I've recently been watching some taped games from this season, and reflecting on it as a whole. I was both extremely excited and a little frustrated by what Yao Ming has shown this season. Yao Ming showed us what he might become many times this year. He made some big baskets and a few big defensive stops. There were games where he used his height, shooting, and passing, all to his advantage and seemed to score or at least get a good shot off, most of the time. There were times when he really did have some good box outs even if another Rocket got the rebound. He was aggressive more of the time this year. I think that shows good progress and a lot of potential. It's especially important because center is a position that is crucial to a team and one that many teams lack in. A consistently good center can give you an advantage almost every single game. 4 games against the Lakers, and possibly 4 against San Antonio depending on matchups are the only games where a developed and consistent Yao wouldn't have a clear advantage. There were also times when Yao was clearly off of his game. The problem is that when he was off of his game, he was less than mediocre. He turned the ball over frequently, often several times in a row. He didn't box out, he didn't fight for rebounds, he was afraid to shoot, he was clumsy, and fell over, plus he seemed incapable of catching the ball. I know some people expected him to be already developed into the next great superstar by this past year, but I didn't. Yao Ming does deserve some understanding for being new to the NBA, and overall fatigue. At the same time, it was frustrating to see him making some of the fundamental mistakes he made. He didn't set good picks, his lack of boxing out, etc. It was scary to watch. So it was almost like a tale of two Yao's. One of them was really capable of dominating, and the other didn't quite make it up to the level of an average center. For next year even if Yao only dominates the same number of games in the same ways, but still manages to cut down on the below average nights, our team will end up with more wins and a better playoff position. For the record I'm not really even talking about Yao's scoring or getting the ball from the guards. I'm only talking about his boxing out, not turning the ball over, not committing bad fouls etc. Those are things I believe we can expect Yao to improve on. Just by doing that Yao and certainly the Rockets team will get a few more baskets on those games, and that will lead to a few more wins. For the following years I expect Yao to dominate most games, and be a real force. It's all part of learning, which he is doing. Yao is progressing, and showing potential. I think Yao Ming can really be an advantage for the Rockets almost every night, and it was a great use for our lottery pick that year.
Very good post. No doubt about it, he is making progress as a very good center. At his position he could develop into (if he is not there already) one of the top 4 centers in the league. I hope he improves more over the offseason. Expect him to be utilized a little more in the high post next season. He has a very good outside shot that was underutilized. Expect him to learn a little bit more about sealing off his man on the block and rebound position. Expect him to get smarter on ticky tack fouls. He will still look clumsy at times but he should have a little more stamina. It will be critical that he cuts down on turnovers cause that is the curse of this team.
I think that clumsiness is due to Yao's lack of stamina; his endurance is just horrible. When players are tired, their shot percentage goes down and they just can't play as hard. I am hoping this would be Yao's priority in the offseason, just to work on his stamina and strength. Once we get that, everybody better watch out!
Please name 3 centers that are better than Yao currently. Personally I think that he will be the #1 center in the league either next year or in 2 years.
I agree that you will see a few more jumpers from Yao and high pick and rolls - he seemed to get worn out most when he had to fight for position on every single play (since his teammates haven't learned the art of the early entry pass to catch the defense off guard) I also think his assists will go up some to (as the coaches take advantage of his passing when he faces the basket) I am a fantasy basketball geek - and I have Yao on my main team going into next year, I think it is interesting that he actually finished a very respectable 16th in the NBA in his overall stat production (points, FG%, FT%, blocks, assists, rebs.) I know that doesn't necessary mean wins, but my point is that he can contribute is several ways - even when he is tired and only scores 14 and 6, he might still have 4 blocks and a couple of assists. I look for more outside shots (maybe even the occasional dribble penetration on some of the slower, goon-like defenders who dare to step out on him) and 3-4 assists per game (if the Rox add another shooter to the mix)
see my post above - I don't think it is all on Yao - I think that some outside shooting plays and players getting him the ball quicker in the post might help his stamina
centers in the same class- Yao Ming Ben Wallace Jermaine O'Neal (OK he could be counted as a 4, but he guards 5) right below them Vlade Brad Miller (he plays either position) Right above them a few notches- Shaq so I would say right now Yao is top 4-5
Big Z is a stretch. He's worse than Yao in most categories. Vlade at least is good at passing. Big Z 15.3 pts 8.1 rbs 1.3 ast 1.8 blks 2.0 TOs 48.3% FGP Yao 17.5 pts 9.0 rbs 1.6 ast 1.9 blks 2.3 TOs 52.2% FGP Divac 9.9 pts 5.7 rbs 5.3 ast .95 blks 2.2 TOs 47.0% FGP
But that doesn't mean he is better than Yao. That's simply matchup. For example, Steve was outplayed by a lot of no-name PGs last season, but he's still better.
