In the interest of fairness and full disclosure , Yao has averaged 21.3 points and 12.5 rebounds over the last four games. That's considerably higher than his season average. Maybe the shake out from McGrady being gone, the trade, along with Ron and Battier getting healthy, will give us what we want from Yao... a game changer who defies easy labels. Certainly, those numbers are aces in today's center deprived league. No, Yao isn't Dream, but he is Yao and that can be pretty damn good.
Yao is no Hakeem you're absolutely right. He's probably not a HOF player either. But he is what he is and he's still in the upper echelon of players in the NBA. He's not good enough to carry a team to a championship, but honestly aside from MJ, Hakeem, Wilt, and a couple others, no player has ever done what those players aforementioned have done. So, essentially you're looking at the 99th percentile of players and to expect Yao to be in that percentile along with Hakeem and Jordan is ridiculous. You don't see those kinds of players very often. At this point, you can't even put Kobe in that level quite just yet and he's arguably the best player in the NBA right now! But, from every thread I read from you that has something to do with Yao, it turns into a Yao bashing thread. I understand your arguments and your frustrations, but unless Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Kobe, Lebron, Wade, come waltzing through that door as a result of a trade including Yao, Yao's the best we got. And due to his injury prone nature, he won't garner a superstar in return in my opinion. The Lakers probably wouldn't even part ways with Bynum for Yao and Bynum on the Rockets wouldn't even get us anywhere closer to a championship than Yao would. Taking potshots at Yao is a low blow in my opinion. Be a classy fan, not like those Jazzholes who taunted Derek Fisher's cancer stricken daughter. Yao has never claimed to be Hakeem, he has even been quoted as saying that he shouldn't even tie Hakeem's shoelaces. I mean, who says that other than an extremely modest individual? Yao is an upstanding citizen on and off the floor, has played his heart out for the Rockets and the country, what more is there to ask for? I for one would like my kids to look up to the way Yao conducts himself. I could understand if you're taking potshots about players who aren't good role models, aren't upstanding citizens, are arrogant, etc. Yao's not a person that is deserving of potshots by people who are mad that he's not Dream because you're right he isn't, but really who is?
