[ESPN] Bill Simmons new predictions on West (Rockets #7)

lukecold.. har har har that's a good one bill. how about you keep your lame one-liners to yourself next time?

 

I disagree. Offensively, Yao can be better than Duncan. He's bigger and can shoot better either the turnaround shot or left/right hook. Yao has shown he could put up over 30 points a game. I don't think Duncan can do that.

The reason Yao can get out of the 1st round because he's not very good defensively. If he had Duncan's defensive skills, would you still think the Rockets would have lost to the Jazz?

 

I think you're selling Yao's defense a little short, and you're selling Duncan's offense a little short.

Yao is good defensively close to the basket. His inability to guard away from the basket makes him look really bad, but when his teammates can cover for him that allows him to be a force close to the bucket. It's one of the reasons Chuck Hayes is so important to this team. When you have a quick PF like Chuck, that masks a lot of Yao's defensive limitations.

And while Yao is a greater offensive force around the basket than Duncan, you can't discount Duncan's ability to play out from the basket. He's an excellent passer out of double teams both facing up and with the back to his basket, and he has superior hands. These are important offensive skills for a big man.

 

what he said is pretty much true guys... he still have the same damn starting five, and our new additions have played poorly save for a couple games. overall we are still the same team and will not get out of the first round. i mean seriously, who are we going to beat in the first round ? chances are we will be a 5th or 6th seed.... so what does that mean ? spurs, mavs, suns, jazz, or nuggets in round one.... look at how superior the PG play and bench these teams have. at the end of the day its still jumper happy t-mac, a big man who is EASILY thrown off his game with physical play, and a bunch some weak role players.

 

I think Duncan has the best defensive skills of all big men. His skill is meticulous and his BB IQ is very high that he can read the opponent very well. That's the reason Spurs can make some critical defense play at the end of game.

Yao's defense is foul-prone. He is relatively slow, but his poor sense of how opponents would attack him make him the weakest point at the crucial time and the rivals would attack him again and again until death. And I think his inability to adjust make him despondent and frustrated. So you will find more and more teams do "crack Yao" play in the future.

 

I used to read Bill Simmons stuff a lot. He'd always write good stuff, and bash his beloved celtics. Now that they're winning, he thinks he knows everything about the game. Clearly he doesn't know Yao CAN guard all the big men. The reason we have trouble with Utah is because their center stays behind the 3 point line, leaving Yao with Boozer. Tim Duncan is way overrated. He was real good his first 3-4 years, now he's slow and all he does is bank those 15 footers. He's always had good players around him. Dirk is overrated just because he can make those goofy fadeaways when he brings one foot up and looses his balance.