head size: Yaos is noticeably larger On court demeanour: both graceful for their size rebounding: edge Duncan, better positon. more experience shooting: both have soft touch, Yao has better range shot blocking: Duncan gets more blocks, Yao's size may alter more Place of birth: Duncan, vigin islands Yao, shanghi china, favorite food: Duncan, have no idea Yao, steak humour: edge Yao - read where he said a rat in the compaq was moochie brother roflmao(ok maybe it wasnt that funny but Duncan - he's not funny, funny lookin maybe
As matter of fact, I saw him shoot a 15+ footer along the baseline against Wolves the other day, and he made it. Actually, I saw him doing that a couple of times.
This kind of comparison is doing nothing good to Yao. I like Yao a lot. He is great as a rockie. But to be comparable to Duncan, he needs at least 2 years of hard work.
Like I said...what you can do in practice says nothing about what you actually do in a real game. Until he does it in big time situations like Duncan does (how many times have you seen duncan shoot the 15-18 footer with defenders hands right in his face?)...then this argument is pointless.
You are confusing "good shooter" with "good player." Noone is claiming Yao as a better player than Duncan. The trait of a good shooter includes three things: good form, good touch, and good range. It has nothing to do with "real defender." That's why James23 brought up the game of horse, which is a game about shooting. Duncan is a better player because he is more consistent and know better how to use his strength. Duncan has a stronger upper body and is better trained in fundamentals. All of these can be corrected in time for Yao. That's why although Duncan was a better rookie than Yao, Yao clearly has better tools and hence more upside.
I believe Mark Bryant was involved in the trade that sent Posey to houston and Kenny Thomas to Philly. I believe Mark was shipped out with Long to Denver to complete that deal (I could be wrong).
You're right. I am confused But good shooters can shoot regardless of situation...defenders in their face or playing horse. Hmm...we need to bring back Bullard. AUTOMATIC!
Not really. Great defense will shut down good shooters most of the time. Good players never put themselves in a position where they have to force up a shot. Steve Kerr = good shooter + good player Cat = good shooter
I don't think anyone is saying as good as Dunca, but to say that the Admiral was still a superstar during Duncan's rookie year is a stretch.
Yao should get that jumper off the backboard move working. I've seen him do it in CBA games, I wonder why he stopped. People have to realize how horrible Yao's fitness was coming into this season. Bad stamina, Bad strength, Bad muscle tone, Bad vertical jump and lateral quickness. Give him an offseason or two. Yao Ming next year will be as good as Duncan was in his rookie year. That a fair comparison. Didn't Duncan come in at a later age and in great NBA shape?
Using glass on your Js requires a lot of coordination. Until Yao shows us that he can consistently hit that shot, Duncan is still the only big man who can do it. I was going to start a thread just like this one. I think Yao should model his game after Duncan. He will never have a power game like Shaq and there is nothing wrong with being a finess player.
forget about the bank shot. yao should perfect his jump hook like kevin willis and webber. with that shot, yao can score on anybody - no problem shooting that over shaq or shawn the-can't-play bradley. duncan does have a good jump hook, too.
Robinson averaged 22ppg, 10.5rpg, 2.6bpg and I'm sure was still a top 5 center in the league at that time. Nonetheless, my point was that Duncan supplanted his fellow big man as the focal point of the team as a rookie!! If Yao becomes as good as Duncan, how can any of us complain. Put Duncan as a power forward or center and he's still in the top 2 at his position. But isn't that another asset that Duncan has...the ability to play two positions.
it wasn't difficult to supplant david robinson, who has zero back-to-the-basket move. he can only score in 3 ways: dunks on fast-break, shoot open jumper, and free throw line when he drives to the basket. he never has a go-to move. in the league for this many years, you would think he develops one. even a kevin willis learned shoot the jump hook. a big waste. he could have been better than patrick ewing and equal with hakeem.
Must be saying something when a center has zero back-to-the-basket moves and he has a Hall of Fame career. Maybe because he was unstoppable shooting the jumper?? And how do you think Duncan destroyed Phoenix his rookie year...by facing up to the basket.
if you can play defense, run the floor and make a few jumpers, you'll make it to the hall of fame. i didn't say he wasn't a good player. it just that he had the athleticism to become someone like hakeem if he worked on his offense in the off season.
As many times as I've seen Duncan hit outside shots against the Rockets and every other team, and someone is going to say he can't shoot ?!? What kind of mess is that? That's crazy. Duncan's got the total package: he's got a very good outside shot, especially for a front court player, he has all the inside offensive moves in the world, he has great timing, fantastic fundamentals, can take you with both hands, I've seen him hit key shots with his off land hand. He can dribble like a small forward, rebound and play solid defense like a pf or center, and can pass as well as any big man in the game. To me there is no comparison. I love Yao, don't get me wrong, but you definitely got it twisted if you're trying to compare him to Duncan. Yao may get there, then again who knows. Duncan is already there, and has a championship ring and a couple of MVP titles to prove it. They don't give those MVP titles away for nothing. ~ kountzer ~
