I got the idea of this topic after reading that Ming vs. Hakeem poll thread. It was a really stupid thread and I just don’t want to add to the stupidity. Hopefully this thread will have less flame. First of all, in the other thread, some people are comparing the 29 years old Hakeem against the 22 years old Ming, some are comparing the 40 years old Hakeem against the 22 years old Ming. In this thread, all I want to compare is, given Ming's mental makeup, if he reached his full physical talent, how will a 29 years old Ming compare with a 29 years old Hakeem? I think comparing the future potential of Ming vs. the realized potential of Hakeem can be a pretty fun mental exercise. So here it goes: Offense: Shooting touch: I will give the edge to Ming right now. But with the added bulk that I hope Ming will have, his shooting touch will suffer. Added to that Hakeem had a great turn around jump shot, I will call this even. Height: Ming. But, 6 inches in basketball is BIG. No, actually, it is BBBIIIGGG. Speed: I will call Ming’s speed freakish. He can do those wrap around baseline move consistently against 6 9 power forward almost every game. Can you imaging a 6 9 power forward do that to a 6 2 point guard consistently? But unfortunately, he is compared with Hakeem. Slight edge to Hakeem. Quickness: This is not going to be pretty. Ming may have adequate quickness for player his size, but Hakeem’s quickness is just unreal. Hakeem can run circles around Ming. Big edge to Hakeem. Jumping: Another area that is decidedly in favor of Hakeem. There are actually two sub categories. Regards to leaping ability, Hakeem has great leaping ability while Ming can’t get off the ground. But more amazingly, Hakeem’s quickness of the jump is just freakish, bordering on breaking the law of gravity. I don’t know how many times the opposing center faked Hakeem in the air only to found their shot blocked because of Hakeem’s awesome quickness in jump recovery. By comparison, Ming require such a long time to get ready to jump that my wife can finish preparing a ten course dinner before he is actually in the air. Dribbling: This is a weird. Ming will be a much much better dribbler than that of Hakeem, but that will not be to Ming’s advantage. One fault to Hakeem’s game had always that he can’t dribble more than 2 steps. That is the reason he always had problem with super tall centers like Mark Eaton. He can never use his superior quickness to bypass elephants like Mark Eaton because of his lack of dribbling skill. On the other hand, Ming had shown he can do behind the back as well as a proficiency in other aspects of dribbling. But as far as I am concerned, that is a bad thing. I will never want to see a 7 6 guy dribbling more than 2 steps. A center shall play like a center. So I call this a draw. Mentality: Hakeem is a honorable warrior while Ming is a dedicated student. Both loved the art of basketball. It means, barring injury, both will (was in Hakeem’s case) reach their potential. Hakeem’s warrior mentality give him an edge in rebounding and positioning while Ming’s unflappable demeanor (ala Duncan) will gives him an edge in pressure environment. In addition, Ming seems to improving at a faster pace. In the end, I call it even. One on one ability: Hakeem has that unstoppable dream shake. There are times he can make 10 shots in a roll against almost anybody (except very tall centers). But I honest believe that Ming has the potential to be better. For one, Ming will probably be 60 pound heavier. Against most centers in the league, powering through opposing centers and giving them a facial (ala. Shaq) is a real possibility. Secondly, his height will mean that he can use sky hook as an unstoppable weapon. Sky hook and dunk (or even jump hook) are just more consistent shots due to the nature of the movement involved. Understand the game/Make teammates better: I have no doubt that Ming will be a better passer. But it is more than that. Ming just seems to understand the game better. No knock against Hakeem, he just learned the game too late in his growing years. I have to give the advantage to Ming. And to the hand of a right coach, this advantage can pay big dividend because it gives the coach more leeway to try different offensive or defensive sets. Rebounding: Advantage to Hakeem. Due to a lack of lateral quickness and rather accommodating personality, I just don’t see Ming getting monster rebounds on a nightly basis. Ming will get his share of rebounds just because of his height. But advantage to Hakeem. Defense: Block shots: With Hakeem, he demoralized the opposing team. His block shots play tricks on opposing player’s mind. With that said, I actually believe Ming can be equal to him in the future. One of biggest Ming’s woe so far is he had Hakeem as his idol. He tried to model his moves after Hakeem. Yet their physical talents are so diametrically different. Ming shall really model his game after Karem Adu Jubar on offense, Mark Eaton on defense and passing on Bill Walton. Mark Eaton can completely change a game purely by his defensive intimidation. He did it purely on height and timing. Ming has height and timing can be learned. As far as I am concerned, Ming shall never jump, period. His weakness in jumping and quickness will only compound themselves when he added bulk and muscle. Study opposing player’s game tape. Against guards (Mark Jackson,etc.) who like to use tear drops, take one step forward. Against guards (Francis, etc.) who like to initiate contact, take one step backward. In the end, Ming’s height against Hakeem’s quickness, I will call it even provided Ming can reach his full potential. Defensive assignment: I think Ming will have an edge just because he grew up in a basketball environment. He will have a better understanding of opposing team’s offensive set. He will know how to cover teammate’s weakness. He has the potential to be close to (though not reach) Larry Bird in this aspect of his game. Head to head: Ming at 29 vs. Hakeem at 29, I actually believe Ming will own Hakeem. Hakeem always had trouble with very tall center purely because of his lack of dribbling ability. He can get off his shot only with fade away jumper. But with Ming’s hand in his face all night long, he is not going to be very consistent. On the other hand, Ming’s bulk can negate Hakeem’s quickness (hard to jump when he is pushing), Ming can have his sky hook all night long. But do that have any bearing on who will be more worthy? None whatsoever. Their worth are measured against all the players, not just against one or two superstars. So in the end, will Ming be as good as Hakeem if he reach his full potential? I was hoping I would get a better picture if I break their game into different categories and compare them. In the end, I wind up with where I started. I still don’t know.
Oh well, too bad. I think the other tread has too many flame and many people don't have much idea of what the originator want. I am only interested in comparing a very specific point. Looks like I got pretty bad timing.
