Cann't wait to see Yao play against Shaq! It will be Jan 17 at Houston. Yao seems to play better against bigger challenges. Tonight he clearly dominated the twin towers. Yao Ming: 27 pts, 18 rbs, 3 ast, 3 blks, 5 fouls. Twin Towers: 32 pts, 18 rbs, 2 ast, 2 blks, 7 fouls. The next natural challenge will be Shaq. My stand is Ming will get fouled alot by Shaq. Shaq has more dunks than Ming, but Ming get more shots over Shaq.
I like ming but I just don't wanna see Ming get destroyed by Shaq. Ming's good but not that good. On the other hand, Shaq dominates everybody including the twin towers.
Who else in the league can dominate the twin towers? I only see Shaq and tonight's Ming. That's why it will be fun to watch them play against each other. Most likely Shaq will come out ahead, but it will be fun to see how Ming does. Ming will be no Shaq, but he dominates the twin towers in his own way. Shaq's advantage: Stronger, quicker, more experience, rest of Lakers know how to feed him the ball Ming's advantage: Taller, better shooting, wider range of offensive tricks, better pass, better free throw.
that'll be a good game to start kelvin cato and have him guard shaq while yao destroys whoever is guarding him on offense. And play zone so yao won't have to chase horry around. Rocks should make the LA 3 point shooters beat them. If shaq is guarding yao on offense it'll be even better. Yao can get shaq in foul trouble. If it's horry or walker or whoever, it's lights out for them.
I hope Yao would have more time to develope his body before play against Shaq. start Cato to guard Shaq is exactly what I'm thinking too, but I think we better double Shaq every time he touch the ball no matter who's guarding him.
The first thing that Shaq is going to do is lower a shoulder into Yao's chest (even if it's a offensive foul), just to send a message. It wont matter. Yao will confuse Shaq with his precision. I've seen the look in Shaq's eyes when Hakeem would shoot jumper after jumper and them proceed to hit 10-12 from the freethow line. The only thing that Shaq can try to do is over-power Yao. But that will only work for so long...
I just want to see Shaq FOO play fair. I don't want to see him throwing his "bows" anywhere near Ming or him kicking his legs out after dunking.
Remember the boxing match between Marvelous MARVIN HAGLER and THOMAS HEARNS 'The Hitman'? Well, what do you know? It's showtime. Drumroll please.... For the main event.... Let's get ready to rumble. I knew Hagler was gonna win. I just hope Yao can 'punch' back at 'HAGLER' aka SHAQ, and doesn't lose face. It's gonna be a knockout, I know. Go Thomas Hearns, I mean, you know...YAO MING!!!
I love YM, so I don't like him exposed byShaq. So far, YM performed best against less physical/agressive players like Tim Duncan, lakers' walker, mav's bradley... But Shaq's play is MEGA PHYSICAL! just ask Mutombu.... Tough time. KH
I won't get my hopes too high for Yao as far as stats in that game, just because of the way officials protect Stern's money boy, Shaq. I live in Mississippi and don't have League Pass, so I don't get to watch the Rockets unless they are nationally televised, and the last time I saw Cato go against Shaq was I believe Cato's first year as a Rocket, and it was only for about a quarter. Cato had I believe 2 clean blocks on Shaq, and another that was a questionable foul call.
ShaqFu going to dunks over Yao Ming couple times and really bullying him until Yao turn on the heat and shows him the many "Dream Moves", only then we'll see ShaqFu backs off and confused. But hey, the TEAM to beat this year is the Sac Queen (5 players think as One), not my Lakers :-( Lakers fan and Yao Ming fan
shaq will be dificult for Yao to beat.Shaq ia the best and most dominant center in the nba.Yao wil get there but i think not so soon.Shaq plays verry physical,and i'm afraid yao wil get many fouls.but i have always believed in Ming(see my Sig) and i think he wil surprise a lot of people. Yao wil be the next dynasty
This game undoubtedly will be interesting. All I ask is that the referees call a fair, impartial game -- and not let Shaq get away with all of his normally ignored offensive fouls.
Yao is going to be up and down all season. That is the nature of a rookie, particularly one with this kind of transition. Playing against Shaq for the first time will just be one more step in his development.
I expect Shaq to play like a man, da man, and still dominate Yao. It will be fun to watch their 'rivalry' evolve over the course of this season and into the future. Yao is no shrinking violet. He won't hide.
I remember that game but I'm not sure who won I want to say rockets won but I really think it was Lakers but anyway that's the past. It will be tough for Yao against Shaq no doubt but if he wants to learn the real power of the NBA who better to do it again than Shaq.
I agree that Ming will probably be up and down through the course of his rookie season. It would be unrealistic to expect 30 pt. performances every game. But, you know what, I used to think that Shaq would utterly dominate Ming, but now I am not so sure. Ming has surprised us all, and there are surely more surprises to come. When he is positioned right and when he receives a crisp and well timed pass, brother, he is HARD to stop. Plus, he can kick it out in a hurry. I am also beginning to think that he is one of few "pure" shooters in the league. Now that is a SCARY thought. (Remember how Kareem's shot was virtually unstoppable)
