That's great. How many times has this happened? Could anybody show us 10 different blocks by Hakeem on Kareem's skyhook? Maybe 5? or Maybe 3? Please, I'd love to see it. I hope it is not an outlier. An outlier means it does not happen often.
Hakeem is better......he dominated both ends of the court......while Yao only one end and sometimes not even that.
Let's say best season against best season. The best prediction for Hakeem's stat against Yao is his season average number, around 27 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks. The best prediction for Yao's stat against Hakeem is his season average, around 27 points, 10rebounds, 2 blocks. You can also make your own prediction by taking averages how Yao did against small/quick centers, and how Dream did against tall/slow centers, but please do not throw in one game stats, that's not good prediction, that's bad prediction and won't make the argument valid. Yao's stats even in the era when you have Robinson, Shaq, Ewing, Dream would still hold. He might even do better because of lack of zone. The reason, Shaq's stats hardly changed from the time he entered in the league until now. His stats do not increase due to lack of competition. If Dream plays today, he would still have the same stats but he will just face more double team.
You tell me. Can you count me 5? Can you count me 10? Can you count me 20? So how many times have they met? what's the total field goal attempts Yao tried? The point is a couple of blocks does not mean Shaq or Dream can block every FGA by Yao. Yao's average FGA is 18, I don't see he gets blocked by 18 times. So let's try again, 2 is less than 18, 3 is less than 18, 4 is less than 18, and 5 is less than 18. Let's say Yao got blocked 4 times which I doubt it (Dream's average is like that). That's still 14 FGA, and he made around 7, so that's 14 points, then he made 7 out of 8 FTA, so the total point scored is around 21 points against Dream. I think this should be scientific enough.
errr... if Yao were blocked 4 times by Dream in one game, then Dream owns him. In addtion, Dream may steal a couple more times from Yao too... It is plain stupid to argue 4 is less than 18. Anyone have more than 4 blocks in a game is considered great game blocking shots. The blocks will have devasting affect mentally not only Yao, but also his teammates. Hell, I am not sure Yao can shot above 40% rest of the way in that case. Let alone he will get to take that many shots rest of the game. Having said that, here is what I think the likely scenario will be is these two do play in the same era -- Dream will dominant Yao at the early matches, Yao learns some lessons and adapts and then rises up and will find a way to play a respectful game against Dream. It's like a boxing match, punch and counter-punch. One thing I really admire Yao is his ability to adapt. Just like Dream figured out Mark Eaton, Yao has figured out countless opponents who gave him trouble. If Dream is that opponent, I just felt Yao will find a way to rise to the occasion...
yes we underestimate yao because we are american. if only yao was nigerian then we wouldn't underestimate him. lol. and seriously if you think yao was despised by houston fans then you are stupid. we have been yao's biggest supporters even when he struggled and was bashed by the national media. you need to recognize what hakeem brought EVERY NIGHT! yao is learning how to do what hakeem did but he has a long way to go and he will never be equal to dream. it's too bad there are no great centers left in the league for yao to play against.
Hakeem wasn't even the only Rocket to block Kareem's Sky Hook. I know he and Bill Willoughby (6'7" o 6'8") and possibly Ralph blocked it. Somebody said earlier that Shaq had nobody else on his Finals team. Obviously someone who not only didn't want to live in the past, but has no idea what he's talking about when he's talking about the past. Anfernee Hardaway was being touted as the next Magic/MJ in those years before injuries took his playing abilities away. He was a stud player. He was a top 3 draft pick and came in 2nd for ROY honors behind Chris Webber. So yes, Shaq had a very potent sidekick with him on that team and was not alone. For you others, something to think about : Hakeem was a great defender, a great shot blocker, a great steals guy, a very good scorer, a great rebounder, and had an inside-outside game he could switch to when needed. In short, if you take Ben Wallace's d, Yao's scoring, a *point guard's* steals, Amare or Dwight Howard's quickness/explosiveness, and Kevin Garnett's aggressiveness/quickness for a big man and his rebounding.... you would have Hakeem. I would've added some blocked shot guy, but there's nobody in today's league that can block shots like back then (Emeka Okafor?). If you don't believe that, or can't agree to that, then you, like the poster who said Shaq was alone in his Championship run, have not watched enough of the old vs. new NBA and don't have a clue. And yes, y'all keep pulling me back into this thread to defend The Man.
Yao is good and much bigger than Dream, but come on...Dream would dominate because of his quickness and power....Dream was the better offensivce player and defenseive player....his moves would freeze Yao....I love Yao, but lets not compare him to dream yet....we'll see in the future...
Hakem, no question...Don't get me wrong, Yao is great and would take him vs. anyone else, except the Dream...
I haven't watched hakeem's play.but I think his position is not better than duncan in nba history(duncan is supposed to be the best PF in nba history).and duncan can't own Yao.the old game can not be compared with the game nowaday.I have see some nba games in 1990 or 1992.it's very different with today's. Why don't you think about it in this way,why there are no great centers left in the league today?does that means the games today is much more difficult for centers.I think you should give more respect to this real centers survive such as Yao and Shaq.
totally agree with you. I always support Rockets before because of Yao but after seeing this comment above,I'm thinking about if I should support rockets anymore. I feel hurt I'm sorry for Yao,too.
my friend if you have not watched hakeem then you need to educate yourself. like i have said yao would be able to hold his ground against hakeem but in a 7 game series hakeem would completely dominate yao. this is not disrespect to yao. it is just the reality of things. yao is becoming an amazing offensive player, and he has learned to use his size very well, but hakeem was on another level. he always had another level. he would always do something that would just completely amaze you. that is what made hakeem great...and hakeem did it for a CAREER. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1sS_wiIfL4&mode=related&search= if someone knows how to embed the youtube links then this would be a good video to put up in this thread.
