http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=17993 I personally disagree with #2. the rest of the other duos would get ran over like road kill vs the 86 Lakers.
Last sentence in Yao/Tmac paragraph is horribly wrong. They both played 2 whole 7 game series together against the Mavs and Utah.
Yup. McGrady/Yao team also played Mavs and Jazz in the playoffs. The only time the team advanced was in 2009.
If they're gonna mention Penny, then they had better mention the real duo that Penny never made work out--Penny and Shaq. Now THAT was a duo that had serious championship expectations which were never fulfilled. All the rest, even T-Mac and Yao, never had the expectations that pair had.
Well IMHO it depends how you see it. For a lot of people something that should have been good but got destroyed by outside forces (like injuries) is far more disappointing than something that has been pathetic from the get go (Curry+Chandler). Honestly I'll reverse it and have Olajuwon+Sampson as number 1. Tmac-Yao also got derailed by injuries, but looking at the supporting cast in the roster I'm not sure just Tmac and Yao even when healthy could have vaulted us past the Spurs, Lakers and Mavs. May 2 western finals appearances at the most.
No question about Yao-TMac and the fans are still being disappointed. Francis-Mobley made the cover of SI and not much else. Disappointing should not even be associated with Hakeem, except that he aged and left. Sampson at least did something before a career ending injury.
I found the inclusion of Sampson and Olajuwon bizarre. Maybe I don't understand the criteria. They had great success as a duo, then Sampson was hurt and several key players gone, booted out by the league for cocaine. During the short time both were healthy and had a team to play with, they took arguably the best NBA team ever to 6 games in the Finals. I would call that success.
Was the expectations with Tracy and Yao really as high as the writer believes? I mean, the #1 most disappointing duo? Maybe my memory is just a little fuzzy as to what the feeling was during that time. Anyway, I think these two guys get a bit more hate than deserved for not getting it done. Tracy averaged 30ppg, 25ppg and 27ppg during his Houston playoff runs. Yao, 21ppg and 25ppg. These guys elevated their games, but bad matchups, officiating...damn, and poor supporting cast weigh heavy. Though it didn't work, I had fun watching the duo while it lasted. Same with Francis, enjoyed his days.
