T-Mac - 25.5ppg / 6.5rpg / 5.5apg / 1.5spg Swift - 11.5ppg / 8.0rpg / 1.0apg / 2.0bpg Yao - 19.0ppg / 9.5rpg / 1.5apg / 2.0bpg Nice frontcourt
I would say 19 points and 8 rebounds. I would think that his rebound numbers do not increase and might actually decrease if SS is on the floor with him for most of his minutes. I am hoping that SS becomes a monster on the boards.
I would love to see the jump to a 20/10 average but like many of you have stated, stamina will play a big part in the whole equation again.
If this season (his FOURTH season already) Yao doesn't get something like 20 ppg and 10rpg, I'm giving up hope on him and will be waiting for when Yi Jian Lian comes into the league. Yi is a cantonese, I'm hoping he does have the common traits of a cantonese.
He will average more minutes, points, rebounds, and blocks than Shaq. He is the new best center in the NBA.
I couldn't disagree more. Sure Yao's numbers will probably improve only a few, mostly due to the addition of Swift hopefully keeping him out of foul trouble,...but the fact is, "giving up hope" on Yao is ridiculous! He is an NBA center that is averaging a solid fg%, 18 pts, and 8 boards a game, which is rare in and of itself,...and it's not like he's playing by himself, he is also a good passer and is sharing the ball with TMac,...if he was on a team like Charlotte of course he's score and rebound more, but half of the rebounds he doesn't get are because other people on his own team are more aggressive, it's not like he's losing out to his opponents, he just makes sure that someone from his team has the ball and moves on...not caring if HE gets the stat or not. Yao is one of the best players on one of the best teams in the league, and is still very young, "giving up hope" on him,...just doesn't make sense.
Now that Yao has been given a max contract, I think he'll feel obligated to play more like a max player. That contract basically tells him that he's got to be a dominant player. I think he will come through. But by dominant, especially on a team with TMac and Co., that might only mean 22 ppg, 10 rpg, 3 apg, 2 bpg.
Unlike most of you, I don't think Yao will improve much this season, and the seasons after. I suspect he has reached his peak already. Yao was a very skilled player for a center before he joined NBA, what he lacked was experience, confidence, and stamina. If you look at the way he played in CBA and in the international games before NBA, his skill was about the same a he was last season, that's why I think he has reached his peak in skill. Yes, he is stronger, more experienced, and becoming more confidence, but because he is slow, I'm not sure those improvement will make a big impact in the stats department for him. Plus, Yao is not the #1 option on this team any more, his stats will be largely impacted by how JVG runs the team, and last year provided a glimse into that. So, my prediction is that Yao will put up about the same stats as last season, maybe a couple more assists, but the Rockets will do much better due to their added talent, and one year playing together.
If we get last year's Yao, we will not win the championship no matter who we add. However, I feel confident that Yao will raise his level of play and provide more energy and consistency.
I have a good feeling about Yao this year. Small hints lead me to believe his attitude and focus are better than ever. He's had a taste of the big time, with the 7 game Dallas series. The max contract factor as explained by tslee. The fact he may skip some China games to dig into a full training camp. I think we will see a seaoned (dare I say verteran?) player this year putting up strong numbers. 21.5pts, 8rbs. ..I hope!
My guess is 19 and 9. but your standards are just wacky, thacabbage. These days, that is pretty darned good bordering on great. Definitely worth a max contract in the modern era.
You can all remember that I said this well before the season started. Yao will average 25+ pts 10+ rbs and shoot at least 55%. He actually got time to rest this year, he finished the season really strong, but most importantly I have a feeling the refs will learn to officiate him properly.
Yao has to adapt to the referees rather than the other way around. They've been refereeing Shaq that way for 10 years. When you're that big, referees let a lot of contact go without blowing the whistle. It's not very fair, but that's the way it is. Yao has to be meaner and more assertive. They key to Yao's improved play will be his ability to stay on the floor. Yao's biggest opponent is Yao (foul trouble). Hopefully he learned a few tricks last year and his gained experience will make him more savvy on the court.
I think the addition of Swift will actually hurt Yao's rebounding stats but it will help his offense since it will be harder to double team him in the post. I'm thinking 20 and 7 with more assists lets say 2.5 a game to go along with a couple of blocks which is what he averaged over the last few months of last season. Not bad fantasy wise, but I think the evaluation is correct in saying that Yao works better out of the pick and roll than a straight up post up like Dream or Barkley. He just doesn't have that skill to seal of the opposing player while getting postition to receive the pass, perhaps the new rules make that type of post up more difficult. Either way I'm happy about the extension we basically had no choice but to offer the max and while numbers wise he doesn't deserve it he certainly deserves it in his presence and prestige that he brings to the franchise. Damn will October come already.
Yao's preseason stats indicate that he will become a 20/10/2 player? According to his stats of his 4 preseason game so far, do you think it will carry over to the regular season thus making him to be a 20pts,10RB and 2 Blks type of player given that he will play 35 minutes a game? Game 1, 21min, 4RB, 1BLK, 19pts Game 2, 22min, 6RB, 0Blk, 19pts Game 5, 34min, 7RB, 1BLK, 20pts Game 6, 25min, 7RB, 1BLK, 20pts ____________________________ AVG- 25.5min, 6RB, .75BLk, 19.5pts If you look at his average in minutes and consider the fact that will play 10 more minutes in the regular season and bringing up his stats to ...35min, 9-10RB,1.75-2BLK, and 20-22pts a game, its not too far fetch that he could realistically becomes a 20/10/2 type of player. He usually have a bad game after having 1 or 2 good games but his pre-season stats looks consistence through out and thats with him being out of the game in the middle part of the scedule which didn't affect his consistency when he comes back for the last two games. What do you guys think? Is this a good indication or there's something else thats more telling that he will or won't become a 20/10/2 player?
I hope you're right. But two years ago, in the preseason, Yao led the league in scoring with around 20 ppg. Then as soon as the regular season started, he became less involved in the offense.
Do you have his FG percentage too? I'm quite certain his scoring will jump. He's getting deeper post-position than last year, and the post-passing is also improved this year. Yao and the perimeter guys seem to be in sync as far as swinging the ball around and getting it to him. He's getting a lot more foul calls too. His jump hook looks better. His rebounding doesn't look improved at all to me. If he can stay out of foul trouble and averages more minutes he will be close to 10 boards a game, but I wouldn't be too disappointed if he only got 9 or so.
