are you serious? suns are still a very good team, but shaq is done. for them to compete, shaq has to be a serious threat. eventually, teams won't double or even care about him and just let him score and make them a half-court team.
I predicted that Shaq will get another ring. I will stick to that. No way okur is going to stop Shaq. No way Boozer can dunk on Shaq's face.
Are you serious?! Shaq is their best rebounder and dude can still get some amazing blocks once in awhile. Shaq still commands a lot of attention even at the age of 35. He was a big reason why they won against the Spurs.
No way is Yao a better defender than Deke! Granted, Deke is older, slower, and not the young filly he used to be, but when it comes to defensive attributes like: 1. Shot Blocking - Adv. Deke 2. Avoiding Foul Trouble - Adv. Deke 3. Defensive Rebounding - Adv. Deke 4. Committing Hard Fouls - Adv. Deke 5. Drawing Charges - Neutral 6. Help Defense - Adv. Deke 7. PnR Defense - Adv. Deke 8. Clogging up the middle - Adv. Yao I'm not here to rant on Yao but imho, Deke is the FAR SUPERIOR defender. He has the awards to prove it too. Yao? He's slow. And by slow I'm talking: 1. Poor lateral mobility 2. Poor hops 3. Poor rebounding instincts 4. Poor PnR defense 5. Poor general foot speed. Anyone who believes otherwise is either lying or hasn't watched a game in his life. Where Yao excels is on the offensive end. 1. FG% - Adv Yao 2. FT% - Adv Yao 3. Offensive Rebounding - Neutral I'm surprised more people haven't been picking up on how well we've compensated for Yao's lost offense and lost no step defensively. Shouldn't this be encouraging and a point positive for all??? theSAGE
i watched last night's game and they played better when shaq was on the bench. this suns team simply cannot play half-court and succeed. u do notice shaq played only FOURTEEN minutes right?
I guess we have different understanding about bball. I think shaq's 14 min destroyed the warrors' tempo. The suns can play different tempos right now, but the warriors only can play one style.
Another Reason why this Team is Better - Fewer Turnovers It's b/c we've had to learn how to compensate for Yao's turnovers that, as a TEAM, we're actually very good with taking care of the ball. Remember Stevie Franchise and what got him the boot with JVG? Not taking care of the ball? Alston is a pure Godsend on this note. Same is true with Battier and Hayes and others. The team now takes care of the ball. Why is that important? b/c Yao remains a HUGE TURNOVER MACHINE even into this season. When you compare his turnover number to the number of times the ball is fed through him, it's incredible how much he turns the ball over relative to great post players of old. In many instances, Yao's better off to just catch and shoot than to try to put it on the floor. His turnovers are on par with last year at 3.3 TOs for the season. But what's deceptive about this number is the VARIABILITY where he'll get 7 to 8 turnovers PER GAME!!!! As a team, the Rox are averaging 13.6 TOs per game. So Yao represented nearly ONE QUARTER of all the team's turnovers. ONE QUARTER!!!! As most people know, turnovers are killer. We lose a possession. We give the opposing team an extra possession. More food for thought for those thinking we're so much worse off. theSAGE
And another reason, is rebounding in crunch time. I want Landry, Hayes, or Scola on the floor together to get all those missed rebounds in game 7against Utah. It's not a lack of effort issue with Yao but a stamina, mobility issue. We're gonna come up big in that department, especially late in playoff games.
Do you think Hayes is more valuable defender than Deke now? From career-wise, Deke is one of the best all time. But right now, Yao is clearly better defender. I understand why people think Deke is better now, because Deke is a legend, a myth, and people are willing to believe that.
You ARE delusional. Shaq steamrolled over Deke when they met in the finals - granted, Shaq was younger back then, but so was Deke. After the first season, Shaq has never been able to do that against Yao. I love Deke, but he himself knows that at this point in time, Yao is better at pretty much every facet of the game except perhaps shot-blocking.
Forget 'em Desert Rocket. It's all good that people have passionate opinions about things. But when it comes to being, or at least trying, to be objectively critical of things, it becomes clearer the biases people hold on certain issues. I won't presume to say that "Yes, these Rockets are better off w/o Yao." But as far as team play goes, I genuinely think you're thread presents a valid question. To think there is one and ONLY ONE model of success for the Rockets and that model being one with Yao and can NEVER be one without is absolutely inane. Yet that's what some people seem to be suggesting here. And again, if people truly believed this, then it's a foregone conclusion that the Rox have: 1. No hope 2. No chance 3. No way in hell Of winning in the playoffs... to which I kindly disagree. If people want to roast me for believing otherwise. SO be it. But again, the examples of team templates that the current Rox personnel can fit - successful ones at that - from Adelman's many years of success are many. theSAGE
Yao is better against the slower bigger centers in the league because he has more size and dont need as much quickness to guard them. Deke is better guarding quicker players. He can predict them better and block their shots but not physical enough to handle bigger players.
Right now, Yao is NOT clearly a better defender. Why? b/c HE'S INJURED!!!! Seriously though... if we are so much worse off with Deke, why is it that we haven't deviated much from our season average in "opposing PPG?" or "opposing FG%?" Also, consider this too. One mark of a good defender is the ability to stay OUT of foul trouble. Have you looked at Yao's average fouls per game relative to his blocks? Statistically or anecdotally, I'm telling you. Yao's not that good of defender. His best defense is imho his prolific offense. He can make opposing centers look awful b/c he's burning them on the other end. But what of Pick and Roll defense? Or defending against penetrators? Or defending at the top of the key? theSAGE
Don't be too upset! The fact that Yao is better than Deke now doesn't mean the rockets cannot win without Yao. Actually, the rockets are winning right now, and that is the effort of the whole team, and that is the reason why the rockets are getting attention and respect from the whole country (or I can say from the whole world)!
