Sorry, I have to vent. Every year, when the all-star returns come in, you see multiple posts on ESPN about how Yao is overrated, that he starts due to all the Chinese voters, that he's soft, etc. Well I'm just sick of it. I am officially boycotting the ESPN boards, and I realize now that he'll never get the respect he deserves. It doesn't matter how wrong these people are, the cliches remain (he's soft, he's worthless at 7'6", etc.). In support of Yao, I welcome anyone to post their best angry Photoshop portraits to express their furor over the unfair treatment and perception of Yao. Unfortunately, I don't have the Photoshop skills, but I'm sure some of you out there are creative with these types of things.
He is soft,and he probably does get a lot of Chinese votes. But all that's OK, since the Rockets have him, their teams don't, and any of them would love to have him.
How is he soft? Just because he doesn't avg. 12 rebounds a game doesn't mean he doesn't go after them. I've watched every Rockets game this year, and "soft" certainly does not define Yao, IMHO.
I love Yao. He brings a lot to the team. But it would be foolish to argue against him being soft. He is soft! He needs to deck people driving in the lane. He needs to bully the people inside for rebounds. And he needs to stop letting people take the ball away from his hands. Lastly, he needs to go towards the basket with the intent of taking 2 or 3 people with him and stuffing them in along with the ball. Until he starts to do all this consistently, and people are just afraid to go inside the lane when he is there, he will be considered soft.
And you're supposed to be a Rox fan? Any self-respecting Rox fan knows Yao has won the All Star votes on the PAPER ballots. yes he gets a lot of CHinese votes, he also gets MUCH MUCH more American votes. tsk tsk
He wil just get called for an offensive foul, did you not watch the Blazers game last night and saw those two offensive foul calls on him?
You're equating bullying with toughness. Yao takes a beating every night...nor does he shy away from contact. The fact that he willingly bangs in the post means he isn't soft. He's a finesse player. Hakeem was a finesse player. Kareem was a finesse player. Hell, I bet you didn't even know Wilt Chamberlain got most of his points off quick moves and finger-rolls. Shaq is the only player in history that literally bowls over everyone to score. Stop thinking that Yao should play that way. - He doesn't deck people because he gets called for fouls for simply breathing on them....nor is he a violent person. - He doesn't get that many rebounds because he can't jump high enough, he has relatively short arms, and he doesn't have a fast enough reaction time - He gets stripped for two reasons. Refs allow him to get hacked across the forearms (same reason why Shaq gets stripped by guards), and Yao has surprisingly small hands for a man his size. - He's not as strong as Shaq. He can't jump very high as it is. How do you expect him to carry "3 people with him" weighing 200 lbs each with him to the basket. He's not an elephant. It's not like he's playing amongst guys who're only as tall as his waist. I'd like to see how well you'd finish, if you had 2 or 3 100-lb 14 year olds hanging onto you. Sure, they're small...but they're not like little kids.
LOL! Soft is a player who has missed a grand total of 0 games his whole career despite being punched, grabbed, kicked, held, scratched, clawed and elbowed on a play to play basis by, what you could probably average out to, 6'11 • 280 lbs. players. He may not be Shaq; plowing, bowling over and punking opponents; but don't tell me he is soft. (oh, and how many games has Shaq missed this year alone?). About the All-star voting, it really is a toss up between Yao and Camby. But, I would still go with Yao simply because he is getting his numbers while teams scheme to stop him every game. Plus, I thought it has already been established that Yao still would have gotten more votes the last three years even if you took out the overseas ballots.
I'm shocked you read the ESPN boards in the first place. I've boycotted them (as in never once set cursor in them) my entire life. I come in every year to this board around this time and say that Yao is good, but Shaq is better. This year I get to change my tune. Shaq's in the East now so this point really is moot, but Yao has outperformed Shaq this year. Unless Shaq somehow heals and becomes his old self, Yao is undoubtedbly the best center in the league. Amare and Duncan are not centers. That is all.
Sometimes when I am really bored I would go to the ESPN boards and have some laughs. The idiots there are so r****ded and rediculous that what they say is actually funny and entertaining sometimes.
I would have figured that coming to the BBS would be enough for you to boycott the espn boards..are you kidding? that place is a madhouse..I have banned myself from going there just because that place makes me feel embarassed to be a rockets fan due to some of the other supposed "rockets fans" on that board that also happen to be the BIGGEST TROLLS Little Kids that have nothing better to do and worst yet call themselves rockets fans..im surprised it took you this long to boycott the espn boards..seriously
Hmm...I actually disagree about Duncan. He plays a great deal like a center since game is very low-post oriented. From the day he first came into the league, the Spurs shifted Robinson to the high-post and he played more of the follow-up/rebounding/slashing role of the PF. The way I always saw it, Duncan was only listed as a PF so he and Shaq could both start the All-Star game.
I have different definition of soft, soft is ducking when people try to dunk on you, soft is whining all games when people just put a hand on you, soft is when you getting scare after people hit you and not go after the ball. Since Yao tries to contest every dunk, tries to draw foul when people purposely run into him, tries to keep playing when people just hit him and wrestle him, beat the crap out of him inside. He's definitely not soft, however he's too "nice" for my liking, like you say, he should give some hurt to the opponent.
I saw Hakeem mentioned earlier as a "finesse player," which he certainly was. He was also one tough son of a b****. During his first years in the league, the Dream got in fights quite a bit. He gave out hard fouls left and right. When he roamed the post, those who would penetrate to the hoop went in with a touch of fear in their hearts, sometimes with more than a "touch." I wish Yao had some of that in him. I don't know if it is something he can "develop." Probably not, although we could hope. Just once, when Yao has been hammered yet again by some punk, I'd love for him to really unload on someone. Get a flagrant. Even miss a game or two. He would find himself, ironically, getting better calls, and being respected more by the opposition than he is. I love Yao, and I'm damn glad we have him. He deserves his max contract. I just wish he would open a can of whoop-ass sometime. It's a part of the NBA game.
This big guy could take Yao's cornbread. Eddie Murphy:"That's right Claude I called you soft! S-O-F-T! Sof-tt!"
Yao uses finess and Shaq uses strength. Thats why Yao gets no respect, people want him to play like Shaq. Being 7-6, i dont even know if it is technically possible to be like Shaq.
Oh absolutely...my argument was that just because Yao isn't a "push everyone out of his way and ram it home" player on offense, it doesn't mean he's soft. Not even Wilt Chamberlain forced his way through traffic the way Shaq did in his prime. On defense though, Yao could certainly use a bit of toughness and thug mentality. He's just too patient of a guy. I wouldn't be surprised if he still thinks to himself, "The referees will give me a break one of these days...they will." Not that I'm advocating fighting of any kind...but the only way he'll earn that respect is with the occasional hard foul. Frankly, I don't think he's ever given a hard foul in his career.
