao faces. yao has continually struggled v. fronting, quick double teams... type of defenses. if teams play him straight up or behind him, yes he's gonna have a great game.
The players in bold are not the cornerstone of their franchise. Take away Shaq, or take away Amare, with who would the team be better with. Same for Garnett and Ray Allen.
You really want to make a bet? I guarantee you if he absolutely destroys the Bobcats on Friday, they'll all be like Yes, Yao Ming 4 MVP, Yao MingFTW, Yao Ming is our guy, Tracy Who? You have been on this forum longer than I have and I find it funny how I know it more than you.
obviously im talking about a Shaq in his prime, who was the most dominant player in history. KG was borderline but I included him just because hes always been a great defender and vocal leader.
I voted for the second option. To become a real franchise player, Yao has to learn how to play in a more assertive, aggressive and decisive manner in his offense. He should improve his rebounding style (no more moving only his body to get rebounds or just try to tip the ball from one hand to another). He should also be able to catch fast-going inbound balls. In addition, if Coach Adelman can manage Yao's PT in a smart manner, he can be fresh enough to deliver in the 4th quarter, which a player must be able to do, before he can be termed as a real franchise player. Yao's ideal PT = play 8 minutes and rest 4 minutes each quarter = a total of 32 minutes.
1-10..... Yao is a 7. Given the shallow amount of talent at the Center position in the league, we're lucky to have him! He's not gonna carry a team - but honestly, there aren't but a few guys in the league that could.... Kobe and Bron are 10s (and GOD it kills a kobe hater to say that), KG, Dwade are 9s, Duncan, Howard, Paul are 8s .... and I'm sure I'm missing someone, but anyway.... Yao needs at least 2 more 7s to win a championship.... a healthy but aging TMAC qualifies as CAN Artest... Yao plus a 9 (Dwade)=championship.
I don't know what you mean by franchise player. He needs guys around him, just like everyone else. Kobe has Gasol, Garnett didnt start winning till joining Ray , and Pierce. I would put my money on this though hes a much better franchise player even then Steve Franchise at his prime and I do like Franchise but he wasnt going to win a champship for Rockets. If he was we wouldn't have traded him when we got yao. And people were calling him the franchise. I think this is a stupid question. If Yao is traded to LA for like bynum and odem, and you have yao, kobe, gasol, yao and others- I think can win with a team like that.
What superstar center has ever lead a team to a Championship by himself other then Hakeem the Dream? Yao gets unfairly knocked, when he is a very good center. Unfortunately, due to Yao's gentler nature and the fact that NBA referees have actually reinforced his nature by calling offensive fouls for everything he does, while letting other centers beat the hell out of him, we don't often get to see Yao dominate like he is meant to with his skills and natural strengths. Now without a doubt, the Rockets need at least two other viable scoring options they can dish to when Yao is being taken out of the game. And technically they got them, it is just that at times the team loses its focus on either defense or the proper offense needed to win the particular games they are in.
Can you build the team with KG? Who is a superstar according to many ppl. Can you build the team with Howard? Who can not score some points in the 4th without a good point guard. If you have a player like J. Johnson, T. Parker, then you can, if you have TMac, then you can not
Yao's a soft player no matter what the refs do....Yao is simply not good enough to be the alpha dog. His rebounding and defense are a liability . He can be taken out of the game easily. The playoffs will expose Yao since we have no Tmac. We can only play Blazers (maybe mavs) to get out the first round. Yao is a second fiddle. We need D. Wade if we are ever to win a Championship. Yao = Scottie Pippen. Anyone who thinks otherwise is blinded by homerism.
Yao needs help......and ironically, the new rules are bad for Yao, if he played in the Hakeem/Ewing era where you could not double team a player in the post until he had the ball, I think Yao would be a 25+ppg player. DD
D.Howard leads the league among centers in: Points , Rebounds, Blocked shots KG in his prime = mountain Yao in his prime= pebble
