? I don't know if he'll get enough shots to qualify, but his % at the WC's has been just unbelievable. And they're not just Dunks and layups either. He has a chance to shoot an unheard of .650 plus this year IMO.
I was thinking the same thing. He's got all the tools. He's great at finishing around the basket and has a guards touch from the outside.
I'd be willing to bet he won't be able to pull it off this year. He'll have streaks of great offensive play but honestly I don't think he'll hold up, conditioning wise for a full 82 game season at such a prolific shooting percentage. Once he gets used to the rigors of the NBA and gets a little more refinement, I agree he has a good chance of shooting something like 65%
Not likely. Ming is not going to be able to get as many easy shots as he's got in China and in the WBC. Many NBA players are going to muscle him out in his first couple of years forcing more outside shots. FG % will be around 50% - 55% IMO. Shaq will likely lead the league again.
I don't know, I only saw him play two games at the WC's and it looked like his little 10-foot jumper was his go to shot rather than easy dunks and lay ins and now he will have actual guards for the other team to worry about instead of those chumps from the China natl team. Can somebody post his final(or current) fg % for the Worlds?
He's not done with the WBC yet. Wait till tomorrow after his last game against Angola there. But since Angola isn't exactly a power house, I expect him to have a good game. Unless, of course, Wang Fei messes with his playing time again.
I read in another thread Yao is shooting at 76.2% after the Turkey game. He still has a game or so to play, if he dominates we might see a possible WBC record of 80% FG%. Just a dream, I know.
Tall players like Yao get high percentages because they get dunks, and putbacks (always close to the rim). Average centers/forwards are able to get high percentages: Kelvin Cato got 58.3% last year and 64.9% the year before. Cato's first year he got 68.8%. Yao is better than Cato. Yao will get higher than 65%.
Cato plays closer to the basket, and Yao wasn't getting all that many dunks and putbacks in the World Championships either. Shaq only averaged a 57.9% fg percentage, a league best last year, is Yao that much better than Shaq? Shooting a low number of shots that are less contested, will probably allow Ming to have a high FG% but if we're expecting him to be a signifigant part of the offense I have serious doubts he'll come very near 65% Cato took 4.3 shots per game last year, 3.1 the year prior, and 6.2 his rookie year. If that's the number of shots you expect Ming to take then I think he has a chance at pulling it off, but I think Rockets fans as well as Rudy T are expecting him to shoot a signifigant number of shots more than the few that Cato does.
The fact that the majority of Yao's shots are like 15 ft jumpers, makes me think no. If Yao really cared about his FG%, he probably could "shoot" around 60% if he just wanted to dunk or get layups.
Sure, I'm going out on a limb saying that Yao will shoot 65%...but just some facts first... * Shaq HAS to be close to the basket to shoot 57.9%. * If Shaq shot 15 feet from the rim, he would not average 57.9%. * The farther that Shaq shoots, the worse he gets. * The farther that Yao shoots, he gets better (than Shaq). I mean, don't you think that Yao can shoot 47% (10-20) from the 3 point line (ala, Steve Kerr!). * Thus, any shot closer than 15 feet is a bonus for Yao. From 5 feet out, it's money! * Yao's game doesn't suffer when he shoots from 15 feet. He shoots better (than Shaq). So, any baskets that he gets that are closers are a SURE thing. * Yao will not get all the shots. He has to share; we have Francis and Mobley. Sure, Yao will get more touches than Cato, but Yao's got skills! Cato, no skill.
LOL your definition of fact and mine must be different... "The farther that Yao shoots, he gets better. " That's opinion at a high degree. Do you have a shot chart with percentages on where he shoots specific percentages? I'm curious as to where you've come up with this fact. "Thus, any shot closer than 15 feet is a bonus for Yao. From 5 feet out, it's money!" Once again, a shot < 15 feet is a bonus? Because of what exactly? Yao has a comfortable range on his shot, that doesn't mean much other than extends the range he's a threat from. Why anyone would be happy with their center being able to get a shot inside 15 feet is beyond me. "Yao's game doesn't suffer when he shoots from 15 feet. He shoots better. So, any baskets that he gets that are closers are a SURE thing." Sure thing again? I agree Yao has good range out to/past 15 feet, but that by no means assures him any of his shots are going to go in. I know Yao won't get all the shots in the offense but he should most definately get more than Cato took normally in the offense. Plus you still haven't addressed the point of conditioning. Yao was not having an easy time getting up and down the court while playing a good number of minutes in the World Games. But he'll be able to keep up in the NBA's 82 game season with longer games as well? I don't doubt Yao will be good, but I think some fans on this board are going way overboard on their estimation of what he'll be able to do in his first season or two.
here are Yao Ming's stats through seven games so far: Games: 7 Points: 20.1 avg 2pt F/G%: 76.3% 3pt F/G%: 100% F/T%: 76.2 Rebounds: 8.5 avg Assists: 2.5 avg P/F: 3 avg T/O: 3.5 avg Steals: 1 total Blocks: 2.2 avg
47% from three? I don't think so. In fact, I wouldn't feel bad if Ming didn't shoot any threes. We have enough guys on the perimeter. We don't need a clone of Raef Lafrenz.
