He's been easy to neutralize (I assume you're talking about fronting) b/c we haven't had a guard capable of attacking the unprotected basket when Yao is being fronted. So averaging 25/10 for an entire series isn't special?
Great centers aren't neutralized by something like fronting. Yes it may bother them, but they will find a way around it. If Yao is being fronted, I expect way more rebounds and 2nd chance points. So far, we have seen neither from him. The last time Yao was a 25/10 was well... never. The closet he has gotten to that was in 07 where he was 25/9 for 40-50 games and his production has been in decline since. 25/10 for 70-80 games is special, but 25/10 for a little more than half the season is called a waste of money.
More to's than blocks assist. What about shooting 44% and grabbing 12 rebs in the last 2 games?After game 2, utah single covered yao for the rest of the series. Maybe your definition of special is different than mine and the rest of the league.
To me, a special player is someone who you can put absolute trust in to pull you out of a hole and even when they don't you still believe they will next time. There are very few players out there that can literally put a team on his shoulders and win. Players that are special to me are: - Hakeem Olajuwon - Michael Jordan - Moses Malone - Magic Johnson - Larry Bird - Kobe Bryant - Lebron James - Dwayne Wade - Allen Iverson (before he became broken down) These are just some of the players where even when they don't win it during crunch time, you still completely believe they will next time. These are some of the players I consider "special" right off the top of my head. Of course there are a few others, they just don't come to mind currently.
Yao has never been a strong shot blocker, but his size alone changes shots. It's idiocy to think that the rest of the league shares your opinion. Even DD disagrees with you, and he shares your opinion on just about everything else.
David Robinson I would say yes. As for Patrick Ewing, definitely not. Ewing had too many deficiencies that sets him a level lower than the likes of Robinson, Dream, Jabbar, ect.
Interesting. IMO, Robinson is superior to Ewing but inferior to Olajuwon. However, he's closer to Ewing than he is to Olajuwon. What about John Stockton or Chauncey Billups?
Look at ewing and robinson best years they were mvp candidates and taking their teams deep into the playoffs. Yao's best stretch in his caree lasted 30 games and the team was under .500. I hope you're not trying to compare those 2 to yao
For John Stockton, if you have been a long time fan of the Rockets, you will understand that while most Rockets fans will never admit it, Stockton was a special player. You know when you are special when you have the ball for the last game winning attempt and the entire city of Houston lets out a collective "Uh oh!" Billups I really like as a player, but I am not sure I would consider him "special" per say.
Who is "special" is a matter of how you define "special". I agree that Yao is too easy to neutralize with role players to be considered an MVP caliber player, not even considering him being injury prone. At the same time you can't call Brooks special if you don't think Yao is special. It just depends on your definition of special. I really am interested to hear why some of you seem to think Brooks is destined to continue to improve to all star level, yet the younger Lowry is some how capped in his ability to improve though? Lowry is the same age Brooks was when he was a rookie, and if you compare Lowry now with Brooks at age 23, the stats favor Lowry. Obviously the circumstances are not the same, but if Brooks can show considerable improvement from 23 to 25 there is no reason Lowry can't do the same thing. I agree that for this team in it's current form today Brooks is the better fit because we need the scoring, but that doesn't necessarily mean that will always be the case.
Has anyone ever considered AB special? LOL Even all-stars are not always special players and AB can't even be considered an all-star level talent yet. The very fact that we have Rockets fans torn between Lowry and Brooks, suggest that AB is not even remotely close to being special yet.
Exactly. So many "knowledgeable fans" only thinks scoring is how you measure if a player is better. In fact, people who never saw a basketball game tends to think that way too. Marbury should be way better than Kidd by their theory, who could dish out 20/10 at his prime, Kidd coudln't hit the other side of ocean. But guess what? Kidd's team became much better than Marbury's after they switched the teams. Right now, AB is a poor man's Marbury, Lowry is a poor man's Kidd.
I agree whole heartedly with your post. Scorers don't equate to special players, although special players are always accomplished scorers as well. A special player is someone your team can ride you and everyone believes that even with all the odds stacked against you, you can still pull out a win. When someone like Hakeem, Stockton, Jordan, Kobe, or Magic have the game hinging on their next action, you think anyone will doubt that he won't be able to make something happen? Also, even when special players aren't able to pull a rabbit out of the bag, the next time the situation comes up, you STILL believe they will make something happen.
Morpheus, I hightlighted some of the things DD and I have been trying to say but it was taken totally out of context. All that we are saying is give him more than year to play as a STARTING PG before we start saying that this is the best he will be. As far as him being an All-Star.. Who knows, it all depends on how he adapts, learn and used... If I knew the answer then I would also know the numbers to tonites lottery.. Basically, let him develop him first. You are correct for THIS TEAM RIGHT NOW!!!! Brooks is the better choice... But who knows about the future, none of us know... But let's at least give him time.
A starting PG on a championship team? Not bad. Cheeks could only rebound like Lowry in his dreams though.
