Hard question as of TODAY it's Deke, Yaos been making some good steps in the last few weeks and Yao seems to me to do a better job of showing on pick and rolls and stoping traffic from getting into the paint, but when they are in the paint Deke is KING.. Overall, even with all the great things Yaos been showing of late to me it's still Deke.. I would expect that to turn by next year allstar time... IT BETTER!!
this is tricky question: BUt still I vote for DEKE. overall DEKE is better D player in 20 mins play. but extend to 35 mins, YAO is better coz he is much younger. Also, YAO ALWAYS GET POSTUP position first so he is away from busket, DEKE always get into deep area since he knows his job is to get off-Rbs.
Any one voting for Yao better get a new prescription for their glasses or maybe double up on their medication.
deke is the better clutch defender BUT i believe more teams would rather deke be in the game than yao. i think yao is an underrated defender simply because a lot of his defense is "changed shots" not just blocks... how many penetrating guards look like perimeter players against us.. i know yao gets more "highlight" dunks against him, but in part thats because players are really looking to look good against the biggest player in the league, and so they make the most of their succesful drives... also by the time deke enters, a lot of teams are trying harder to penetrate and so he gets more highlight blocks...
oh yeah, if your counting "boxing out" as defense, than i think yao does a great job.... i remember a thread a month ago where yao apparently out rebounds his opposing center- and that of course is because he boxes out so well and lets our guards get the rebounds - i.e. good defense, poor stats; i'll live with that
Deke. But it's not as clear cut. First of all, let me say why Deke is better. It's not because he's much faster or much quicker or jumps higher at this point in time. It's that he gets himself in much better positioning, better timing. He has more "feel" to the game defensively. C'mon how many times had Yao fallen for the stupid pumpfakes? Deke gets the job done. So Deke is not ahead of Yao physically, but he has a huge advantage in experience, if you can call it that. Now, why isn't it clear cut? As some posters already pointed out, Deke plays against other teams' second unit, or first unit after Yao wore them out. He also only has to focus on ~15 minutes a game. We all know Yao has stamina problems. Would he be as "bad" a defender if he didn't have this problem? Finally, as jopatmc pointed out, Deke gets the leeway on physical contact while Yao does not. That is significant. How many times have you seen Yao going to challenge the shot, then pulls back and try to draw the charge? If anything, I think there is on average, more contact on a Deke block than a Yao foul, but that's just something we'll have to live with. But, if this was comparing to Deke couple years back, Deke wins hands down, although Yao still has time to improve.
Right now? Definetly Deke. He is playing like he is just about back in his prime. Yao's only drawback to his size is his speed. He is very smart, and has a great shot. But his reaction time is very slow. Although, I must admit the big guy looked unusually quick in the Nuggest game. Go Rockets!
