KG, in his 2nd year, had not ONE stat in the top 10. Kobe, in his 2nd year, had not ONE stat in the top 10. TMac, Dirk, Randolph, Shard, etc in their 2nd years had not ONE stat in the top 10. Your point? You know it's funny that you referr to Yao being hacked in the low post as him getting manhandled. I also remember plenty of times when Steve gets the ball with plenty of times on the clock and he still bricks. How nice to see you blame his shooting on Yao. It's also funny because basically with the 3 second rule (OK, maybe 5 seconds), that's how long you have to establish position. So if Yao takes ~ 5 - 10 seconds in the post EACH PLAY (post then repost), it kind of makes you wonder what we did with the other 14 - 19 seconds of the shotclock.
Every player you just mentioned except Dirk and Randolph where 18-19 years old in their second year. Randolph has put up much better stats that Yao all year. Dirk is the only example that even come close. But Dirk wasn't given the reigns of the Mavericks his second year. They were Finley's team until Dirk proved he was The Man.
Maybe you should cheer for another team then? I guarantee you that Yao will be holding the reigns of this team for at least another 8 or 9 years, regardless of whether he's adjusting to it or not. They'll keep trying and trying and trying, but whatever happens, Steve will never ever hold the reigns again, and you need to deal with that. EVER.
You have no idea what the future holds - no one does. If you read my posts in this thread, I'm not advocating putting the reigns in Steve's hands. I'm saying that if Yao is going to be "The Man" then he needs to step up and be "The Man" And, unlike Yao Fan, no NBA team is so enamored by one player that they will continue building around a player for 8 or 9 years with no results. If Yao's averages reamain around the 18 and 9 area and the Rockets barely make the playoffs or lose in the first round every year, after four or five years, the team will find another young player to build around. Period. If he progresses and consistently leads the teams to wins and playoff success then we will all be happy and the team will be built around him that long.
You know, it's funny now that you mention it. Cuz "the MAN" or not, it's funny that all of KG and Dirk got more shots (per game) than Yao. All of TMac, Kobe and Randolph got more shots in their 3nd seasons (the first seaons they put up better #s than Yao in his 2nd) than Yao. Nice to see that you "forgot" that. Also nice to see how you ignored Sane's post on how Yao's 3rd in FGA on this team while the next 2 are within 100 of him. Sure sounds like Yao's team. It's also funny that of all those players, Yao was the only one that got doubled in his 2nd season. Yao was the only one that faced the zone in his 2nd season. Nice to see that you completely ignored that though.
That's hilarious. If TMac and Randolph's numbers remained their respective numbers in their 2nd years, their teams wouldn't even be in sniffing difference of the playoffs. KG, Dirk and Kobe are the only ones that has a legit shot. It's also funny how you dish out the term "Yao Fan," which apparently is good enough for argument. And here I thought Yao was a Rocket.
Juugie, A second year Tim Duncan averaged 22 and 11 in 39 minutes. A second year Yao is averaging 18 and 9 in 33 minutes. When adjusted to 39 minutes, Yao is averaging 21.2pts and 10.6rebounds. Considering how much more Yao had to adjust, I think that's good enough to hand him the reigns. Basically Juugie, if Yao improves ONLY his stamina and is able to extend his minutes by 6, he'll be as good as a young Tim Duncan. Ofcourse, that's assuming that the only thing he improves is his stamina. You're forgetting that the guy is constantly improving. Regardless of what argument you make against those numbers, at WORST, Yao is a notch below Tim Duncan. If you ask me, that's good enough for me.
Why did you start this thread? Was it just to share your opinion? If opinions are just irrational intuitions... then why would any of us give a flying **** what you think? IN fact, why post, other than to get factual information (although why get that... since facts are uninteresting themselves... they form the bases for opinions). Opinions are the result of inferences based on data. Saying that everyone is entitled to an opinion is... meaningless. The question is whether the underlying inferences and data are any good. Now, Sane was attempting to refute your claims. You weren't responsive. And if you can't respond to rational assertions based on accurate underlying data, it's time for you to back down.
This is for you, Sane It's too simplistic to say that if Yao averaged six more minutes, his production would go up a certain amount. He's not going to be as productive his last six minutes as he was his first six. Also, that Young Tim Duncan was sharing a lot of the spotlight with David Robinson. Also, the things that are limiting Yao right now are things that will be with him for his entire career. Lack of quickness, lack of explosion, small/weak hands, lack of co-ordination (sometimes), passive nature... He will have some improvement, but I think his liabilities will limit him to a moderate growth curve.
It's simplistic, but like I said, even assuming those 6 minutes are some of his worst minutes, he's a notch below a young Duncan. On the other hand, if you assume they're his best 6 minutes, then he even tops a young Duncan. Basically, he's in that range, and that's damn good. Duncan had to share the spotlight with David Robinson, someone who he meshed with very well. Right now, Yao is doing this taking the 3rd most shots on the team behind Steve and Cuttino (if I'm not mistaken). We play through him, but he's still not the first offensive option. Replace Steve with Kirk Hinrich (for example) and don't you think Yao would be even a *bit* improved? I mean, seriously, common, don't you? Do you think Hinrich, with a post presence like Yao, could do any worse than Steve is doing this season? We know he'll have more assists, less TO's, better 3pt shooting, and better defense. He's not as good getting to the basket (not priority at all), and he lacks the quickness that Francis has (not really using it - big deal). This is not a "diss Francis" post. This is just to show that, with a worse supporting cast, less shots, and getting adjusted to the NBA, Yao Ming is damn near Tim Duncan territory. Yao Ming is a 20/10 player, he just can't play enough minutes right now to get there. Still, he's 18 and 9 which is enough to show us that he CAN be 20/10. Assuming these 2 things happen, Yao Ming will easily become a top 10 player in the league averaging 20+/10+/2+: - Rockets make a serious deal this summer, which means acquiring at least one starter and changing one bench player. - Yao improves his stamina even a little bit. I'm talking 3 minutes. He's not the best frnachise player in the league yet, but he's easily the best one on this team, and he's shown improvement to the point where it's only logical to think he'll be able to carry this team very soon.