There are 80 more games in a regular season. So who cares IF that's true? Yao is the second best C in the league. He outplayed O'Neal twice in the regular season, and got outplayed twice. So does that mean he's as good?
in my mind no one Coach or GM in the NBA picks Z or Vlade over Yao for their team. ben wallace either, because he is not as well rounded. J. O'Neal is arguable... but I've always said what he does in the east doesn't mean anything, see what happened when he went up against a frontline with size? OUCH. but whatever let's stop arguing about who yao's better than and who he's not. we all have our opinions and they are often irreconciliable. how close is Yao? i'm not really expecting a breakthrough next year, but it wouldn't surprise me if it happend. currently Yao does the following things that annoy me. 1. offensive rebound --> layup, throw it down big man! 2. holds the ball while trying to post, get stripped 3. goes up for rebound, gets ball knocked out of his hands. come to think of it... his grip is just weak. if he held on to the ball like shaq, he would have 1/2 as many turns and 2 more rebounds a game. 4. jumps in the air, gets contacts, stumbles or falls like a weak ass. c'mon man, don't let people knock you around. 5. gets pushed out of position by the dampiers, najeras, and b. grants of the world. elbow to the face man! let 'em know. 6. turnaround fadeaway when spin base line or drop step would be higher percentage. anyway... i don't think he can fix all these problems in one offseason. but he was steadily improved with game experience. so we'll see.
What I mean is Yao is in the same class with Big Z, B. Wallace. Second best centers in the league? Maybe, but how many good centers left in the league? 5 - 7 at most. And Yao doesn't have huge advantage over those third best, fourth best, etc either. For example, Yao has only 2 more pts, 0.9+ rebs, 0.3+Ast and 0.1+ block over Big Z in 82 games, and he never outplayed Big Z in every meeting. The era of center has passed. the only dominate center left is Shaq, Yao and other 5-7 centers are in the same class. Yao probably is the second best center, but stats wise, he is among league's top 15 -20 players (all positions). Whenever he become a top 5 - 10 player, the title of second best or even best center then become legit.
Fans really lack patience today. Hakeem hadn't won a ring until his 10th season. Guess there would have had thousands of threads to complain that if we had this bbs then.
Yao made the 3rd All NBA team. He was behind Shaq & Ben Wallace. So, I'd argue that Yao is a top 3 center (namely the 3rd best center).
The reason nobody will pick Z or Vlade over Yao is that Z or Vlade is old or injure prone, and Yao is young and people have high expectation on his POTENTIAL. Of course, potential can never be fulfilled. Next year will be Yao's third NBA season and he will turn 25 yrs old. If he still can't breakout next year, then I will say he probably never will.
With all the mention of Ben Wallace, I think it could go either way. When Yao's good he has the complete package, and that's something Ben Wallace doesn't have. But when Yao is off, he doesn't do anything as good as Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace is going to bring his D. and rebounding night after night. You generally know what you are going to get from Ben. Yao can either be a deciding factor in the Rockets win, or he can be even less than an average center. I think the mention of Yao's grip is an important factor. I believe he could improve a lot with that, and basic boxing out. What's interesting is how far Yao drops. Other players go from being good to average, or have a small range that they drop. Yao goes from near greatness, to well below average when he drops. So if Yao's bottom nights of performance increase to just average, his whole game, and our whole team's performance will jump.
