Well, Olajuwon isn't up there on the triple double list and he is the most prolific shotblocker ever. So.....no.
Getting 10 blocks in a game is incredibly difficult. Once Yao block a few shots, the other team will start respecting his presence and avoid challenging him in the paint. The only reason Yao got 6 blocks in the exhibition against the U.S. national team is because the U.S. players wanted to see what Yao is made of and continued to challenge him through out the game. For this reason, I think Yao will actually get fewer blocks against normal NBA teams in competitive games simply because everyone will change their game to avoid getting blocked by Yao. This is good for the Rockets defense, but not good for Yao's stats and his chances for triple-doubles.
Oscar and Magic's number will be impossible to beat for any center. I don't know if he can top Wilt's mark. I think Yao will definitely have more trip-doub than Hakeem if he has a long career. Double figures in points and rebounds should be no problem. He is at least as good as Hakeem as a shot blocker. He is a better passer even now than Hakeem in his prime. He is not as good in the steal category but steal is the least likely item in a trip-doub anyways. I agree with Will that because he is very good in both the block and assist aspects of the game, plus having the right teammates around him, he has the best chance of reaching Wilt's number by a center for a long long time. In fact, I think he has the best chance to hold the record of quad-doub when he is done.
I would point out that the inside-out game the Rockets played with Olajuwon isn't well-suited to giving Dream assists. A shot was rarely taken on the first pass. The plan was to send the ball around the perimeter to the open man. That would give the assist to one of the guys camped on the 3, not Olajuwon. Besides that, as Will pointed out, these passes were for 3-pointers where the accuracy is lower and the payoff (in points but not assists) is greater.
I can see Yao getting ten assists on this team with the shooters we have. Remember Karl gushing about how he could pass over the defense? 7'6"+ with shoes, and the guy can pass! If they don't double him, he shoots a very high % shot. We're going to have open people who can hit open shots that Yao can see. And pass to. So he gets some 10 assist games, some 10 blocks games... 10+ points and 10+ rebounds are not unreasonable night in and night out, after he's acclimated to the League and the system. I don't know if he'll be with the group mentioned, but that may have more to do with his health and longevity (and the health of his team-mates) than any other factor. JMHO, of course. Hey, I'm excited!
I don't know about getting 79 triple doubles. Thats almost one every 10 games over a ten year span. He could get 10 blocks in a game maybe 10 times in his career so he'd have to get 69 10 assist games. I don't think that will happen. The game has changed and its a lot more difficult for players to get triple doubles. Magic is the most current player on that list and he hasn't played for almost 10 yrs and player's overall stats have dropped dramaticaly since then. He'll get his fair share though and I really look forward to seeing what he can do, but lets all remenber, he hasn't played a single game in the NBA yet.
So he's already as good as the greatest shot blocker in recorded NBA history? Come on, I hope he does well and all, but wait till the guy plays a game first.
Well we see why you picked that nickname you need to watch the men and leave the girls out of this ..The men play better and Yao is The man among men...
I see a quad as much more possible than him passing Magic in triple doubles. I don't think Yao will handle the ball enough and those triple double guys are usually ball handlers who rebound well. A quad though is just one great game where everything falls into place. Heck Alvin Robertson has a quadruple double I think.
Keep dreaming Will, Dont you think your getting a carried away with that statement. There is not a chance in hell Ming is gonna reach 3 triple doubles in his career. He wil be lucky if he gets 1 his whole career. Maybe he will get 300 triple doubles on fantasy island.
Dream is the "greatest shot blocker" in NUMBER of blocks. Hakeem has a long career. We are assuming (for the sake of arguemnt) Yao has a long career too. If you look at blocks per game average, Dream is only fourth, with Mark Eaton, Mutombo , and Manute Bol ahead of him. Hakeem's career average is 3.09. I don't think saying that Yao can block 3 shots a game is such a stretch.
na i don't see him doing that. Maybe like 2 a season. Also if he would do that why didn't he average that against a lower talent like china.(no offense but there not that good) At least he could have gotten double diget blocks.
That is really unfair. Those guys haven't hit (or never had) their "playing out the string for the $" stage like Olajuwon has done for the last 2-3 years. That just kills your average, but Olajuwon is still a better shotblocker than all 4 IMO. Give dream some respect, he was the best NBA shotblocker I've ever seen, with Mutumbo a close 2nd, and I'm old enough to have seen Eaton and Bol play. I didn't say that Yao could never block 3 shots a game in a season. But to call him as good as the best shotblocker of the modern era is just not right. Besides, even if he can block 3 a game for 16 years, big deal. Like I said, Olajuwon did, and he isn't anywhere near the top of the all time triple double list.
