The starting centers on the other teams in the west besides Shaq and Duncan(if you consider Duncan the center). My point is very simple. The Rockets with Odom, 8, and 12th picks are not Finals bound nor are they with Ming and the 15th pick. However, with Ming they will certainly be able to create another mismatch or at worst come out even with every other team in the West at the center position except LA and SA. Lets take a look: Minn - Nesterovic, Mark Jackson ( Now that's a scary duo) Dallas- Bradley, and ? ( Throw in Dirk if you like, Dirk cant guard anyone, let alone a 7'5 guy who shoots) Seattle - Jerome James, Vin Baker( Which Baker will show up and how much will he weigh) Portland- Sabonis ( Oh I forgot he retired) Kemp, Dale Davis(Do they strike any fear in your hearts?) Utah - Ostertag? Enough said Memphis- Who plays center for them? Is it Gasol? LAC - The infamous Kandi Man ( The same guy nearly everyone on this board has said isn't much better than Cato) Phoenix - When was the last time they had a player over 6'9 in the post that was a threat? Alvin Adams ( I know I dated myself with that one. Tskalidis(sp) I don't think he's quite a dominant player, does anyone? Sacramento- Vlade ( He will get his points but cannot prevent Yao from scoring. None and I mean none of the players I've mentioned are going to take over and cause a ridiculous mismatch problem for the Rockets if Yao is in the game. They never have. That being said how will they contend with him and his ability to stand at the free throw line and shoot uncontested 15ft jump shots over them. How hard would it be to have Yao flash across the lane and receive the ball 4 feet from the hole? Let's face it. I didn't mention the East because, well I believe there's no center to speak of there either. Everybody thank God the Rockets have a chance to get another big man with skills to work with. If he was a stiff the Rockets wouldn't even look at him this closely. One last thing. Everyone booed when the Rockets took Horry. Sure he wasn't the number one but what difference does it really make. If he can play and ultimately brings you a walking mismatch due to height alone on almost every game with the exception of the 4 with LA and the 5 with SA, there's nothing more to say. Sorry for the long rant. I've been trying to keep it in until after the draft. Just couldn't do it.
That was more than a rant. That was a damn good post. And your right too. The lack of true centers in this league is the one great significant fact which makes Yao Ming so appealing.
Grego, I'm not a person that comes to the board a lot because I generally like to read posts rather than post anything. When I do post I do think before I write. I'ts obvious you don't. If the points I made were useless to you, don't respond. It's not necessary to be insulting. Calling a person's thoughts useless information is insulting. I will not respond to you again and please save the "I'm being too sensitive crap. I'm a grown man and I don't whine about anything. Fair is fair. Treat people the way you want to be treated.
I appreciate the comment Rocketbooster. I just don't buy the argument some people are making about Ming being dominated by all the centers in the league. If anything I believe the Rockets if this guy can shoot nearly as well as advertised, will have an advantage offensively. Defensively most players in the league can't play their man straight up. Ming will probably be no different. It's not the on the ball defense we need him for. It's the weak side help defense he provides and the difficulty he brings when an opposing penetrator has to shoot over him.
Maybe this is the age of the small men. Maybe centers will have less of a role than ever before. You never know, the game could change.
The game changes by virtue of the guys playing it not through some mandate. As <b>Since75</b> pointed out, Mng is a factor that no other team has. No one is as tall as he is for sure and what other center can (reportedly) shoot as well as he? None that I know of.
Fair points about centers in the NBA. This was discussed a bit on the NBA Dish board. They list all the centers. It is an interesting list to say the least. Easily the weakest position in the NBA. Look at it this way.....We all talk about what Ming is going to do against "X". What we should be saying is what will "X" do against Ming? How will "X" stop Ming? Ming will be a mismatch for almost every center in the NBA. The NBA is all about exploiting mismatches and this would be a huge one in the Rockets favor against many NBA teams. Chris
I just posted this on another thread but I think it bears repeating. Francis and Mobley don't understand why the Rox don't win close games in the 4th quarter (which is the first step in becoming a good team). They don't understand that, although Ming won't help the offense be as pretty as with Odom, Ming will help them get the critical stops they need to win the games. In a way, Cuttino and Stevie are selling themselves short b'c they've been good enough to get us into close games with better teams. They don't need Odom to finish the games. 4th quarters are won with defense. I'm not saying that Ming will be Hakeem in patrolling the middle, but Ming will help a lot. Good defense is TEAM defense. Ming will help everyone's defense. Anyone who saw the Rox btwn 94-96 knows what I'm talking about. Finally, if Rudy ever teaches Ming a Jump Hook, it will be hilarious.
Ming already has a jump hook. He doesn't use all the time because he has a turnaround and can put it on the floor also.
I think another point that should be made is that Ming will have Griffin right beside him. I think having Griffin here is going to benefit Ming greatly and vice versa. Ming is not going to have to do all of the inside scoring, Griffin will be here to take the pressure off of him. Ming is not going to have to block every single shot, Griffin will be there to help with the shotblocking. These 2 are going to be unstoppable together. Ming will be on one side of the court making sky hooks all night long, Griffin will be on the other making dreamshakes. Teams are going to have double team one of them and when they do, the other one is going to dominate with the single coverage. And if the paint gets too crowded, both can step out and nail the outside jumpers. And if one of them misses the shot, the other will be right there in the paint to get the put back. Ming and Griffin together are going to be unstoppable inside the paint, offensively and defensively.
Frank Burlison of Foxsports.com seems to agree with you Ming Not Quite Ready for Shaq Yet Despite the title, he think Yao will become the second best center after Shaq. I have cut and paste a few paragraphs from the article. His inclination has always been to play facing the basket on offense and is definitely a threat to knock in jumpers with great consistency to near 3-point range. Opponents won’t be able to sag off of him and play one-game zones. He’s too good a jump shooter — and passer — to not consistency make that approach backfire. ... He’ll block more shots with his forearms that most other centers will with their hands. Once he adds some upper-body strength (he does weigh about 295 pounds but is seriously lacking in muscle definition in the upper torso), few players are going to shove him around in the low post, at either end of the floor.... And until O’Neal makes good on his promise to turn to law enforcement as a career, being the second best center in the NBA will do just fine. Lets hope he is right. -G'day-
Rocks, you might be right. I don't like to dwell on things. Just say it and then I'm done. Appreciate the feedback.
My thoughts exactly Deuce. It's always about the matchups. Ask the Nets about all the mismatches they ran into with the Lakers. On the other hand the Kings had a mismatch or two which kept the series close.
I have to agree with this. I'm glad that we have Steve, and why I'm not so worried because he's not the traditional kind of PG. Sure I wish he would improve his skills as a floor general, but I'm not overly concerned. I do also think that adding a guy like Ming will only help Stevie's game.
If Shaq retired right now, there would really be no reason not to put two power forwards on the court at the same time.
Except if you have a nice center. .. YOU would have the advantage at that position Shaq - 27.2 pt/gm Duncan - 25.5 J howard - 14.6 Top 3 centers in pts Rocket River
I always wonder when people say "Ming is going to get eaten alive by the centers in the NBA", who exactly is out there? Shaq, Duncan (who isn't a great defender), Alonzo Mourning, Divac? Great point Since. Personally I'm excited about getting Ming because if he's as good as advertised, he will be something. Rik Smits was a force with his jumpshot, and Ming sounds like he has that a ton more. You can't really compare Ming to anybody, which sound good to me!
