Yao has become a better shot blocker but his ability to alter shots near the basket is really top notch.He uses his hands very well. I never expected him to be even near this level especially with athletic limitations.He has learned a lot and worked very hard on his defense. One can't expect him to become a good p&r defender because he can't come out quickly enough to defend it. Guys who can step out and shoot will always give him a lot of problems.
I'll live with long twos off of the p and r. The key is not to allow someone to just get in to the middle of the defense in the paint without resistance. From that spot on the court, most guards/forwards can do alot of damage whether it be passing or scoring. Yaos size and his length make it very difficult for anyone to do anything in the paint. the guys that give yao the most problems are the more mobile centers who can step out and shoot or drive to the basket. I'd say those types of centers give yao much more trouble than guys who run pick and rolls.
If Yao makes any all-defensive team, I will seriously sh! t on myself. Because, the writers or coaches actually acknowledge he's pretty good on defense or just give to someone, like Camby or Okafor who more specialist.
Shaq in his Lakers championship years never stepped out to defend. How did the Lakers compensate for it at that time? Can we borrow a page from them?
the honor belongs to our team instead of yao himself. Yao is not actually that good defensively to be ranked at 3rd, as many other better defenders are held back by their teams like camby and ben.
I would tend to agree with this... I don't want to discount Yao, I don't hate Yao, and I don't try to be a hater, but I just don't understand why he is considered an elite defender. He's just an average defender but he has the extra skills involved with being frickin' huge. Maybe I'm just missing something.
You are discounting him. Yao's size is part of what makes him great. Just because he's an impactful defender mainly due to his size, does not mean he can't be put up there with the elite defenders. Defense is all about preventing the other team from scoring. Yao's prescense prevents alot of teams from scoring inside.
It's only the writers opinion, the thread title makes it sound like its the whole of nba.com. I love the big guy and if only inside defense was taken into consideration, I'd say he was a top 5 defender but to be top 5 you need to defend bigs outside and the pick and roll, that rating is way too high.
If you're trying to build a championship defense, you start by getting an anchor in the middle who can protect the basket and rebound. I'd start with a center like Yao before any perimeter defender out there.
I didn't see the Lakers much during that time but I do recall Horry giving some players trouble with his length.
The lakers back then were a good defensive team also, but struggled in the pnr like the rockets. What made them different is shaq had quicker reaction time to penetration and he was mpre intimidating. You didn't get many and 1's on shaq and as we see even today, he will put someone on the ground. The surrounded shaq with long guys who could defednd their position with length .Harper,kobe, and fox along with shaw all were 6'6 and they all switched on picks. Since they were the same size, they were capable of defending multiple position.
Chris Paul is listed on the All-NBA First team. Outside of his steals, isn't he regarded as a terrible defensive player?
Yao's obvioulsy got a glaring hole on defening pick and roll due to his slow feet, but I agree that he has gotten a lot better at protecting the basket and is one of the best one-on-one post defenders in the NBA today.
Yao's great advantage in defending the basket is what makes him so slow on the pick and roll. Team defense is the way to go: funnel guys into Yao in the paint, help him on rotations.
yep. the rockets have been doing this for ages ever since yao got here. and yao's inability to guard a p&r is a little overblown. look at deke, he defended amazingly tonight against the gsw, yet he still gave up like 10 pts to turiaf in p&r situations. sometimes you just can't have both (protecting the basket and contesting a jumper); and that's part of the reason p&r is the creamy puff of all offensive plays and has the most variations.
and with yao's improved shot-blocking (along with the refs blowing less whistle when he jumps straight up), he's now a very good defender. nit great, but overall very good. i don't know about him being in the top 3 though.
i guess there are several reasons: first, his is in the second team and among all 10 players, he ranks 3; second, that tmac quits and team still plays well draw more votes; third, we have two good perimeter defenders, this also benefit yao's rating.
One more reason to like this: the more recognition that Yao gets the better treatment he'll get from the refs. That's also why it's doubly important to get past the first round this year. Fair or not any playoff success will be disproportionately credited to Yao. Next year that could pay off big time if the refs start giving Yao the star treatment.
Might want to look at #1. Yao is a great defender now and alters countless shots but Howard is the best defensive center in the league.
