I think Yao is now labeled as "soft" and I am here asking for help to understand what exactly does it mean. Is anyone who doesnt go stong to the basket and DUNK the ball considered as "soft"? I've heard that Nowitzki, Stojakovic, R. Allen and A. Houston are all soft. May I assume that all so called finesse players are "soft"? So basketball is just an one-dimension game which is to go strong to the basket and dunk the ball? Have you ever thought that it might not be the strengths of some players? Take Yao as an example. Obviously altheticism and vertical leap are not his strengths, otherwise he would win every opening tip. We all want him to dunk like shaq every time he gets the ball but I just wonder if he has the altheticism of shaq to do so. It's like to ask shaq to show his finesse by making turn around jumpers, it's simply not his strength. I am not saying Yao should not go strong to the basketball every time and dunk the ball but it's not smart to do so until he improves his altheticism (can it be much improved?). Actually I think Rockets has drafted the wrong guy if they want Yao to play shaq's game. I think Yao is soft if he can go strong to the basket but he chooses not to do so because he's afraid of physical contacts. Otherwise he shouldnt be labeled as "soft". What do u think? The former one or the latter one?
I wouldn't think much of it. A lot of times players are labeled as soft because they don't trash talk, scowl, or yell at refs. Some people take that as the player not being a very tough competitor. Personally, I think it's a load of crap.
Don't worry about that. Tim Duncan's still labled as "soft" from time to time but it didn't stop him being a MVP. That's even after he and the Spurs won a ring. They trashed his ring as an asterisk ring.
Well, traditionally in the NBA, bigman aren't used to being finese centers, they "battle" download in the post. Even finese bigman like Hakeem, Ewing and Mourning, though they have a outside game. they still fight for positioning download and try to get every offensive rebound and be an "enforcer" in the paint on defense. But then u look at guys like Nowitzki and they play more like a guard and shy away from unneccessary physical contact, they are labeled soft. While its ok for bigman to shoot jumpers ala the big man listed above, they don't rely on it as much since if the big man misses a shot from the outside, there's usually only one big man fighting for rebound on the inside. Minimizing the chance of an offensive rebound. As for guards, they will be labled soft if they shoot more jumpers and don't try to take it to the basket and drawing fouls. Peja and Ray sort of fall into that mode. It's not that u have to be one dimensional, AI shoots a lot of jumpers, but he takes it to the rack as much as anyone, and most of time, players like AI will disrupt the defense more than a jump shooting guard.
It's ok for Dirk Nowitzki to be soft, because he's not generally a post player. However, Yao's place is in the post, and generally near the basket. I definitely expect him to be tougher. Pau Gasol was considered soft, and even though he's still very weak, you cannot label him soft. Still, he's carved out a niche for himself, using his strength to the maximum. I think Yao just needs to be in better physical shape, and it will start coming easy to him. More strength and no rookie calls. Yao's got a decent attitude.
I assume it to mean a combination of a finesse game and an attitude lacking in a "rabid dog" persona. A laid back, calm individual who lacks emotion on the court and doesn't seem to play aggressively around the basket. I usually only associate the term with big men who embody these qualities, not smaller guards or forwards.
Also, just to add, though Hakeem was never labled as soft in his younger days (not when he's swatting everything that's going up when he's on defense, and was as physical as he can be on offense) he was criticized alot for shooting the fadeaway cuz it just doesn't go with the bigman's game and a bigman missing a jumper hurts a lot more than a guard missing a jumper. Ofcourse no one complained when he starts shooting above 50% with that shot. I'm sure when Yao actually has a couple of go to move and and can shoot above 50% with them ppl will back off with all the criticism.
