If Yao could stay on the court, there is no comparison between him and Gasol. Pau is a heck of a player, but more like a PF.
I would hate to see some of you own a business and use "if" when trying to turn profits. If apple had patent their windows idea, there might not be ms windows. If my rig would keep breaking down, i wouldve gotten the wal mart produce contract. If i was 6'10 vs 6'4 i wouldve been drafted by someone. If yao didnt miss 2 full seasons out the last 5 yrs, the rox wouldnt be in lotto land for the 2nd time in those 5 yrs. If,if, freakin if. Maybe he ought to change his name to If Ming.
No! Healthier? Yes.. With Kobe? Yao would win a Championship too and perhaps beaten the Celtics having two championships. Gasol is not a center most of the time he is a powerforward. Gasol is great for Kobe. they fit together and he passes. Tmac was no Kobe. Not even close. Not a Dwade either or even a Carmello Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, or even a Lebron. Tmac was a slightly worse shooting version of Joe Johnson and he and Yao are held in too high a regard in terms of value by our management. Which is why it didnt work out for us when we could have gotten Amare here for Yao already and Joe Johnson or Bosh for Tmac and Yao already in trades. Those two or any combintaion of any of those two plus Martin and Ariza would have prodyced probably more for us than Yao and Tmac have in their playoff careers. Imagine Amare and Joe Johnson with Ariza, Battier, Scola, Brooks, heck even Artest for that one year? Landry? That team gets past Lakers probably. We overvalue them. We dont sell them while they had max value and hadnt even gotten past the first round.
Gasol playing well is the product of being on a stacked team and playing for a hall of fame coach. When he was with the grizz, he couldn't hold Yao's jock strap.
IF we're talking about skills and abilities on the court as a center in the NBA, then Yao wins. IF we're including their ability to stay healthy, then Yao can't win because he's missed too much time. I assumed we are talking about skill, not durability.
First of all, I started watch the game because of Yao. Second, even I think a comparison like this is absurd. It might be a good question 3 or 4 seasons ago, but not any more. Gasol just earned a 20M plus/year contract from the Lakers, while Rockets still hesitate to offer Yao a contract with significantly less amount. Do you see the picture? If that's not convincing enough, think about Gasol's role in the championship of Lakers. Please do not tell me that it is a nobrainer that Yao would do the same! If that's not convincing enough, let me remind you that Yao has not done anything in this league yet. Even if he can remain in the court in the rest of his career, he has got a lot to prove. Better than Gasol? It is possible, with a lot of big IFs, but let's hope Yao can probe it!
Yes, because saying anything positive about Yao automatically makes you a YOF. You're like tinman, except somehow even less intelligent.
If kobe had problems playing with a prime shaq who established position quickly and moved quicker and not as needy,what makes anyone think he can play with yao and is the opposite? How long would kobe wait for yao to lumber across the lane,fight for position,and watch the shot clock wind down? Tracy was good for yao because he took all the darts and was patient enough for yao to lumber,plod,and try to establish position. There is a reason the rox always finished 15th or worse offensively.
IF he cann stay healthy Yao is the best center in the NBA. The league doesn't know only because he hasn't been healthy. Rockets fans have forgotten because it's been a season since he's been down.
Half of the people on this thread are blinded by what Yao was hyped to be. Yao is a very good player in the post and his huge frame helps protect the paint with consistency. But when comparing him to Pau Gasol, all variables should be accounted for. Pau Gasol can stay on the court and help his team wins. Yao cannot. Gasol brings much more to the table than Yao. Yao's game consist of getting into position and score in the low post. But for Yao Ming to get into position, he has taken up half of the shot clock, and he isn't much of a good offensive rebounder, which only gives the Rockets one shot. Gasol give his team much more options to work with. If you front Pau, he can punish the defenders by catching the alley oop pass or lob passes. Gasol keeps the ball up high so he doesn't get strip by quick guards. Yao Ming limit his team offense. With Yao Ming on the court, the Rockets only offense for him is to wait for him to get into position and let him go to work in the low post. Gasol can play on the outside, inside, and is a good passer. He can play face up and find an open man or shoot the mid range. Yao Ming is big so he can protect the paint well but defensive 3 secs are called on him often. Gasol is mobile enough to play better defense and protect the pick and roll much better than Yao who gets destroyed on the pick and roll. So overall, Gasol is just a better all around player and he can help his team by staying on the floor.
Pau is probably the best big man off the ball because he is so smart and mobile... he's also one of the best passers... Yao is probably better as a focal point but it's difficult to get him the ball when teams zone or front him I give the slight edge to Pau... but I'd still rather have a healthy Yao than Dwight
0-12 in playoff games? That's gotta be a damn record for any skilled big man in the league. We are not talking about winning a series here (see KG, who failed to advance to the 2nd round in his 1st 7 attempts). Heck, even Mister Bosh managed to win a few games in his two playoff appearances.
Just because I am a Rockets fan does not mean that I have to ignore the obvious. If Gasol is a better player than Yao, I will say it and point out the facts that makes him a better player. If Yao Ming is better than Gasol, I would happily say that he is. But in this case, Gasol is just a better player. Simple as that. As much as I would love to root for Yao Ming, its hard to when he can barely stay on the court or he hasn't really accomplish anything in his NBA career. You can make the same case with Gasol when he was back in Vancou/Memphis. But remember back then when Tmac goes out and Yao was stuck to lead the team himself? The Rockets struggled just to win one game with Yao Ming leading them. But the last season when Yao Ming finally advances, he had a great deep team backing him up. If you put Yao Ming on that same team Gasol had when he was a Grizzlies, Im sure they would struggle just as much, if not, even more than Gasol leading the team.
This thread is kinda ridiculous. People are comparing Yao and Dwight Howard's one on one stats? Who cares about that? The NBA isn't a one on one competition, what matters is a player's overall impact on the game in relation to how it helps their team. Kevin Garnett has bad offensive numbers against Orlando but he had a huge impact on them winning because he shut Rashard Lewis down. According to people on this board, all that matters is who averages more points. Second of all, constantly saying Yao is the best center if healthy is like saying Tracy McGrady was the best player in NBA history if he had Kobe's heart. You can't just magically ignore a player's biggest fault. Yao is never healthy, so saying he is the best when healthy is a pointless statement. The bottom line is both Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, even though they don't have the offensive moves Yao has, are better because #1 they are always healthy and #2 their teams have had WAYYYYYYY more success than the Rockets. That's the bottom line. For all of Yao's greatness, the Rockets teams with him as one of the foundation pieces has lost in the first round four times and won ONCE. Pau Gasol has a ring and may get another one this year. Dwight Howard was in the finals last year and the conference finals this year. At the end of the day, players are judged by their contributions to winning teams. Period. End of story. Name one center who is considered a historically great center who never got past the second round.
