I originally posted this in another thread but wanted to start my own since I think it is likely to garner a lot of hate and I don't want it to detract from DD's seperate thoughts in his thread. So please just direct all your hate here. I think Yao is overrated. I think we can do OK with him but better without him, and here are some reasons why: 1. Yao isn't going to change into some aggressive beast. He just isn't so give that up. I think the best we can hope from him is a continued commitment to blocking shots rather than taking a charge. 2. The fact that our best defensive team does NOT include our 7'6" "franchise player/team leader" says most of what needs to be said about that. I mean our best defense includes a "center" of Scola and a big man of Landry/Hayes. All good defenders but well undersized against post players. The fact that they are still better than Yao speaks volumes. 3. I think we can all agree that Yao is a weak link on defense but that's ok because he is so dominant on offense, right?? Our "franchise player" went 7-9 overall and 1-3 in the second half last night, and this is a common occurence with our team. So maybe the coach has to be responsible for getting him the ball, but at the same time he is a turn over machine. He had 4 turnovers despite the fact he was rarely getting the ball. This doesn't even include the numerous amount of times that Yao would get a rebound only to have it whacked out of his hands. 4. OK ok so he isnt good at defense and can't hold onto the ball BUT he helps makes his teammates much better right?? Yao's +/- last night was -18...and it wasn't a blow out. Artest was 0-8 from 3pt range and had 2 more turnovers and his +/- was -4, that is how helpful Yao is... Finally for my own amusement I did a comparison between Yao and Dwight's +/- stats. The reasoning for using the 4 player combo instead of 5 is it is the best way I can think of to disregard the trade. The 4 players were Turk, Lewis, Dwight, and Bogans for ORL and Artest Battier Yao and Scola for houston. Obviously the PG play does affect these stats but I don't know how else to compare. For the record our +/- and winning % is better with Alston at the point with those 4 than it is with AB. Just saying... Category Yao Dwight +/- Overall 375 414 Vs Good Opponent 43 2 Vs Avg Opponent 93 143 Vs Bad Opponent 239 269 1st qtr 148 196 2nd qtr 84 73 3rd qtr 78 55 4th qtr 61 83 Clutch 22 43 4 Player combo 91 118 yea yea I expect the head to head record to show up almost immediately but I am not talking about that because the ONLY time that even possibly matters is if they played eachother in the finals. Bottom line: Yao is what he is and ain't gonna change, he can only get worse. Best case scenario is we trade him this summer or by the deadline next year before he can opt out and put his max contract money towards someone else. I like Yao and all but his weakness against smaller athletic guys is a big problem when 75% of the league is using smaller athletic guys as opposed to the classic big slow center. Bring the hate
wtf. why all the yao hatred after one game. The guy had two men defending him all night long. He opens up the outside for everyone else and he is a prescense in the paint. He has deficiencies, but good lord. Please do not post if you think he is the teams weak link.
Ugh, another post that just rehashes everything that has already been said in the GARM fifty times before. Why do people feel the need to start a new thread when they have nothing new to offer?
I've noticed so many bi-polar people around here. I remember some guy showed a gif about Tracy McGrady, about when he gets a good game people are all happy but when they lose and he has a bad game they start calling him a loser, 1st round virgin, bench him, etc....
I don't think that's true, any proof? At this point, I'd prob ask to be trade or just not resign if I were Yao. It's prob the best for both parties.
i hope yao stays though. he's a good 2nd option. we can wait till tmac gets off the books and hopefully sign another star and build around that guy.
2nd Option? Who is the 1st? Ron Artest? Looking at your screen name, you are probably just jealous that Yao has been successful without Mr. 1st round virgin Tracy McGrady.
i said wait until 2010. yao's a better fit to be a 2nd option. i think most of this board agrees. and jealous of what? tmac is done as a rocket. what a dumb response.
How do you know he's a better 2nd option? By opinion? Why don't you make a poll and see if you think we should use Yao as a 1st or 2nd option. You don't even know if Yao Ming has hit his prime yet or not, considering the fact that other centers like Hakeem Olajuwon hit their prime at age 30+
Good thread and observation.....keep posting and your opinion is what is an opinion...people are very sensitive on this board when it comes to Yao....I love it when people say its one game....this has been a long time coming and Yao has been ineffective in the 4th quarter...All of it is not his fault....I blame Adelman for not adapting to the way the Lakers switched defenses....The same was during the Jazz game....Why not have Scola or Landry play the post instead and have Yao on the weakside to get an offensive rebound...But anyways dude, nice thread....I believe many of us are frustrated with Yao's play....I just hope that we do things differently when we play the Spurs later this week....(another crucial game)
they'll never trade Yao no matter how much he suck he's a money tree the only possibility is if he asked for a trade
b/c through 7 years in the league, he has never been a clear-cut 1st option on any team despite several different circumstances? this year we've played basically without mcgrady and yao touches the ball as much as he did in 04-05. and the past 10 games or so, we've gone to a more team-oriented offense and not going through yao. and yao is hakeem? yes, we measure all center's primes by that of hakeem, one of the top 5 players of all time.
Yao has been the 1st option many times during JVG's run. The only reason why he was never a clear cut 1st option is due to injuries. It was clear that Van Gundy always wanted to run the offense through Yao, but due to injuries he ended up having the offense run through T-Mac again. Again, Yao is the best center in the league and he is the 1st option. Tracy McGrady is the worst player in the league and the last option.
I mean come on. Dont put the Dream in the same sentence with Yao alright??!! Yao is a proficient but he is not a no. 1 option. He has butter fingers... He cant seal his man in the 4th... Hes a TO machine in the 4th... He gets boxed out and muscled by smaller players constantly... He,s all around non clutch in the 4th... Please, no Dream and Yao comparisons.
Yao is very effective to prevent easy lay ups and post ups due to his size... and yes he is a liability when he defends shooting big mans... now let's answer this questions: do you want to give up lay ups and post-ups or do you want to give up jump shots from bigman. i think the answer is simple.
I'm not comparing his game to him, I'm talking about reaching the prime like The Dream. Is that not possible? Kobe is probably in his prime or peak right now at 30's. He would be similar to Hakeem that way.
I am actually going to respond to this thread. I don't know why people just start insulting posters who make some good points. I will disagree for this part. Yao is still under 30; I believe he can start becoming aggressive. There is nothing stopping him from that except himself. We can only hope... (As we have with this injury prone team) Yao's defense actually depends on the opponent. Teams like Utah, Lakers (Without Bynum), or Toronto is a HORRIBLE match up for Yao. It is just sickening to see Yao get outquicked that easily. But against big men, like Shaq, it is essential to our defense that Yao is there. And like Brooks, I believe Yao's best defense is his offense. If Yao can get the big man in trouble by becoming more aggressive, then they can't shoot those open shots! I agree with everything except for the 1st point of your first sentence. He just needs to be aggressive and seal his man off! If he lets Pau just stand to his side, we need perfect passes, and for an inexperience player like Brooks... it'll be impossible. Yao needs to learn to move his big body to stop quicker players. Maybe players flopping is making him less aggressive? I don't know. Again, I believe this is with the match up problem. Yao can't guard anybody that can shoot 15+ out, and when he isn't sealing his man off and being aggressive, his offense is limited. No way we trade him. Mainly because of all the $$$ he brings to Les. And Yao can be dominant, he just needs to be aggressive and get the smaller man in foul trouble. Of course, he needs fair refereeing, and hopefully someday the league will acknowledge that. Things Yao can work with: His hands (Firmly grabbing on rebounds, not lightly where someone can just poke it) Using his body to get scrawny players like Pau off his side and to his behind.
