IMHO it's more about what JVG expects Yao to do. JVG has made adjustments for Yao defensively, but his rotation schemes are demanding as hell. The idea should be to keep Yao on the court as much as possible and help him to be as productive as possible in those minutes. I do believe that the pre-broken-leg Yao was not the same afterward, but the JVG stuff amounts to just my fervent opinion. The proof will have to come later, and I'm beginning to doubt that might happen soon. The rest of my post is not at all directed at you blazer_ben. There are a lot posts in this thread that are beyond belief; Yao-bashing here has hit an all-time low. I've been trying to figure out what question those guys wish they'd asked Shaq? I'm, older than Shaq, but "a who's the best on the low block" question was being aked before Shaq was born. And he knows what it means. In fact, Shaq and every HOF center takes that question very seriously. It's a war down there and you take a beating. It's not like Vernon Maxwell saying "he owned Jordan" (tinman, party down ) and Shaq is more conscious of his place in history than any center has ever openly been. Well a non-retired player which leads me to... Bill Russell publically dogged Dream anytime his name come up on national television from the late 80's into the early 90's and I could not understand what he was really saying despite his brilliant mind and higly extensive vocabulary. It was still sooo wrong even though we know now what he wouldn't say on national TV. Shaq's not blowing a kiss to Yao for once sending his Dad a Christmas card. Shaq's not propping up Yao because he senses Yao was not in pre-injury form and can relate. He's old-school and I've always respected that about him. He said "Dream dusted his butt" in the NBA Finals and that was never true. Dream was just better. Shaq honors the center position, and he shows respect for it. And chose to honor Yao because that's what he thinks is true (interesting dig at the 1st team NBA center BTW ). Having read this thread I understand the phlegm-filled "Either JVG or Yao needs to go" one. Anyone who has a brain cell knows Yao's not going anywhere. People here either want Yao to be more Shaq-like or Dream-like and after a bone-crushing series I still want Yao to play his game. Period. We're blessed that we have two max-contract guys that are both highly productive. Apparently many here don't look at it that way or check out all the max guys that are in the NBA. Apparently very few understand Shaq or know at what age Dream, Jordan and Isiah were when they won rings. Wow. tigermission1, how could you not allow yourself to heartened by Shaq's remark?
People, stop the hating and criticisms of one of our own. Just take Shaq's compliment as it is. I do not think continuous destructive criticism stemming from one's own frustration of unfulfilled and unrealistic expectations can really help the team. The bad karma alone will have an adverse effect. That said, I don't know enough NBA to be "constructive"... But, as a fan, I do appreciate the effort of every one of our players. In a competitive sport, there can only be one winner. There is no shame in losing - our players have tried their very best. Winning it all is not everything. Stop the hating please, it is time to move forward. I am just happy that Yao got some recognition from someone as great as Shaq. SS999
I agree. It seems to me these fools here hate on Yao and really upset when he receives compliments from a great player. Do these fools really think they know more than Shaq does? STFU.
I agree all these "intangibles" are nicely veiled excuses for our team simply not being athletic or efficient enough to beat the Jazz. After reading on this board I am convinced heart= rebounds and intensity= scoring points. I'm still trying to decipher what assists are. Therefore according to Nick if Yao scored I believe 13 points every quarter Yao would be best the player in the NBA. I'd sure love to have Yao score 52 points a game because it would be the second coming of Wilt.
about those long rebounds in the last minutes of game 7, how many of them were within the range of yao to grab? I know yao himself said it's his resposibility to get them, but I think at least two of them just out of his reach.
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I am, but Shaq was just making a factual statement. I mean, how many true low-post players do we have in the game today? 2? 3? 4? It's more by default than anything else really. But there is no denying the fact that Yao is a beast when he establishes position down low and acts decisively. My only interest in Yao is having him improve on his weaknesses and become truly dominant in all aspects of the game, ESPECIALLY defensively. I am not interested in comparing him to all-time greats, I just want HIM to be great and do his part, and believe me when it's all said and done, history will take care of the rest. I try to be somewhat emotionally detached and objective when I evaluate players. Just because I bleed Rockets Red doesn't mean that I also have my red-colored glasses on.
Thank you Caption Obvious!! How can they be shoulder and shoulder when one is 7'6" and the other is 7'0"? Shoulder to chest is about right!
Yao had never rehab to his preinjury shape when the playoffs came, his strength, steps, stamina were all bad, but I still think the preinjury shape Yao was a monster. Yao is very good offensively, but on the defensive end, any good PF will get him in problem coz he is slow and refs are more likely to get Yao in foul problem when he gets close to other players. If we have a strong and fast PF, Yao's value on the defensive end will be more obvious. In addition, rox needs a decent PG to give Yao the ball as soon as he get in position, I still remember sever times in the playoff series when Yao get in deep position but no ball passed to him in time, good offense opportunities turn out to be TOs. No matter how poeple blame Yao, I will support him coz he is one of the best low post players in this league and he is making progress day after day. But TD is the best low post player so far, his dominance, self-adjustment, bball IQ make him the best player in the paint, I hope Yao will reach TD's level in the coming future.
don't forget, Duncan has players that know how to and when to give him the ball, and when he passes back to them they can finish, unfortunately Yao is not as lucky.
