13/22 from the line is 59%, not 68%. If he shot his career average and went 11/22 from the line, he still would have scored 59 points.
There's no way he had to work his butt off to play defense against those guys. Hakeem on the other hand was going up against guys like David Robinson and Patrick Ewing--and Shaq.
Basketball is a team game. No one ever single-handedly wins the championship. No one. However, it is hard to deny that Shaq dominated both ends of the floor to such an extent that teams resorted to cheap strategies like Hack-A-Shaq, excessive flopping (read the Kings and Vlady), etc. People were afraid to drive into the paint because of Shaq. People were afraid to guard him because they would get physically beat up. He scored often. He was always a leader in rebounds and blocked shots. He fundamentally altered the game. Yao can be guarded one-on-one by a smaller, quicker player and he is basically neutralized. No one could guard Shaq one-on-one. No one.
are you freaking serious?? <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FJ3FXLyNFew&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FJ3FXLyNFew&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Maybe no one ever single handedly won a championship but the consensus is that Hakeem comes the closest. Way back when he won his first title people were talking about how impressive it was precisely because it was him and a bunch of role players. And again, that's why a lot of writers rank that first Rockets championship team as one of the weakest title winners ever. I shouldn't have to point this out on a Rockets board, but Hakeem >>>> Shaq. So far as Yao goes I don't know if he can be neutralized by a single defender, but in the last few games there's been any number of teams that threw double and triple teams at him.
You know, anybody who's been watching the NBA for awhile should remember that the 'Sixers brought in Deke for the post-season specifically to match up against Shaq. That ring a bell by any chance?
No one is arguing Hakeem vs Shaq. It's the people that think Yao is in the same league as Shaq PRIME if he decides to put up some more shots or because he can hit free throws.
Yao is ineffective when fronted by a smaller defender. And there is no way you can say that Hakeem >>>> Shaq. Not a chance.
But you are not as tired if you played against those guys because you can disreguard them on defense... Can you imagine the energy it took Shaq to try and guard Dream, and then having to score on him at the other end?
Yes, that's what the Sixers did. And how did Shaq do against Deke and the Sixers? They might have tried that, but was it effective? There is a difference ....
We're talking shots or field goal attempts? I assume you meant FGA. Yao has averaged over 20 shots a game in a couple season, and he wasn't close to averaging 30 ppg. If you meant 20 FGA, his most this year was 23, 20, 19. He went 9/23 against Utah in a win, but most notably he couldn't get anything to fall in the 4th quarter or overtime because he was dead tired. He went 11/20 in 33 minutes against a small Atlanta team (with 5 turnovers). He did have a very good game against Denver, going 13/19 from the floor in 37 minutes. And the offense was great that game too. Oh right, that was also McGrady's triple double game: 20 points, 10 assists, 14 rebounds. I just don't think a handful of games sprinkled over a season indicates that Yao has the "potential" to dominate like Shaq on a consistent basis.
Who the hell said Yao was in the same league as prime Shaq? It's pathetic that haters have to distort people's arguments in order to belittle Yao by comparing him to the most dominant interior force of all time.
Now you've got to be joking me. Hakeem went through Ewing, Robinson and Shaq to get his titles. He evolved from a guy with a one dimensional inside game into a guy who could shoot the jump shot. His fadeaway jumper has been compared to Kareem's sky hook as one of the few truly unstoppable shots in basketball. He was a monster on both ends of the court--NBA leader in blocked shots. There's no way that you can say that Shaq was better or even close.
That's true. And I suppose getting in foul trouble can also be an issue. I'm not sure how much of an impact that really has, though.