Let's not count the last 3 seasons and stop at the 98-99, the last year Olajuwon averaged more than 30 min. a game. His number is 3.33 blocks per game. Still a close fourth behind Bol (3.34). I don't have the stats of Bol and Eaton. But I think it's safe to guess that they played less minutes per game than Hakeem. I am not trying to disrespect Dream. He's one of my all time favorites. But I wouldn't say that he is THE GREATEST shot blocker of all time. I would say that he is ONE OF THE GREATEST shot blockers of all time, together with guys like Eaton, Mutombo, Bol, D. Robinson, and Mourning (I am not mentioning Wilt and Russell because I don't have their numbers). I can understand some people might disagree. But saying that Yao's shot blocking ability looks like he belongs to this group even now IMO is not a stretch. As for the triple-double question, the point is that IF the block shot number is about equal, Yao will probably have more trip-doub than Hakeem. That is because Yao is a better passer and has better scorers around him to get more assists. Even if this is true, we are NOT saying that Yao is or ever will be as great a basketball player as Olajuwon. That debate will have to be waited till Yao's career is over. Numbers alone does not determine greatness.
He will have more blocks in the NBA because of the style of play. In china, its mostly a spot-up shooter's game. In the NBA, its a slash to the hole type of game. Yao will have 5 times as many chances to block shots now. More importantly, he will change MANY MANY shots. Changed shots = worse opp shooting % = less pts for the other team = more wins for the Rockets!!!
Back when Bol was playing, Hakeem was blocking 4 a game. He was better than him then, and he was better than him after he was out of the league. You shouldn't penalize him bc he played longer. The fact that Hakeem played more minutes should also not penalize him, he played because he was able too, and not sucking wind on the bench or in foul troulbe like Eaton or Bol. Greatness is about longevity and totals IMO. Average can be too easily distorted by disparate sample sizes. That's why Terrell Davis was an excellent running back but he is not in the same class as Walter Payton or Jim Brown. He does not belong in that group (and neither does Bol). To use an unpopular comparison, Shawn Bradley blocked tons of shots in college too, you know, but nobody, then or now, would say he's as good as the most prolific shotblocker of all time.
I think Ming may net some triple doubles. The scoring shouldn't be a problem. He may not drop 35 on you, but could probably get 10 points off of point blank shots and put backs. He's already shown a double digit rebound game vs. NBA, all-star NBA at that, competition. Shot blocking and intimidation are different. Hakeem was big on changing shots, whereas today, a guy like Lafrentz can land in the top 3 in blocked shots, but not really be an intimidating force. Whether Ming can anchor the defense like Dream is one thing (Dream was an ultimate hoss), but blocking shots at a similar volume is within his grasp, IMO. Lucky for Ming, Griffin can help hold down the D. Blocking 10 shots in a game is difficult, but not impossible-Shawn Bradley has gotten 13 in a game, and is nowhere near Ming in terms of mobility. He's not going to average a triple double, or probably anywhere near it, but there will be times when opponents approach him wrong. There will be games where he gets challenged all night long, an swats away 10 of them. He was able to get 6 in his first game against NBA competition since 2000. Cato was able to get 10 in a preseason game, There will be games when the defense collapses on him, and simply getting a pass off to Francis, Mobes, EG, or Nachbar will net him an asist. I don't see him as likely to put up the number of triple doubles Wilt did, but he'll get some. And I wouln't put a quadruple double or two out of his reach.
Originally posted by Easy Let's not count the last 3 seasons and stop at the 98-99, the last year Olajuwon averaged more than 30 min. a game. His number is 3.33 blocks per game. Still a close fourth behind Bol (3.34). I don't have the stats of Bol and Eaton. But I think it's safe to guess that they played less minutes per game than Hakeem. I am not trying to disrespect Dream. He's one of my all time favorites. But I wouldn't say that he is THE GREATEST shot blocker of all time. Numbers alone does not determine greatness. Bol and Eaton may have played fewer minutes but they didn't do much on the offensive end. Dream was his team's leading scorer just about every season he played. You're really comparing players who were basically specialty type guys in for blocking shots and rebounding with a guy who did everything at a high level. You combine that with the way Dream blocked shots, relying on his great athleticism/instincts instead of overwhelming size and it just reaffirms his greatness.
I agree with most of what you said. I guess by now I see that our difference lies in the use of the term "greatness." You are talking about greatness in terms of career achievement. I am talking about greatness in terms of CAPABILITY. I totally agree that in terms of achievement, nobody in the right mind would put Eaton and Bol in the same category with Dream even in the shot blocking game. What I am trying to say is that these guys have at least the same capability of blocking shot in a game as Olajuwon. Why am I focusing capability rather than career achievement? Because we are in the context of discussing the likelihood of having triple-double games. Don't you agree that Eaton, Bol, and Yao are at least as likely to put up 10 or more blocks in a game as Olajuwon? That's all I meant to say in the equation of Yao's ability in having trip-doub games.
