anyone notice that his moves are similar to Tim Duncan in terms of fluid and arsenal of shots and defensively he plays like Russell (for you vets)? who does he remind you of...not to say he has to remind you of anyone, but it is fun to compare....
Actually, I think those two are bad comparisons. Duncan is more of a face-up offensive player, with his bankshots and little jumpers in the lane. To this day, I can not recall seeing Yao take a face up jumper. Maybe Im wrong or just dont remember very well. Offensively, I would compare Yao to Hakeem, although Yao's turnaround seems to be a couple feet farther out than Hakeem comfortably took his. Yao also has the spin move and jump hook like Hakeem. Comparing Yao defense wise to Russell is just unfair to Yao and most importantly, Russell. Russell might be the best defensive center of all time (sorry Hakeem). Yao gets quite a few of his blocks just because hes tall. Yao doesnt have great defensive technique with regards to lateral movement and he smacks at the ball way too much, instead of just putting his arms up and letting his height do the work. I think its impossible to compare Yao defensively to anyone right now. I think well have to wait another year or so to see what kind of defensive player he truley is.
he kinda reminds myself of me when I dominate on the local courts here. lol, just kidding. He kinda reminds me of Duncan's atheleticism, with sabonis' bball IQ and a shot like Reggie Miller's.
Duncan has a turn around and is fluid and athetic. Ming has the same athleticism and very similar strokes, sure he does not face up often...though I have seen it a few times......but he is just as athletic.....
Yao, IMO, is actually more athletic, inch for inch, than Duncan is. So in that respect, they still dont compare in my eyes. I think you have to compare Yao to tall, fluid players, finesse type players if you are gonna compare him to anyone at all. Duncan is not really athletic so to speak, not to say hes not a great athlete. When I think of great athletes in the NBA, I think of Francis, Garnett and the old Hakeem. Duncan is very smart, tall, has long arms and most importantly, is is the absolutely most fundamentally sound player for his height in all of basketball.
Yao plays the game a lot like Sabonis does. I think that he will play like Sabonis allegedly did before the knee injures when many people considered him the best center in basketball.
Montgo, good eye! But, I see Yao as a combination of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale with Wilt size. Yao can pass and shoot like Bird. He even shoots above the head like Bird. Check out his free-throw form too. Bird was an excellent FT shooter. McHale was a master of finesse post moves. He loved the finger roll and shooting off the glass (like TD). McHale wasn't a high jumper, but he was a quick jumper which gave him an advantage for rebounds. The only difference was that McHale has really long arms for his hight. As far as Wilt. Well, Wilt was a finesse center that could just shoot or finger roll over his opponents. Sure, he could dunk. But there was more to his game. His sheer size gave him dominance. Like Yao. I always wanted the Rockets to someday get a player of Larry Bird's BB-IQ. Now my dream has come true!
Sorry- Montgo - - But EG's defense reminds me more of russell - - in a couple of years ( maybe sooner) no one's gonna remind you Yao.....
Yao's offense is similar to Hakeem, except I think Hakeem's turn around jumper (Dream Shake) is untouchable, even by Yao. The fact that Yao is so tall and long, and he is mobile enough to make these moves makes him unstoppable. I would say that his game is a mix between Hakeem and Wilt. Larry Bird??? I dont know about that one.
I think he is more like Michael Vick: half man and half amazing. I can't tell you how excited I am about Ming. This is really, really special. We are truly blessed, players like this come around once in a generation. Thank you Steve Frances! You are not only talented, rich, and famous, but you are LUCKY!
Folks, TIMEOUT... Even Yao Ming will tell you that it is WAY to early to do any meaningful comparison. Last I check, Hakeem, Wilt, Bird all won champainships...
We were not talking about "champainships [sic]." We were talking about they style, or form. They have similar skill sets. No biggie. I'll go out on a limb that Yao will help his team more than Hakeem. And yes, that means more than two rings. So there!
A litle bit of Hakeem with some of his moves, a little bit of Ralph Sampdon with his athleticism, a little bit of Mark Eaton with his size, a little bit of Bird with his passing and court awareness. So overall, a special and gifted player with no glaring weakness.
To me he is a younger and taller Vlade Divac. And I think Yao is going to put up numbers like Divac, but alittle better. Yao=7-6 Vlade Divac who can block.
he passes like kareem...maybe that's because he has slashers going to the hole like kareem did...but nevertheless, yao seems to have a knack for making quick and fruitful passes seems to have the feet and mobility (for a guy his size) similar to hakeem...i'm not sure he'll ever be the whirling image that hakeem was, but he has shown on more than a few occassions that he's able to move well under the basket... i've never seen anyone that tall who was that good of a shooter
Man if yao had the athelitiscm (didnt spell it rite sorry) that keviv garnett had, he wud be unstoppable, but for rite now i dont know bout comparing him to anybody
Right now he reminds me of Rik Smits. Which is a great compliment considering how Rik beat up on Patrick in the Playoffs. Time after time.
Russell was what, 6 9 or so? He was a smaller center even for his time. Yao is what, 7 6, and generally 4 inches (or more) taller than the guys around him. Russell tended to average 20+ rebounds a game b/c shooting sucked back then. I'd be hesitant to compare Yao and Russell, their games are too different.