It means not challenging players on most shots... It means not getting pushed around by other teams big men... It means dunking the ball when you are 1 foot from the basket instead of flipping it up and getting it rejected half the time. It means playing with a passion and being aggressive. Yao has a long way to go to being a real star in the NBA....aggression is a good thing in the NBA. DD
Controlled aggressiveness. Aggression is 'sheed going after the ref, Artest tackling an opponent, getting mad not even. Being soft is shying away from 'mixing it up', contesting shots, going for loose balls, fighting thru picks, finishing with a basket and the foul. Yao will not be called 'soft' correctly as he matures, grows into his NBA career.
a "finesse player" is used to describe great scorers like Nowitzki who you don't want to criticize. a "soft player" is used to criticize. Kareem Abdul Jabbar was either a "finesse player" or a "soft player" depending upon who you asked, and whether they wanted to criticize him. Now, anyone who calls Garnett a "soft player" is soft in the head.
DCkid how right you are! Its how each individual Fan views it and depends on what you want to get out of the Game! If you are a purist then you would prefere finesse players(Hakeem and Jabbar etc). Players that can do it all, exhibiting their athletic prowers, without much personal conflict on the court. Then there are the types that rely on getting certain things out of sports - a vision of brute crude machismo, which represents the mentality that they would wish themselves as a male to have! It is mostly these males that describe the finesse players as'Soft' Quite often these players(Shaq,Oakley etc) are rather limited and bounded by the character which they create for themselves.
"Soft" can mean to some, a finesses game. But "soft" can also mean, lack of aggressiveness. And Yao has show a lack of aggressiveness at times. Especially when lesser, defenders are roughing him up. Yao, may choose to shy away from physical contact (be afraid), but it will be at the teams demise. Because we'll lose games because of it and it would set a dangerous precedent. Opponents are always looking for "weaknesses." And it's common knowledge around the league that as long as you're physical with Yao, you can be successful against our team. We don't want this to become a trend. If Yao choses to be "soft." He's added a weakness to our team that opponents can exploit. OH, and if Yao is "afraid of physical contact" he should NOT have joined the NBA.
Thanks for your reply, Davids. So you do think that Yao is shy away from physical contact! Is it possible that it's the problem of Yao's athleticism and vertical leap? I know fans are sick of his lay-ups or jumpers few feet away from the basket. But I am not sure if he just recognises his weaknesses and doesnt want to be blocked or even miss the dunk. Just like we all expect he would win every jump ball but actually he lost to many athletic players. I think lack of athleticism and stamina are the main reason to prevent Yao from playing "agressive" basketball, do u agree? I agree with you that if Yao is afraid of physical contact, he shouldnt have joined the nba. Do other posters also think that he's shy away from physical contact?
Bingo. You can have an aggressive finesse game on offense and not be considered soft. In Yao's case however he's soft offensively and defensively where someone like Dirk is just soft defensively. And please Tim Duncan has never been considered soft, crazy.
dragon, I agree with you that Yao's being "soft" has something to do with his athleticism. If that is true, there is not much you can do about it other than strengthening some muscles. And people should lower their expectations on this aspect of his game. It also has something to do with habit/style of play. I am pretty sure he did not face close to the physicalness in China. It takes time to change your habits. But it will improve when he plays more in the NBA. I don't think he is "afraid" of contact. BTW, I remember seeing a quote a few months ago by Gasol's former coach. He said something about Gasol's game actually regressed after a year in the NBA. He felt that Gasol became too one-dimentional as a post player rather than mixing the inside-outside facets. Whether the coach was right about the "regression" is debatable. But it does show the difference in philosophy between the NBA style and the Euro style. Euros believe that you should be an all-around player no matter what your size is. Finesse and team play are more valued than individual dominance. Because the NBA has always been the best basketball league in the world. So the US can have the ultimate say as to what qualifies as "good" basketball. But since the influx of international players these past few years and the humiliation of the "Dream Team Light" the past summer in the World Championship, it remains to be seen who will hold the future right to set the standard of what constitute good basketball. Oh, the successes of the Kings and the Mavs also push it to the "soft" direction too. It'll be interesting to see whether the Lakers (the traditional NBA style game) can still dominate the Kings or the Mavs (the new international style game) this year in the playoffs.
