But scoring depend on upper body more.... Everytime I saw Shaq's big elbow wiped out all other players in the center, I cannot appreciate but I know it is the way to win...
I can't believe what I'm reading on here about shaq. Shaq is the closest thing to being unstoppable and you say he can't shoot? He can't pass? He has the wrong body type? I love Yao and hate The Big Aristotle, but I hate him because he's got a damn good game.
Yao is better than shaq because he has more skills. The only disadvantage for Yao is he is not as stong as shaq but that's it. Although shaq average almost 4 assists per game. Given Yao as many touches as shaq gets per game, Yao would average at least 6 assists ( if his teammates can finish it instead of lost the ball or got fouled). I hate shaq's game. Every play by him can be called offensive foul. He got muscle but no brain.
The reason that Shaq can average 4 asists a game is that he makes simple straight forward passes to wide open guys who are spotting up at the 3 point line, since he's usually triple teamed. These are simple passes that anyone who's played the game for more than a few years should make, and they give him way too much respect to be able to do it. The reason why Yao is the better passer is because Yao can create things with his passes, ie lead passes, bounce passes, behind the back, etc. Shaq can't do that, it's simple. Shaq's game is based on how lenient the refs are with him. If the refs looked in the rulebook and decided that hey, maybe calling Divac for a foul for getting his head in the way of Shaq's elbow isnt what Naismith had in mind, then Shaq wouldn't be so "dominant". He has a nice baby hook, and his tremendous power will help him in rebounding, but if the refs stopped kissing his ass, he would average only 20 a game, and I'm talking about minutes, not points =)
sol: obviously you don't know how the triangle works. A lot of his assists are gotten through the triangle..he's the focal point and when the players make the right cuts, Shaq finds them. He's very underrated in that regard.
Shaq looked pretty stoppable tonite Maybe his big toe is bothering him, but Shaq doesn't look as agile and quick as before. Maybe he's TOO BIG, if there is such a thing. I dunno. At this point in the season, I think Shaq has more things to be concerned about with his team than any Yao vs. Shaq confrontation. I also have a prediction for you all! I PREDICT THAT YAO AND SHAQ WILL LEAVE ALL-STAR WEEKEND AS NEW FRIENDS The mutual respect is growing. And they're kinda in a "league" of their own with the Young Yao mindful and respectful enough to by tribute to NBA Greats like Shaq. I honestly think Yao will end up emulating some elements of Shaq much like he emulates other great centers. If it truly happens, you heard it here first! theSAGE
napster: =) I know exactly how the triangle works, I watched it operate for many years during the 90's when the Bulls were killing the Knicks. My contention about Oneal's assists are that they are a product of the system, meaning that he is not a creative passer, he just gets assists becuase the spacing of the triangle means that essentially someone will always be open, and with him getting double and triple teamed whenever he gets the ball, it's not that hard to find the open guy. Think of it this way, when was the last time you saw Shaq do a wrap-around pass, or even lead a cutter with a bounce pass? I've watched enough Laker games to see the same old offense, and trust me, it does not look like the Bulls triangle at all. O'neal gets the ball, he sees the triple team, and dishes it out to Horry or Fox, and they shoot the 3, noone makes any cuts in LA, watch the game and you'll see what I'm talking about. Yes he did average almost 4 assists a game, but you can't tell me that he is able to see the game with a PG's eye as Yao has demonstrated.
sorry, i screwed up my reply and i can't edit or delete my post.... it should read: Shaq has been anything BUT unstoppable this year. Why do people keep referring to his experience and his rings as to why he is better then Yao right now? If that were the case, then MJ would still be the best guard in the league...he's got much more experience and more rings then any other player. Whatever the reason is, Shaq is not dominating games anymore. Maybe it will come back, but at this point of the season, Shaq has not shown he deserves to start the All Star game...getting blown out game after game should tell you something...hell, the Lakers played better when he was out ! they got clobbered by 27 last night ! That, i can believe.
And to further support this issue.. Here are the last 5 games stats... Shaq - 26.0 PPG 9.2 Reb 1.6 Blocks 32-51 FT Yao - 19.0 PPG 12.2 Reb 3.6 Blocks 31-34 FT Now which stats looks better? Yao of course! It goes to show he is doing everything offense and defense. Sorry, I am sticking with my thoughts that Yao is the better Center this year! But I do agree with above post - Yao and Shaq will leave the All-Stars as friends...
C'mon let's be perfectly objective here. I love the Rockets and Yao. And I can't stand Shaq. BUT. 1. Shaq's 1 year removed from 3 straight championships. 2. He's currently playing injured. 3. 40/20/5/3 games were rather routine to him in the playoffs. 4. Yao's not ENTIRELY proven yet. What I mean about being entirely proven is being a known entity (now he kind of has the advantage of unknown tendencies) and the focal point of the defense and STILL being able to put up the numbers. Of course, Yao learns fast and has shown signs of becoming a truly dominant player. NOW, however, I can't say that he's better than Shaq with a straight face. In the future, I dearly hope he can be. He has all the tools. PS: I also cannot possibly buy the argument that the center of the better team is a better center. I can't for the life of me see how Luc Longley was better than David Robinson in his prime.
nicely stated fungyee... The thing about Shaq (and I lived in Orlando for 2 years when he was with the Magic, and got to see the Rockets sweep of Orlando while there..) is that as big as he is, and as powerful as he is, his game isn't that big chest he's sporting now, it's speed. He was big and strong and extremely quick. If all he had to do was take a step or two, he was amazingly fast. Now days, that toe is bothering him a great deal, more so on defense than offense it seems. He takes an eternity to get down court right now. Its clear he's playing hurt.
