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Is Yao a top 25, top 15, top 10 player in the league right now?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by oliver_67, Mar 7, 2004.

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Is Yao a top player in the league right now?

  1. Top 25

    118 vote(s)
    15.3%

  2. Top 15

    236 vote(s)
    30.5%

  3. Top 10

    397 vote(s)
    51.4%

  4. Well, top 50 at the best

    22 vote(s)
    2.8%
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  1. oliver_67

    oliver_67 Member

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    I am not talking about potential. I think that in two years he will join Shaq, Duncan, KG, and Kobe as the elite in the NBA.

    And if Yao keeps playing like this for the rest of the season, Rockets will be a very interesting team in the PO this year.
     
    #1 oliver_67, Mar 7, 2004
  2. lost_elephant

    lost_elephant Member

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    top 15 right now in terms of effectiveness and what he gives the team when hes out there on the floor.
     
    #2 lost_elephant, Mar 7, 2004
  3. oliver_67

    oliver_67 Member

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    I also voted top 15 because I like his presence at the defensive end and the attention he draws at the offensive end.

    If he plays like he did in the last 3 games for the rest of the reason, he is no doubt a top 5 MVP caliber player.

    But I never dreamed about Yao ever becoming a top 5 player in his 2rd year. I thought he would be a project for 2 years and begin to make impact his 3rd or 4th year in the league. I also thought that Bill Walton was on crack when he wrote that article after the Sydney Olympics. But anyway, what did I know?:)
     
    #3 oliver_67, Mar 7, 2004
  4. fatman510

    fatman510 Member

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    I will break it down...

    Centers better than Yao: Shaq
    Power forwards better than Yao: Duncan, Garnett, Oneal, Brand
    Small forwards better than Yao: Mcgrady, Carter
    Shooting guards better than Yao: Iverson, Kobe, Pierce
    Point guards better than Yao: Kidd, Davis (?), Francis (?), Marbury (?)
    This makes Yao a top 15 player
     
    #4 fatman510, Mar 7, 2004
  5. wizkid83

    wizkid83 Member

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    Brand is not better than Yao or even close

    I voted top 10.

    Players better than Yao

    C Shaq
    PF KG, Duncan
    SF better than Yao: T Mac
    SG: Kobe, AI
    PG: Kidd

    Players on par with Yao right now:

    ONeal, Nowitzki, Sam Cassell (this year) Lebron (yes Lebron has been amazing this year), Pierce and Carter.
     
    #5 wizkid83, Mar 7, 2004
  6. meh

    meh Member

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    On the assumption that Yao has turned the corner at this moment, he's possibly a top 5 player. I'd still take a healthy Shaq, KG, Duncan, and Kidd before Yao. But considering Yao's ability to help his teammates get better shot, I doubt anyone else is at his level.

    Obviously, Yao can't possibly keep up his 30 pts performances of this past week. But if he can average 22+ pts for the rest of the season, I'd have him start the next season at #5 on the list.

    But if he reverts back to a streak of 10-14 pt performances, then he's top 15 material.
     
    #6 meh, Mar 7, 2004
  7. London'sBurning

    London'sBurning Member

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    Top 10. Brand's never lead a team to the playoffs as a Clipper or a Bull, and is lucky to complete a full season injury free. Iverson I don't agree with purely based on whose more effective on the defensive end (all the altered shots Yao gets just for being a presence in the paint.) and the fact that AI has the ultimate greenlight to jack up as many shots as he pleases. Davis, Francis and Marbury are all very similar to one another but if they were all on the Rockets (speaking off Davis and Marbury.) they'd still defer to Yao even now in the early stages of his career. A big man is a far rarer commodity than a 2 guard or combo guard as has been proven time and time again with the exception of MJ. Kobe, T-Mac are about as close as you can get but there are tons of players like them that still would and do struggle on a slightly above .500 team or worse.
     
    #7 London'sBurning, Mar 7, 2004
  8. kwc

    kwc Member

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    Ditto. Please, don't be fooled by the stats; look at the impact of his mere presence.
     
    #8 kwc, Mar 7, 2004
  9. oliver_67

    oliver_67 Member

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    I think that Yao is already better than Carter, Brand, Francis, Marbury, Pierce and Davis, at least a strong argument can be made in Yao's favor. And don't forget a great center makes impact on both ends of the floor. What are the likes of TMac, Carter doing on the defensive end?

    Actually based on your list, Yao comes in at #8 and I should vote him in the top 10.

    And you forgot to put Dirk there. However, I have a strong feeling that he has peaked and regressed this season. So is Pierce.
     
    #9 oliver_67, Mar 7, 2004
  10. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    Definitely top 15 at worst. You could argue top 10 but I would still put the following in front of him...

