I think that is not a bad idea. Maybe Yao should stop worrying about fouls and just play as physically as Howard does, even if it means collecting six fouls in five minutes. The coach should leave him in and let him foul out. The current Rockets is good enough to win a few games without Yao. Because of Yao’s international statue, how bad will the NBA and its Refs look like by fouling Yao out every game? In his early career, Yao had to play in order to establish and move himself into the superstar status. Now he has done that, and it is the time to use his status to leverage the league for his benefit.
man can we just give this topic a rest? For all the Yao hater, DH is better. More durable and physical beast. He can do no wrong. For YOF, he's GOD. He got mad b-ballin skillz (if he can stay healthy). Just give the whole thing a rest please!
season will be over by next week and it has nothing to do with Howard play great or not because it's not a 1 on 5 game. He can score 50, 30 boards and 20 blocks and still lose if his teammate dont show up.
shaq has always said in his prime he gets beaten up EVERY game and never gets enough calls. he complained about that ALL THE TIME to the media. but then he responded by sayin', if they ain't gonna call those, he's going to do what he had to do. like i said, you may not agree with me, had yao establish a physicality when he entered this league, we would not have this problem right now. this league is about reputations. you know it and i know it. refs know it. again, take ANY player and compare it to lebron james or dwayne wade. those 2 drive to the basket and compare it to any other player. who gets the benefit of the calls? those 2. why? they establish themselves as physical players who constantly drive, so they get the "benefit." get it?
i do believe if yao established a physical game earlier on, he'd be much more dominant than he is right now, which he already is considering he's arguably the best center in the L (b/t him and dwight). but there's a reason this board goes bezerk whenever yao "becomes" aggressive. it's not a common sight. whenever yao gives us that "stare" or that "snarl" or that "you can't stop me look," we all go ballistic. there's a reason for that.
The situations were different. Shaq, Lebron, and Howard were hyped as the post child for the NBA even before they were drafted, and the league had every interest in their success. They could get away with a lot of stuff that Yao simply couldn't. Yao, on the other hand, had a lot of doubts in him when he came to the NBA. A lot of people wrote him off even before he played a single game in the NBA. Two other Chinese players before him had already failed in the NBA and he simply couldn’t afford any mistakes in his earlier career whereas other American-born potential stars could. Just like spoiled rich kids can do many risky things that a poor kid simply cannot afford... But I do believe that now Yao had acquired such status and he should use this power to leverage the league.
Watching that game last night made me appreciate Yao sure, Yao very rarely gets 20 boards or 8 blocks...but he would NEVER miss two clutch free throws that cost the magic the game last night. It's clear that he is the best offensive center in the league. Thoughts??
I wouldn't say Yao wouldn't have missed those free clutch throws at the end, but he would have been a lot more offensively stable if the Lakers played him straight up like they did with Howard. Nevertheless I still say all the talk of Howard being the best center in the NBA over Yao is premature. He's great and obviously one of the best in the league today but aside from being more marketable and younger, he hasn't done anything to earn that title against Yao who held the title before Howard started to show signs of dominance (in the Shaq-less Eastern conference).
I love Howard, but he seems to have very few post moves and, like Yao, he holds the ball too low and gets stripped. His athleticism is off the charts, and I love his attitude, but he has a ways to go. Yao could give him some pointers on post moves and free throws.
I was kind of surprised that in the 4th Q and OT there were so many times the Lakers left Howard wide open, or covered by guards like Fisher or Kobe. Their defense focus was clearly not on him.
