I saw a clear difference between the Shaq in the first game against Ming and the last game against Ming. In the first game, Shaq wanted to move around the basket quickly, he got blocked 4 or 5 times. In the last game, whenever Shaq was defended one-on-one by Ming, he just backed Ming down patiently, one dribble, two dribbles and then dunked on Ming. Ming just did not have the strength to hold Shaq. Now it is the off-season for Ming. Suppose Bill Russell can go to China and teach Ming tricks in defending someone like Shaq, and since Russell has defended Chamberlain before, what kind of tricks do you think Russell can teach Ming?
With all due respect to Russell, he never had to defend anybody as physical as Shaq. Even Wilt was not that purely physical, and while his team beat WIlt's, I might be wrong (I don't feel like looking this up) but I still think Wilt scored his points(30-50) against Bill. That being said, Yao has a LOT to learn about dfense and could learn a lot from Russell.
I suppose Russell did well enough to hold Chamberlain off in the final quarter of the regulation. That's when the playoff games were typically won.
I think Wilt is very comparable to Shaq in terms of physical presence. If Russell could defend Wilt, he sure can teach Yao (who is much bigger than Russell) how to defend Shaq. But Russell is supposed to work for the Chinese NT. And the Chinese aren't going to face Shaq. Yao is gonna face many smaller opponents.
except that korean kid cant shoot or pass like yao and he isnt as fast as yao...that korean kid is just another tall player
Not sure I agree...Wilt was far and away the strongest guy of his generation, and had over 50 lbs. on Russell. Shaq has roughly that on Yao, with the margin to increase as Yao builds. And Wilt was much stronger for his weight than Shaq, as unbelievable as that sounds. I actually think it's a brilliant idea. Brilliant...plus Russell is a student of the game, a real thinker the same way Yao appears to be. I don't think I could find a better defensive ciach for Yao...and maybe only Walton as a pure center coach. I am very, very happy with this.
For the record: 1) Bill Russell could teach Yao a ridiculous amount things. 2) With no disrespect to Russell, the last thing Bill Russell ever did was stop Wilt. Much like Shaq of today, no one could do anything against Wilt Chamberlain.
It's pretty sad.....because Shaq could have just dominated Rasho Nesterovic of the Timberwolves. I don't understand. Does anyone think Nesterovic is a lot stronger than Yao? No.... But Shaq didn't abuse Rasho like he did to Yao. He could have easily. Shaq just wanted to kill Yao. Everybody wants to dunk on him or block him or make him fall. Hopefully Yao will be more aggressive in 10 years.
It is asking for impossible. Even the MVP Duncan cannot defend Shaq that way in his playoff game against Laker this year. Shaq did the same thing against Duncan and he succeeded everytime until the ref called foul against him.
Exactly, the only prospect who can stop Shaq in this world is a referee who would call foul against Shaq everytime he sees one.
Is Bill Russell realy thinking about going to China to teach Yao? Or is this some made up rumer. I don't see why Bill would do such a thing.
With all due respect to Russell.. I think Hakeem with his own 'tips & tricks' on defending Shaq (who he has actually guarded) would be more relevant for Yao to learn from. Why ask outside help when help from within is available and possibly more relevant and... better?
I think you guys are confusing how physical Wilt COULD have been vs. how physical he actually was. Nowhere near the amount of contact, by either the offensive or defensive man, was allowed back then as is allowed now. It's simply a different game. Partially because of this, Wilt had more than just the straight power game. So the comparison between him and shaq begins to break down right there. Second, this goes for Russell as well. YEs, he was the greatest defender of his era, but he never shutdown Wilt Chamberlin, as Lynus pointed out. And while Russell was physically imposing when compared to the 6-5 white guys in PF FLyers of his day, his 6-8 220 pound frame gives up 6 inches and roughly about 100 lbs againsts Shaq. I'd like to see him try to stop him, but I wouldn't get my hopes up.
Hakeem did not give an offer to the Chinese NT. I think this is not the rocket decision but the Chinese national team finding a coach for their center, Yao Ming. So Hakeem is not the help from "within". I really hope this news come true. Remember? that so many people were worried about Yao will not have a chance to train with a great center while he is in China. This will be the best of both worlds. He is with the national team to fullfill his commitment but still can train with a good NBA coach. I am afraid that SARS may spoil everything though.
I hate to burst your bubble, but in the 95 finals, shaq avg like 30ppg against the premier post defender in the league. What seperates Shaq from Wilt and some of the othe great centers is his desire to dominate players. He doesn't want to be avg, he wants to dunk on them and play very physical. This is something Wilt never had in him.
