yeah there is a middle ground. i understand yao is not going to be either playing 40 min a night, or injured and retired. but if the guy is playing he will be a top 10 center in the league. if he isnt then this team is way more screwed then i thought. and dont even get me started on trading for carmelo anthony, i DO NOT want a player like him on this team.
Maybe 11 as an average over 48 minutes per 82 games, but when he is playing he's top 3. Not sure its even much of a discussion.
DH Bogut Bynum Noah Kaman B. Lopez M. Gasol Perkins (inj) Nene Jefferson (he plays the 5 too i think) Biedrins? R. Lopez? these are a few I think could be placed above Yao, can't seem to think of anyone else
No to R. Lopez. Biedrins is supplanted by Lee. The 10 left on the list seem reasonable to me. The only question is Jefferson, who might not be a center. But since they have Milsap at the 4 and Okur is injured, that by default makes Jefferson a 5. Duncan should prob be on the center list, since he plays more like a center than any other Spur. If KD puts Oden in the top 10 my head will explode.
I can't even think of 10 other centers... Dwight Kaman Bynum (same situation as Yao) Oden (same situation as Yao) Brook Lopez Marc Gasol Bogut Noah Nene Not counting Oden & Bynum, seeing as how Yao is further along than both of them at this point, that is 7. Yet Yao is much, much better than all but two of them.
This. His defense also improves the overall Rockets defense exponentially. He is the only center that force all the other NBA teams to design special defensive shemes for. They don't do it for the offensively limited Howard and all the other centers. It would have been better for Dwyer to have not rated Yao at all.
Please. Stop trying to discredit the guy bc of AB's ranking. Yao hasn't played in forever. What's so wrong with what he says here?
Of course...almost every column that mentions the rockets get blasted (only by the members of this forum). In this case, don't you think that its justified?? Sure he hasn't played in a year and no one knows exactly how well he will play, should he really be below ALL those people?
Clicked to see the names, and Yao at 11? I know he's coming off an injury, but thought he would get enough respect to certainly crack the top 10. Screw this. <a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/yao ming gif/nbacardDOTnet/zz NBA Photo Gallery/z Funny NBA Photos/0 Players/Yao Ming/2.gif?o=6" target="_blank"><img src="http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn200/nbacardDOTnet/zz%20NBA%20Photo%20Gallery/z%20Funny%20NBA%20Photos/0%20Players/Yao%20Ming/2.gif" border="0"></a>
I am not discrediting anyone, I just don't believe reporters are any more knowledgeable about the game than some hard core fans. DD
I disagree. Even hard core fans generally have to go and work during the day. When sports journalists go to work, they're watching their sport. That added exposure means they know more about what's going on in the league (if they take it seriously), even if they don't know more about the game itself.
