I remember to reading Dream's auto biography a few (well quite a few) years ago and I remember dream saying something about how the coaches want him to pound inside more, dunk more and be more physical. And Dream felt that if his turn around jumpers work he should shoot it instead. I don't know the passage verbatim but i think it was some like that. Now we all know how Hakeem become more of a finese player as he got older, not that he wasn't still physical, but u all see how he dominated with moves instead of raw strength during the 2 championships. My questions is do we really need to try and turn Yao in to a 7'5 Ben Wallace? What im trying to say is, instead of trying to turn yao into something he's not and increasing the chance of his injuries (more upper body weight = bad knees) why not just improve on what he does best already, shot blocking, and mid range jumpers. I'm not saying Yao shouldn't put on some weight, just not too much. He should definitely increase his strength some. Also remember ralph sampson, before he was injured, the guy was a stud, MVP caliber player, why not mold Yao into some one more like him?
I agree with you. Ming needs to put on a little weight but not too much, I guess from 10 to 15 pounds in his upper body. Ming needs to be more strenuous than bulkier. Maybe Shaq's toes won't break down if he has a lower weight. Maybe Charles wouldn't've torn his tendons if he didn't rely so much on his power game.Bulk means more impact, so does banging. Being a finesse center prolongs Ming's career. Ming can be a great finesse center like Jabbar, the Rockets should hire Jabbar to teach him the skyhook.
I could agree with you more wiz, I think that every basketball player has his own style. It's kinda like a running back in football, each guy has his own style and if they try to be to similar to a guy, they forget how to just run the ball. So much of sports involves instincts and I hope Yao doesn't get coached out of his.
Actually if Ming justs stands there and spreads his limbs he will cause players to change their shots. Dribbling in the player looks up and sees this big tree trunk standing there said player looks for anyone to help him get out of there. With no help coming player shoots and ends up eating a basketball for supper.
Hi ! It sould like you have all been reading my posts over the last 3 months. These are the considerations which I have been pounding out on these pages. Yao's body type does not need bulk and extra upper body weight but does need more upper body strength. Remember Yao is not the traditional banger under the basket type Center. He is a new age Center able to play all over the court, ( a cross between a Center and a Small Forward). The changes needed are very subtle and will take upto 3 yrs to acheive, mostly cultural and NBA endurance and stamina. He will of course need to learn just what roles Rudy T wants him to play.
I'm with you on that. His upper body strength and endurance are the only things he'll have to work on for now. Once he gets that done he should be grapping double doubles on a nightly basis.
I don't know how to answer the question yet. If he shows that he can handle the NBA without a problem then we probably don't need to change him, but if he's seriously struggling then yes, we probably do need to change him and his game in some shape or form.
1. "subtle" 2. i agree. yao's goals for this season, imo, should be a) to get sronger, b) in great cardiovascular shape, and c) accustomed to the nba game (speed, rigors, etc.) i'd be happy with that.
Hi all your arguments sound great, on paper My concerns with your theory are these: 1. Let me put it this way, do you want a little shorter career with couple of Championships or a healthy long mediocre to good career for Ming? I want Ming to be healthy, like all your guys, but behind the door tell me what's the real answer inside your mind? 2. Your guys theory only applies to once in a generation talent, like MJ, Dream, AI, Kobe, etc. Their exceptional talent can overcome the lack of muscle. Is Ming that type of talent? I guess more ppl say no than yes. So, what most players do to make up for that talent gap? They bulk up to increase their raw power. NBA is an extemely practical business ( it's winning that matters), and there is a reason for the growing trend of NBA players' bulking up since 1980's. Because THAT has worked. 3. Finally, it comes down to this: how much strength can you gain without putting much muscle? I am no expert in this, but I GUESS one can only add limited strength ( and that's not enough to compete in NBA as a center ) without bulking up, otherwise many players in the past and present would not add so much weight to their upper body, as Yetti correctly pointed out, that is not good for the knees and legs. You will see how Ming is overpowered in the World Champ Games /next season and has limited impact on the court because of that. I absolutely hope I am wrong. But I think Ming will be truly ready only after gaining 20 PLUS lb. muscles in his upper body.
I think Ming has the talent to be an exceptional player. I think the most important thing for him is to get into the NBA and get superior coaching and play against better competition than what he has been getting. All indications are that Yao is an intelligent player, and I think that with the right coaching, he will find a way to excell in the NBA. I wouldn't try to turn him into something he's not, but I think he can play his type of game at a high level and be successful. It's just going to take a little bit of time for him to get accustomed to the different style.
Previous BIG BIG men have been built like triangles standing on rectangles, Yao is built like a rectangle standing upon a triangle. ie:- his greatest asset is low not high. he has built his career working with this body and I am sure if we try to make him a triangle standing on a triangle , he will be very injury prone, the Chinese Coach has warned us against trying to build the upper bulk. You must remember that Yao won't play like the traditional center (Shaq)so please don't think of him preparing to be the banger type, he isn't! He's going to play like the mature Akeem using finese and moves to defete his man but with greater court range.
That "new type of center" Ming is supposed to play is a myth to me. What exactly is it? Have we seen any example of that, or are you sure it will be useful (WIN games) in NBA? Yet to see. Again, to repeat myself, I am hesitating to compare Ming to Dream. Dream's finesse style is backed up by once in a generation talent. Ming has talent but not at the same level, IMO. Ming can learn Dream's style and be a good player, but to dominate and lead the team to win in NBA require more than pretty moves. Of course I wish my signature's idea is not necessary to Ming. But we'll see in next season.
AlmostReady:- Sorry but I didn't make myself clear I was not thinking of Yao using Akeems moves or plays, he doesn't need to, he is Yao Ming and will play like Yao Ming. Yao Mings potantial is everymutch that of Akeem, it depends if Rudy can bring it out of him! I see this as a possibility only with Team support especially Francis. Yao has shown all the signs of a future great, that's why the Rox went to so much trouble to get him. For those that have seen him play, the future is easy to hope for!
I certainly hope Ming can develop into someone as good as Duncan. Somewhat Off topic: As good as Duncan was in last season, without help from their center Robinson, they were crushed by the lakers in playoff. "New type center" vs. traditional center? Ok ok, Shaq/Kobe combo is an exception. Let's compare Spurs to the Kings. IF, they met in the playoff, could Duncan win it?
I dink the kings will definitely beat the spur if they meet in the playoff. King has whole team work thingy. For Spur, all they have is Duncan.
When Ralph Sampson first came into the league, everybody thought he'd be pushed around by the big bodies in the NBA. He surprised a lot of people of how strong he was. He was much stronger than he looked. Yao looks like he has a stronger lower body than Ralph. So it's probably even harder to push Yao out of position. What he needs, IMO, is arm strength so that he can foul/block guys like Shaq hard enough to avoid giving up 3 pt plays.
