Exactly... Yao would be a slower version of Pau Gasol... and that's not taking into account is lesser rebounding instincts. Its still an all-star calibur player, but its not Yao Ming.
Silly question given that body size has its pros and cons. If we're going to make him 6'10, might as well give him Hakeem's agility and speed. Make him 6'6, give him Jordan's body. If height determined success, every 7'4+ person in the world could be a basketball superstars.
I don't know if the possible gain in lateral movement would outweigh the benefits of being six inches taller than anyone they could throw at you. Yao's only weakness is more than negated by his height. Sorry, I'll take 7'6" Yao over 7'0" Yao anyday.
Well... If he is freakishly athletic for a 7'6 guy, why can we not assume that with reduced height, he would gain more mobility, and thus be able to do more than he is now? Reduced height does not necessarily mean gains in athletic ability, but you also can't isolate height and claim it has no effect on an individuals other attributes. There is no right or wrong to the answer... just opinions. To me, a shorter Yao would find a way to maximize his body, so yes, my opinion is that he would be just as good.
We tend to also forget that having a 7'6 body also imposes a lot of limitations on what you can do, restraints that a 6'11 body has no idea of.
Yes. However, he would be Irish, and he would have a law degree and a skin condition. Also, Al Gore would have won Florida, and the Wiggles would still be intact.
Yea... but you're leaving out the elements of his game that are MUCH better utilized because he's so tall. His ability to get a shot off whenever he wants... his ability to tap rebounds away that he doesn't have the god-given quikness/leaping ability to get to (and wouldn't neccessarily have if he was 4-5 inches shorter), and his ability to see over defenses and make the right pass. I already said that the two things he's limited by his height are his defensive mobility (which leads to fouls), and his decreased ability to DRAW the foul on the offensive end (because he's so big, and the refs then favor the defender).
I'm a strong believer of hard work pays off. Sure talent helps, but practice takes you a long way. There is no question about his worth ethic. Yao would adjust to his body type and strive to be the best he can be. If he wasnt as tall, he would be more athletic.
The answer is quite simple. Look at WZZ and Menke Batere, two 7 feet Chinese Centers who can run and have decent shooting range (similar to Yao). They can't even survive in the NBA. You absolutely can't assume Yao will have any athletic advantage if he is shorter. There is no way he will be a freak like KG. Yao's biggest asset is his height, period.
Except those hypotheticals could have easily come to pass. The Rockets could have traded Sampson for the 2nd pick and Drexler and the Texans could have drafted VY but didn't. It is not within the realm of imagination that Yao will suddenly shrink 6 inches. (Unless he has an injury like Hank Hill's dad, in which case it would be hard to play bball without knees.)
He would just as good but in a different way. A shorter Yao would be faster and he would be able to put the ball down if needed (i.e. Dirk). His rebounds would not be higher than 8 a game though and his blocks per game would definately take a hit. Basically you would be trading a taller Yao for a more fluid one.
this is flawed logic. Yao is amazingly athletic for a 7'6 footer. so if we pretend he is shorter we should also pretend that he is Amazingly athletic for his new height. Compairing him to WZZ or Menke is stupid, they do not play the same type of basketbal. the only thing they have in common is their nationality. and in that case we can argue that a tall steve nash is a terrible player since theire are no good Canadian centers
I would argue that his biggest asset is his work ethic. I have a hard time believing if WZZ continued to work hard on his game that he wouldn't be able to become a rotation player on some team. There are plenty of players with size and athleticism in the US, but only a few that actually know how to play the game or realize their potential. That is why skilled big men are so rare. If I remember correctly, WZZ was actually even more highly regarded than Yao in his hayday. If you apply it across positions, I think Kobe comes to mind. Out of the abundant amount of athletic swingmen, he is actually just above average in terms of athleticism. His determination and work ethic is what helped him attain his insane skill level and mental game.
Yao's work ethic is far beyond WZZ or Bateer, and nearly everyone else in the NBA. Even without freakish athleticism he could still be a great center. Just from a physical standpoint, I don't think guys like Kareem, Bill Walton, or Ewing have that much of an edge on Yao in terms of athleticism or explosiveness. So if Yao was 7 foot tall with the same footwork, coordination, shooting touch, and work ethic, there's no doubt in my mind that he could still be a potential HOFer. Obviously he's better with the extra height, so maybe he wouldn't be "as good", but he could still be pretty great.
People shouldn't be saying he's a scrub... but I'd rather have Yao like his now than another all-star like Pau Gasol (which is pretty much what he becomes if he's 7'0). He wouldn't be Dirk, and he wouldn't be KG (but he compares very favorably to those two players when he's 7'6).
If Yao was shoter, he would possibly be the greatest basketball player ever. He'd be doing windmill dunks, stroking 3s and would have mad handles.
