good article, but I am tired of everybody not giving the Yao the number one spot just b/c of some injuries. I really hope Yao can stay on the floor all 82 games this year and show everyone what he is made of.
Spoken like a true HOMER! Look kiddos, Yao Ming isn't Chinese Jesus or anything like that. Yao is an incredibly gifted center, but Amare is much more physically gifted and athletic than Yao, so, in some peoples' opinions, Amare is better than Yao. Plus, the Suns have been a lot more fun to watch and have been a better team than the Rockets for several years. So quit the "you're a hater unless Yao is your No. 1 center" crap.
Put Stoudamire in a half-court offense and watch his numbers go down significantly. Fact of the matter is, if you take Nash away from the Suns, then Amare is nothing. Until Amare gets a consistent jumpshot, works on his free throws and fundamentals, Yao will continue to be the better player of the two. Athleticism can take you only so far.
stoudamire isn't even in the top 10 in overall efficiency, even with steve nash yao is only beat by dirk duncan and garnett (understandably) last year wade and dirk had higher pers and that's it
What would happen to Yao's numbers in an offense like the Suns'? Also, what's wrong with Stoudemire's FT shooting? It's pretty good, last I checked.
I think it has more to do with Boozer outplaying him in the playoffs. Say what you want about the defense Utah put on Yao vs the lack of defense teams put on Amare (you can attribute that to his mobility to some extent), the bottom line is unless Yao can go on dominant stretches during big games... the media will be reluctant to give him Shaq's throne.
kenny smith showed a stat last year of when nash doesn't play and amare shooting % was at 32 when nash plays it is up to 52% enough said
Yao's capability as a center--and as a player--is not truly dependent on one single person. Sure, he still needs players to feed him the ball down low, but after he gets that ball, it's all Yao. He dominated his competition/peers when McGrady was out and was still pretty damn good when he came back from injury. Amare, on the other hand, without Steve Nash is not the same player. You can still get a solid performance but it's nothing to write home about.
What stedd said. Yao is clearly the best center in the NBA. If he can ever have enough time in the off-season to rest up and work on his game, as well as some luck with the "i" word during the season, you will see the same goofus writing in awe about his dominance.
amare is so overrated it's not even funny. He's like the western conference k-mart, an above average NBA player with otherworldly athleticism who's mediocrity has been covered up by the play of his Hall of Fame PG.
Amare should be #3 on that list based upon his piss-poor defense alone. Seriously, next time you're watching a Suns game watch his movement, positioning, how many times he tries to box out....the whole nine yards. The guy is absolutely terrible. Probably even worse than Dirk.
Calm down guys. This is Tony Mejia that we are talking about. I remember he put Yao at No.6 after his 20/10 breakout season two years ago. So actually Yao is ascending fast in his rankings. Give him time. Tony is turning the corner.
Pretty sure Nash will still set Yao up for at least 25-30 PPG. He doesn't need to run back on defense every time. It's not like Amare even plays any D when he runs back after a score
Yes but he does not have a good post game and is terrible at creating shots for others. Someone compared him to K-Mart and accurately so just remember how good Kenyon was on New Jersey and then what happened when he got to Denver. Amare puts up better stats than Yao mainly because he plays the Center position like a Power Forward no defensive presence but will outscore you offensively. One more point Nash makes a lot of Phoenix players better including Sean Marion who is willing to be traded. What is he thinking good Small forward but not as good in another teams system in either forward position unless the teams are Golden, Memphis and New Jersey.
