Great to hear it Will! If you remember I told you all before he came but most wouldn't hear me out. Now its beginning to come true.
A case could be made, but stat-wise, I'd give Yao the edge. Yao - 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks Dwight - 15 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2 blocks. Plus, I don't see any other big men just taking games over like Yao has the past few (but I could be wrong, as I have not seen many games this year, and I'm probably biased). On top of that, Yao has been the weight bearer of this team...
I'm glad folks FINALLY realized this one. I can't remember how many times I argued with people who demanded JVG put Yao on the high post and claimed that he was going to ruin Yao's career by putting him on the low post. He's one of the most dominant post players in the NBA today because of all that work.
some inspiration for you, and no not Sheryl http://www.hollywood-celebrity-pictures.com/Celebrities/Sheryl-Crow/Sheryl-Crow-19.JPG
(1) Judging players by championships isn't entirely a mistake, but it using it as your ultimate criterion is misleading. Many great players haven't won one. Sometimes because they're "me first" types, but others simply because they never had enough talent alongside them. (2) I don't judge Yao vis a vis Shaq. They're just too far apart in age. Yao's better than Shaq now, and nobody really doubts it. But Shaq is breaking down. There isn't really a good comparison to Yao (Howard comes closest). If you want to look at parallels, though, check out Amare Stoudamire. There was a time (just two years ago) when Stoudamire was believed to be the hands-down better player. Now? It's partly injury, but Stoudamire is fairly evidently a me-first type of guy. Yao has turned into the rarest of all things - an unselfish superstar.
I don't recall that Stoudamire was believed to be the HANDS_DOWN better player . May be that is just among fans that didn't really understand Yao's power.
Everything Will touched on in his initial post in this thread remains mind blowing to some extent but nothing is more amazing by his improved defensive rebounding. It is not just the numbers but the way he is positioning himself and ripping of rebounds. The school of thought then was that rebounding is a hard skill to learn - that Yao lacked the basic skills hence he would not come full circle in terms of his projected greatness as a result of this "flaw". Yao is a special being - underate him at your peril. I do not think there is anything he cannot do well - just give him time. I know I am preaching to choir but it still must be said. The best of all is that Yao has not even peaked yet - he just entered the second phase of his developement (it started way back in Feb/March of 2006). We are privileged to have so a great player and above all a wonderful human being.
slowly but surely yao has improved every year. this year he has reached a dominant level. who know's what the next few years will bring probably a championship or two!
Maybe among Rockets fans Yao was considered better . *shrug* - I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember a consensus about Stoudamire. I've always felt Stoudamire was overrated, so I can't be accused of this!
I have always put my 100% cinfidence in Yao. Because I know how difficult it could be for the first several years in a totally differenct country, culture, language. Since the first date he landed to NBA basketball court. I am sure that he will dominate sooner or later. Hopefully he will bring a championship for you if the rockets management team works hard and smart enough
I guess it did help him today. When he couldn't outmuscle Shaq (who the hell can?) he faced up and drove on him, and was pretty effective that way. But the theory that Yao would be better as a high-post passer and shooter has been completely disproven. That would make him super soft like Vlade and Brad Miller. We don't need Yao to be like that, we need him to be a dominating beast. No one ever confused Vlade and Miller with dominant players.
