HAHAHAHHA OMFG, I can't believe ESPN (are they analysts?) "analysts" share the same view on NBA and NBA players as a random teenager on the forums! I recently ran into this thread in a Chinese forum the dude questions Yao's ability. He said Yao avg 20- ppg means he sucks. A star should not get 20 points and below. He talks based on stats and numbers and claims that he watches every game for years. Then he got raped by many many other posters. Those of you who can read chinese, have fun reading the thread, it's quite enjoyable: http://www1.uwants.com/viewthread.php?tid=7886876&extra=page=1 I guess this ESPN guy is on the same boat just that he is hired by ESPN as a pro analyst...hahaha ..man..he's no difference than a teenage forumer.
"He is what he is." Ya he is a 7 time all-star and arguably the best center in the league. No wait, scratch that, he is the BEST center in the league. He makes it sound like avg. 20 and 10 is a bad thing.
Bill Simmons isn't an analyst. He's a columnist for Page 2 that often tries to be humorous. He's like Rick Reilly, but not as good or as funny. His opinions should always be taken with a grain of salt because they're not meant to be taken seriously.
I read the article, and pretty much every article he writes. What he wrote about Yao was not a joke. He thinks of Yao as a very good second banana, ala Bosh. I mean, he did rank him 14th, and if you look at the players that he ranked higher, it's pretty hard to argue against most of them.
Like pmac said, he's not so much disparaging the numbers, but he's saying that Yao doesn't have enough impact beyond the numbers. I think he underrates Yao, probably focusing more on his weaknesses than strengths, but that's what he is getting at. As for Yao being capable of averaging much, much more with different teammates -- there's not much evidence of that. Yao will never be a dominant rebounder, regardless of who he is playing with. He has proven he can score 25 ppg when surrounded by 1-dimensional, kind of sucky offensive players, though.
If Rockets get to West finals or even better finals n Yao still averaging 20-10, he will start getting all the respect and will consider him best center. Right now Houston Rockets as a team does not get respect because of all the hype there used to be when Tmac joined rockets n with Yao, everyone expected Rockets to make noise but got eliminated first round year after year. Then Rockets got Artest n Tmac got injured n none expecting Rockets to make noise in the playoffs, besides rockets fans n JVG. For Yao to get respect Rockets needs to get pass the first round and atleast make it to West finals. But as a rockets fan and watching almost every single game, i wouldnt have any current center besides Yao Ming right now in the Rockets uniform. He has outplayed almost every best centers in the NBA right now n demands double team every night. Numbers dont speak how good he is because he is a center, he is forced to score inside the paint. He does not have the ability to move around the court, shoot long range 3's like most 20+ pts guards do. Nor he has a pure passing PG either. And i would choose Yao over Dwight Howard because Yao is just simply more dangerous on offense than Dwight will ever be.
The 20-10 thing is odd because there are probably 5 guys at most getting those kind of stats. Who cares anyways? Talking smack about ESPN is like beating a dead horse. If you guys really didn't care about ESPN no one would be making a big stink about this. Simmons has become a sports version of Dave Barry. No one cares about his analysis.
Yao affects the game in ways very few players do. No one can afford to let him go off offensively and expect to win - unlike the MVP candidates in the league who can put in 40 and lose. Defensively, something did change this year. About the time the national media seized upon the "Yao sucks playing the p'n'r" mantra, NBA refs stopped calling fouls on Yao for going straight up. The media probably doesn't care, but you can bet NBA coaches do. We are a very good defensive team, but I think we're going to start turning heads this weekend when things start slowing down.
What you guys just wont understand is that Yao has not lead his team out of the first round since drafted. In the eyes of the media, your worth is measured by post season success. He hasnt had any. Its just that simple. Until that happens, expect Yao to continually get "dissed".
Hilarious. He is one of 4 players in the NBA averaging 20 and 10 and that's "all you get." Every GM in the league would give a body part for "just that." Simmons should have his press credentials revoked. I'd also go for a courtesy brow beating. Either would be fine.
Well, that's OK In the beginning of the season he said craps like: "oh? you re-signed George Murressan?" "oh? you let Yao in the game wearing protection boots stuffed with lean?" he loves Pau Gasol so much while can only say he is one of the three best centers One of them is DH, and he has to admit that DH messed up consecutive games after "outplayed" by Yao Basically, When things come to this one, that's it, he is what he is
After some of you stop crying about what Bill Simmons wrote about Yao (do you honestly CARE what an admittedly hard-core Boston fan masquerading as a sportswriter thinks?), read the rest of the article. Some of it is hilarious.
some of the posts in this thread are as laughable as simmons' ranking... yao impacts any game he's in as much as any player in the nba. period. Defenses focus entirely on preventing him from getting the ball, they front him, they double him, they pound on him well past the legal limits, and he still gets the job done and more. his 20 and 10 mean less than other players' 20 and 10? are we all high? whether he scores or not he impacts nearly every possession and his presence is often the reason other players are wide the f#$k open. on defense he doesn't get a ton of rebounds but he boxes out so that scola or shane can run and grab them. he doesn't block a lot of shots but if you don't think his being back there as a presence isn't a significant reason why we're consistently among the best defensive teams, you're a fool. yao ming is SEVERELY underrated. pau gasol is like 9... really? you think pau gasol and yao ming switched places this team would be closing in on the second seed in the freaking west? that's a joke. Yao Ming is the heart and soul of everything this team does, whether it's obvious or not. I don't expect Bill Simmons to get it because he has nothing but the stat sheet to look at, but fans better be able to see it.
