Why do I keep hearing this team isn't good enough with Yao?

Yao, American or Chinese, is not an average player in TODAY'S league. He would be an average center if compared to the dominant centers of old, but there's no way in hell he's average or even outside of top 3 current centers.

 

No doubt about it.

Adding a guy of Yao's caliber to the stating lineup pushes Ariza down to last option, and now you have something.

Also a 7'6" anchor on D....

Come on you replace Hayes with Yao, that is not just a little upgrade, that is GARGANTUAN !

DD

 

MD, the spurs could play both styles with the same personel. Duncan could also run down rebounds outside his frame and kickout to start the break then trail and finish. Yao is a good reboundeer when he doesnt have to do alot of moving to get the ball. Not only that, we've seen duncan impose his will and play incredible in the crucial playoff games in the end. Not to mention, we have seen duncan and other stars bring it for 40+ minutes in those games. If a guy is limited to playing 25 minutes do u really believe that player can now turn it on for 40?

 

MD... If you go back and read the back and forth post you will see that some of the other posters are trying to compare Yao to the OLD centers... Not today's center.

Yao may have been one of the TOP 5 Centers last year, but right now he's incomplete... So there is no way that you can say he's a Top anything.

 

DD, I have a ques for you on Yao and the D..

In the 4th quarter, the Celtics played a lot of Davis and Garnett... So who does Yao guard???

 

Yao better defender and ebounder then a prime BEN WALLACE?.Man yao-only-fans are delusional.

 

Everybody takes Yao for granted.

He is one of the few players in this league that demands that the opposing team make defensive adjustments strategically. He fits right in with Shaquille O'Neal in his prime where the defense HAS to front him or double him. Don't even mention how Yao must wear out his opponent on a nightly basis.

Look at our team right now where Martin and Brooks can easily combine to score at least 60 points on any given night. Add a 7 ft 6 giant to the mix and you have three very potent offensive weapons where if you double any of them, you have a threat open for a jumpshot.

Yao might not bang in the low post but I guarantee you he changes shots when people come into the lane. We are playing a 6 ft 6 center right now and a rookie as our big men. Yao will change all of that.

Next year's team, if Yao can be healthy will be one of the greatest Houston teams in the post Hakeem era. 2004-2005 we had McGrady in his prime and Yao playing at a high level. Replace McGrady with Martin and add a huge scoring threat in Brooks. We've never had a trio since we started wearing these new jerseys.

And honestly, Trevor Ariza, battier and Lowry will provide all the defense you need. This team will be awesome if everyone is healthy. That's a guarantee.

 

if this season tells you anything at all, its that we can afford to sit Yao in stints and play small ball and run the fast break.

You can put him back in and pound the ball into the post also. Yao will see a reduction in minutes next year and it will be a great payoff in the end.

 

he can't play STARTERS minutes, so I don't get why people expect him to be real good next season. Its kind of when Tmac came back everybody thought he would be so good.

Hopefully Yao can integrate into this team next year otherwise he expires and we will be good financially anyways.

 

I agree, hopefully we can keep him healthy for the playoffs. I miss the big guy so much even though I sound hard on him. This team can't afford to build around him though

 

T_Man
Wow....no disrespect to you personally.....or not, I really don't give a fck. But to say Yao would be average if he was American is one of the dumbest things I've ever read on here. So being Chinese gives him a handicap (so to speak of course) is what you are saying...without actually saying it.

 

Actually, I did read the other posts in this thread. Who was mentioned as a comparison to Yao wasn't any of the old centers. It was Ben Wallace. The first time Hakeem, Kareem, Ewing, or any of those guys were mentioned was in your post, as far as I can see.

 

T_Man's logic is the same logic I've heard against Bird: If Bird was black, he'd just be another player. Ummmm no. Your ability and ranking amongst your peers is determined purely by your basketball talent and skill, not your skin colour.

 

Hayden,

With no disrespect to you also... Yao's game is very similar to Rik Smits and Smits was average at best....

Being Chinese does not give him a handicap, but it does give him more exposure on an international level.

On a skill level Yao is not that spectacular, no offense or disrespect to Yao.. Personally, Candy man had more talent than Yao but not the desire.. The same can be said about Joe Barry Carol and some other players.

I give Yao credit he has the desire and something to prove, which is all great and dandy.. I love the guy for that he will give you all that he has.

But on a talent level he's average... The biggest reason he was voted in the All-Star game was not for his play, it was because of his exposure.

I am not trying to imply anything.... But a lot of people on this board want to make Yao bigger than what he is...

I have seen Centers all the way back to Hayes and Kareem to Hakeem and it irks the crap out of me to try and compare Yao to those guys.

 

I heard that logic and I can honestly say no.... HELL NO....

I HATED Bird... But the fact is bird could play..

Did bird get a lot of calls??? Yes he did...

But there is a difference.... The word on Bird coming out of College was that he was too slow, too short and couldn't jump. There was never a question about Bird's ability and smarts on the court.

So as far as the skin color goes... it's Green.. that's the skin color.

That's the NBA and Stern favorite color, now again my thing is this Yao is good in this era... But my problem again comes with trying to compare Yao to some of the greats in the past.

 

...which no one in this thread has done, except you.

This is what I hate about the logical fallacy of moving the goal post. No one worth their weight in salt would ever suggest that Yao is comparable to Hakeem, David Robinson, Kareem, Shaq, or even Ewing. But, somehow, that little pearl gets brought up repeatedly whenever a Yao trashing is in place.

It's like Yao haters take the asinine ramblings of a few fringe posters, magnify it to encompass the opinion of the general public, then use it as an outlet for spilling their vitriol. There are good and bad ways to diss Yao. He's slow, injury prone, and soft. But, for Christ's sake, don't use the "he isn't fit to wipe Kareem's anus" argument when no such comparison has been made.

 

Well, i have always said yao is a good player. I dont agree with the notion that his comeback will elevate the rockets into the upper tier. To be honest, i dont know if adelman is a championship coach. It just seem like his teams always blow it somehow or arent tough enough.

 

Sports radio is dumb, and nobody knows for sure until they actually play. For all we know, this martin trade could have been a disaster or it could have been the missing piece to a long playoff run. All people can do now is speculate and there's nothing you can do about how people predict the future will be..

 

So in your mind, if a player is not among the greatest of all time, then he must be average. I like that way of thinking. And I also like how you're the only one who compares Yao to all time greats. I mean, nothing like other people comparing Yao to Ben Wallace and somehow that translates to dissing Kareem and Hakeem in your mind.

The human mind works in mysterious ways indeed.

 

The fact that you still compare Yao to Rik Smits makes you sound like a lot of NBA analysts did in 2003. Ask any of them today and they would laugh in your face, even though they were wrong they would admit it.
The fact that you even mention Rik Smits make your post irrelevant.

Your comparison is baseless, espescially when you add in all this race crap.

Posters on this board dont makes Yao seem bigger than what he really is. If you can remember back 4 years ago, there have many posters that have felt that yao is expendable. The Rockets plans to build around Yao have always been a source of great debate.

The difference is this year a lot of fans realize what he meant to this team on d and offense since he is not around anymore. Especially after the run this team was able to make before and after he was injured last year.

Can you seriously say that you dont think last years Rockets team could have defeated the would-be champs had Yao been healthy??