Is Yao already a better player than Duncan in the international competition?

I agree. What about Motay and Spoon for this guy?




Please don't call me a "preposterous trade suggestor" though.

 

In olympics, I saw Yao shows more dominance in low post, I saw Duncan shows better rebounding than Yao.

Hard to compare, the bottomline, IMO, is if Yao can improve on stamina, he is more dominant than Duncan in international bball.

 

What I like best about Yao's recent exploits is that nobody laughs anymore when someone mentions Yao and Duncan in the same breath. Unlike TD, Yao is not a superstar in the NBA, not yet. You have to accomplish something of note before you reach that level of reputation. But TD is not automatically considered the better player, not any more. These days, people have to think hard about which player they would rather have on their team. And I find that very encouraging for the future of the Rockets.

 

Are you talking international competition like the thread starter stated? In the NBA, I'd take Duncan over Yao in a heartbeat, unless I was an owner and trying to cash in on the marketing of Yao.

I'm a huge Yao fan, but Duncan is hands down the better NBA player.

The thread is ignoring one major thing, international or NBA...Duncan is a vastly superior defender as well as rebounder.

The thread really should say, "Is Yao the better *offensive player* than Duncan." Overall player, Yao loses on defense and rebounding without argument.

 

Yao clearly had the better tournament, and it's not like he took 20 shots a game either, he took a puddle of shots. Yao may have turned the corner on Duncan. The Mighty always fall eventually.

 

Yes, yao is the better player right now. let's see if he can carry it over next season.

 

Also FIBA has no star system, therefore a foul is a foul even if you are Duncan no matter how aggressive you are. So you see Yao got a lot of foul shots in the Olympics while Duncan has not been as effective because of foul trouble and less preferential treatment.

In the NBA, Yao won't get as much foul shots because the NBA is a star system and Yao is not a superstar yet. Star players get preferential treatment in the NBA: more foul shots, less fouls called.

 

I've watched some of the Team USA games, and Duncan gets called for a lot of fouls in which he looks bewildered that the ref would call a foul. I don't know what is happening since there is only so much a TV camera will show if there is a lot of off-the-ball action. Maybe Duncan is utilizing Bowen tactics. Duncan does probably get away with stuff, but he's a veteran who is probably the best basketball player in the world.

With that being said, I think the 3rd year for Yao might be a year that gives him much favor with the referees. Tenure matters in the NBA.

 

or not. Think Bradley.

 

Sure he got away with stuffs. Every star player gets away with stuffs in the NBA. Remember the famous push by Jordan before he made his last shot against Utah. NBA is a star system. It is about entertainment. Most ordinary fans do not know what a foul is.

 

Or maybe he should have said reputation instead of tenure.

 

Anywhere. I expect the NBA to become a lot more Euro-like, as teams become more accustomed to the zone.

Is Duncan truly a better player, or is he merely on a better NBA team? As we are seeing right now, TD is really good but not exactly overwhelming when the players around him are not as complementary. This is similar to what Yao experienced last season with the Rockets, when nearly everybody in basketball was saying that the pieces on the team didn't fit.

It's getting difficult to tell which is the better player, isn't it? That's what I meant when I said that people have to think hard these days when choosing between TD and Yao. The choice is no longer automatic.

TD is a better rebounder, yes. But better defensively overall? I'm not so sure. Who else but Yao can play Shaq to a dead heat?

A point worth considering is the opinion of other players in the NBA. T-Mac could have traded himself to the Spurs just by saying so. But he didn't, he chose to join the Rockets instead. He must have had a really good reason for doing that, because he's putting his career and reputation on the line. So T-Mac is one guy who believes Yao is better. For the sake of the Rockets, I hope he's right.

 

That's definitely lame. T-Mac wanted some challenge rather than riding TD's
coattails. TD is better than Yao for now.

 

He's a better player and he's on the better NBA team because he's the better player. Duncan is more consistent, boards better, and has really come through in big game situations. He's got 2 rings, so as of right now Duncan is hands down the better player. I think that will change in the future, but thinking so doesn't make it so.

 

Statistically, Yao should fare pretty well in relation to Duncan. Just take a look at Yao's surrounding cast.

Anyways, both players play the game the right way. Glad that Yao is on the Rox!

Yao AVG
31.3 MIN
9.7 REB
1.3 AST
21.8 PTS

Duncan AVG
26.0 MIN
9.3 REB
1.7 AST
13.9 PTS

 

I doubt Yao gets swarmed in the regular season as much as he was during the Olympics, but Yao is learning early how double and triple teams arrive to fluster him. Nothing beats experience in terms of learning.

 

That is what T-Mac is saying, but I think he was just being diplomatic about his reasons for rejecting TD. After all, he will have to face the guy umpteen times a season for the next umpteen years. Why rile him up?

As Karl Malone has learned, it's a bad idea to wait until you're 40 to go for the "guaranteed" championship. The correct strategy for T-Mac is to pick up a championship ring any way he could, and only then look around for a challenge.

I think T-Mac probably knew this. He probably believed that a championship was more likely with Yao than with TD. Remember, at the time of T-Mac's trade to the Rockets, Shaq was still in the western conference. Perhaps T-Mac figured that the Admiral-less Spurs would never beat the MDE, and that a team with Yao on it quite possibly could.

Of course, now that Shaq will be heating up the Eastern Conference, the odds have shifted. T-Mac couldn't have known that though at the time he engineered his own trade.

 

More consistent, as he was in Athens? Is it the team, or the player? Do you see what I mean? It's getting hard to tell, isn't it? TD is no longer overwhelmingly better than Yao.

TD had a lot of help from the Admiral. So again, was it the team that was superior, or the player?

That's all I'm saying. I'm not claiming that Yao is definitely better than TD, or vice versa, only that it's getting hard to tell. This is why I'm very excited about the coming season.

 

While Yao is getting darn near unstoppable offensively, that does not make him better than Duncan. Duncan is so much better defensively, and it's really not even close. He was first team defense for his first, what, 6, 7 years in the league? Meanwhile, Yao gets dunked on about twice a game, and still commits frustrating fouls. Duncan is also more versatile offensively. Give him the ball anywhere and he can score. He's able to drive hard to basket and finish with authority. Yao, though, is very hesitant to put the ball on the floor when the chance arises and he usually pulls up for the jumper.

Then theres the whole stamina issue. Even IF Yao were marginally better than Duncan, which he is not, would you rather have 35 minutes from Yao (if you're lucky) or a good 40-42 minutes from Duncan? Not to mention that every minute Duncan plays is quality, while Yao loses half his effectiveness when he is winded.

Sure, Duncan's "image" is probably as low as it can get with the poor showing of the olympic team, but don't forget how good the guy is.