    Shaq
    Kobe
    Duncan
    Garnett
    Nowitzki
    Iverson
    Kidd
    McGrady
    Jermaine O'Neal
    Carter
    Pierce

    There are a few others on the cusp and it could be argued that LaBron has as big an impact on his team as Yao, but no question Yao is close to the top 10 if not quite there yet.

    I think that for Yao to get into that top 5 or 6 players, he'll need to consistently be great on both ends of the floor. At the moment, he still isn't quite a consistent scorer and he needs to improve his quickness on the defensive end, particularly on defensive rotations and closing out on players.

    But, it's pretty remarkable how far he has come in 1 3/4 seasons.
     
    #10 Jeff, Mar 7, 2004
  11. pcheung

    pcheung Member

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    I'm still waiting for Tom Tolbert to eat crow on his "career 17 and 8" crap. I actually hope he gets defensive and has the nerve to say to a national audience, "Well, he's still averaging 17 and 9 right now." Then watch Yao shove ten 20-10 seasons down his throat. :p

    Butch, "That's how we're gonna win, Butch. They keep underestimating ya."
     
    #11 pcheung, Mar 7, 2004
  12. oliver_67

    oliver_67 Member

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    He is already close to being the most efficient scorer in the league. Shaq is great, but Yao has an array of weapons, and is deadly from both inside and outside, let alone that the guys is shooting 80% from the FT line (can approach 85-90% from now on).

    The rebounding is a concern, and defensive rotation is also a concern. But the main issue is to put the ball in the basket in whatever way, and Yao is just more efficient than everyone else in the league doing that.
     
    #12 oliver_67, Mar 7, 2004
  13. jopatmc

    jopatmc Member

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    Yao has more impact on the game than all of those players save Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, and possibly Kobe and Lebron. Yao is easily top 10 and realistically is headed for top 5 right now.

    Think about it, who could be traded for Yao and be of equal value? There's only 2 players I would even consider, Duncan and Garnett. If we weren't considering age, then I would add Shaq to that list. I would not trade him for any other player in the league regardless of age right now.
     
    #13 jopatmc, Mar 7, 2004
  14. rm365

    rm365 Member

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    I put top 25. Yao's been on a tear recently, but I wanna see some consistency. If he can play like he did in the first quarter today all the time, forget top 5, he's #1.
    :D
     
    #14 rm365, Mar 7, 2004
  15. maamii

    maamii Member

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    Players on par with Yao right now:

    ONeal, Nowitzki, Sam Cassell (this year) Lebron (yes Lebron has been amazing this year), Pierce and Carter.


    only oneal has the same impact on his own team whose standing is better than rox.

    nowitzki is hardly a go-to guy especially after we watched today's game.

    sam is 2nd string in 'wolves.

    lebron? hmm... he is good but far from great in terms of pure skill sets.

    pierce and carter have the same impact on their teams but their team's standings r not as good as rox's.

    conclusion: top 10. period.
     
    #15 maamii, Mar 7, 2004
  16. yipengzhao

    yipengzhao Member

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    I think Yao is better than a couple of people on this list, but I can't really back it up conclusively. But a lot of people think that Jermaine O'Neal is better than Yao and I just STRONGLY disagree.

    There has been no question this season that Indiana is Jermaine's team. And there's no question that he's very good. But if you take a look at his stats, his stats are actually down from last year. Also, as a power forward in the East, he is averaging 43% from the field. That's not really dominant, or really even getting it done. Jermaine O'Neal may have better stats than Yao but he doesn't change the opponents gameplan the way Yao does and he certainly doesn't demand the double team the way Yao does. 20-10 is nice... but I think Yao is clearly better.

    Pierce is also a great player but he's really struggling. Proving how truly awesome Iverson is. He's the only one man show capable of carrying a team. Unlike Pierce or TMac.
     
    #16 yipengzhao, Mar 7, 2004
  17. yipengzhao

    yipengzhao Member

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    wait... who said top fifty?

    that's un-understandable.
     
    #17 yipengzhao, Mar 7, 2004
  18. oliver_67

    oliver_67 Member

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    This is unrealistic. He scored 14 points within the first 6 1/2 min of the game. If he consistently does that, he will average 70 ppg within 33 min of playtime, and will be #1 of all time, bar none. And Houston could win championship with Ming + 11 worst players in the league. Calvin Murphy, Charles Barkley can also suit up and we still win.
     
    #18 oliver_67, Mar 7, 2004
  19. MFW2310

    MFW2310 Member

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    More fluctuation on the part of the fans. Yao went from a p***y last week to top 10. Some on this board can put the stockmarket to shame.
     
    #19 MFW2310, Mar 7, 2004
  20. Roc Paint

    Roc Paint Member

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    I like the fact that he could become #1 before too long.

    Go Ming!!
     
    #20 Roc Paint, Mar 7, 2004
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