can someone put together a solid argument that makes yao hands down better than z? i think yao is better but if you look at their numbers there is nothing to really differentiate them.
Yao is a sophomore, and Ilgauskas has been in the league for 6 years, now look at what have they accomplished.
Oh I don't know. Yao's a better scorer, rebounder, more(sorry Yao,don't want to jix you) durable and younger? I think thats pretty much all you need...
That's simple. First Yao is socring more, rebounding more, shooting better from the floor (54% vs. 48%) and also the FT line. That usually puts Yao ahead of Z man in most cases. Secondly, and more importantly, Yao is the best (most efficient) scoring option, and arguably the best player on the Rockets team. The opposing D is focused on stopping Yao and thus the routine double, or triple team D against Yao. It also makes it easier for the opponents to double on Yao since Rockets has the worst scoring PF in the league. IMHO, when opponents routinely use double/triple team to try to slow you down, that's the highest respect you get from opponents. Z man is not even the man on his team. How can you be the man on the team when there is a King in house? And Z man has Boozer as his PF, who is one of the best upcoming PF in the league. Finally, who is the only center since Dream in his peak that can make Shaq call him Daddy on a routine basis? That alone earns Yao the reputation as the 2rd best center in the league.
Also I want to add that Z man is the only center that gives Yao fits on defensive end when playing one on one (Shaq cannot). Eventually Yao is gonna have it figured out. Z man is, at worst, the 4th best center in league after Shaq, Yao, and Miller. It's debatable whether to put Z man ahead of Miller. BTW, Cleveland is shaping up to be a serious force in the east with Bron, Boozer, and Z man. Next season, each of these 3 players can be one of the top 5 at his position. They will be able to contend in the east within the next 3 years if Z man stays healthy, and if they can keep Boozer.
big z's not the man he used to be. rookie season, behind the back dunk over some guard. wow... he had skills. z and yao are similar in that they can pass pretty well. z just chooses not to. z would be great if not for his foot problems. that's really too bad. yao is better because he's stronger and more athletic than z while being taller.
yao plays in the western conference and z plays in the eastern conference. nuff said. comparing stats between the two is stupid.
Ziggy is a black hole, doesn't pass...doesn't get the O involved. Doesn't make the players around him better. That said, he is good and I'm not dissing him. Just comparing him to Yao. Miller has found a home with Sac, after finding a home with Indy. He is OK for talent but synergizes better than any 5 playing today, as does Vlade. If Rox don't win championship I am 'rooting' for Kings to. I love the way they play. I love the way their players have developed (Miller, Christie, Bibby, C-Webb, BJax are all better in Sac than they have been at any other of their collective stops). I hate to but I have to give Adelman coaching props -- that man is way underappreciated in his own time!
Too many good qualities to name. Just look through the threads here, and you can list about a 100 reasons why Yao is better than Z.
Look at these two webpages. http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_regular_season_leaders/LeagueLeadersEFFQuery.html http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_48_minute_leaders/LeagueLeadersEFF8Query.html
ok well i was only putting the point forward because even though a lot of people seem disagree their numbers ARE very close. Yao plays about 1.5 mpg longer, 32.7 to 31.2, averages 17.6 ppg to Z's 15.3, shoots 53.9% to z's 48.2%, and yao shoots better from the line too 79.9% to 73.2%. yao also gets more boards than z 8.9 to 8.2 but Z gets a full offensive reb more per game 3.4 to 2.4. also, Z blocks more shots 2.4 to 1.9, and turns the ball over less 2.0 to 2.4. their assist numbers are basically the same yao 1.5 and z 1.4. you could also say that z and yao played each other to a stalemate in each game against each other. maybe a slight edge to z even though he shot a terrible percentage there is still something to be said for getting the shots up and getting to the line significantly more often. i still think yao is better than z, but i think yao gets a ton of hype when z puts up close to the same numbers and gets almost nothing. yes i understand the upside part and thats why i know yao is better, but the guys are pretty close. imagine z if he didnt have those foot problems. lets hope yao never has any problems like z.