Somebody wrote two years ago when Yao's averaging 25-9-2-2ast For those who hated Yao, he is to blame for lots of things: no cure for cancer, no peace around the world, etc. Then it is not strange at all what they said in a 19+9+1.9+1.8 season, at least they can focus back on numbers
He has always been a Yao hater! Spoiler After the Rockets drafted Yao Ming last summer, I wrote that he'd get dunked on more than a cup of coffee at Krispy Kreme. I called him a "disaster waiting to happen," even throwing in the portentous phrase "Mark my words." The lesson, as always? I'm an idiot. Forget about Yao's emergence as the most polished rookie big man since Brad Daugherty, or that he offers the first worthy challenge to Shaq since Hakeem was still The Dream. If you're a basketball fan, you love Yao Ming. He's a godsend, the best Chinese import since General Tso. And I thought he'd stink. I may as well have predicted that Vin Baker would be the missing piece of the puzzle in Boston or the Blazers would be a team you could be proud to bring home to Mom. Like many hoops junkies, I now stalk SportsCenter every night for a Yao fix. Exceptionally well schooled and mobile, he affects the game at both ends like nobody since Bill Walton. His turnaround jumper -- a borderline work of art -- might be the most unblockable move since Kareem's skyhook. And when was the last time you saw a 7-footer start fastbreaks with 50-foot jai alai passes, or find open teammates with backdoor looks? In the Me-Me-Me NBA, that stuff isn't supposed to happen. Throw in his enormous size, and he's the most compelling NBA player since MJ in his prime, "Ripley's Believe It or Not" crossed with Pete Newell's Big-Man Moves instructional video. When he's running the court, you can't take your eyes off Yao. I don't even feel that way about Shaq. Teammates and coaches took less time than I did to embrace the likable Yao. Since Day 1, they've said he lights up the locker room just by strolling through the door. Stevie Francis and Cuttino Mobley bought him new threads, taught him a three-step handshake and dubbed him "Dynasty." And the Houston fans treat him like royalty, swooning over his baskets like preteens at a Britney concert. So what happens once he masters English, meshes with teammates and fully adjusts to the best competition in the world? He's already the second-best center in the league; with no other young rivals at his position, he has no ceiling. Forget LeBron & the 89-inch Asian guy will dominate the NBA for the foreseeable future. If Yao's game hasn't yet won you over, surely you'll agree his indoctrination to Western culture has been the most enjoyable coming-to-America routine since, well, "Coming to America." With Yao's thoughts converted from Mandarin to English by a translator, every quote sounds like poorly dubbed dialogue from a Bruce Lee movie. For instance, before Thanksgiving, Yao confessed he'd "heard of the turkey that is at the center of this meal." He describes victories with nuggets like "To get this victory, it's like being able to take a deep breath," and disappointing losses with Yogi-esque observations like "Sometimes the hardest challenges are easier than the more difficult ones." After a loss to Dallas, a disappointed Yao confessed, "You have to understand, I play the game in two parts. One part is the enjoyment of playing. The other part is, of course, winning. Today, I achieved half of that." Want a funny image? Think of Rasheed Wallace or Mike Miller saying the same stuff in bad '70s uniforms and with dubbing that doesn't match their lip movements. The surprising Yao even belts out one-liners like this one in Seattle: "I'm a little disappointed. I thought there would be a Starbucks on the bench." But he never strays far from the Tao of Yao, which centers on two principles: "Basketball is not something that you can talk about, but rather it's an action through which you can show people" and "Respect is something you earn, not something someone gives to you." Well, he has mine. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the Yao Ming Era. Now, if we can all just forget that I was dead wrong about him. As Yao might say, "If you recant a prediction within six months, it vanishes from memory like a disappointing meal." http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/021227
I didn't realize 20 pts, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks is "only getting"...the only player in the whole NBA who averages 20/10/2 is Dwight Howards and Yao a fractions less than 20/10/2...I guess it's only 2 players with those stellar numbers. That Simmons guy is pretty dumb.
the point is not the humor.........the point is any PLAYER IN THE NBA AVERAGING 20-10 2 BLOCKS is not a and thats it.......thats is the point and what makes me say WHAT!!!!! the article and the humor is all good......but to make yao sound like hes some 12th man who has no impact is ludicrous....not even being a homer, but to say yaos presence on a court makes no differance on the game....needs a head exam people talk all this noise about yao.....but if he comes free in 2010 i know 32 teams will be breaking there neck for that "20-10 and thats it" guy......believe that like u believe in jesus....
