A 7’2” 300 pounder, Garth Joseph the Yao Killer! Lets all run an hide he’s coMING!! Please. He has been in NBA camps before and did not stick, why? He puts up almost as many points and grabs as many rebounds as Yao. Two things that you have to consider: 1. The CBA is a lot slower than the NBA and by all accounts Garth is not only big but also slow. 2. Half of his points are off of dunks. Can the man pass out of a double team or is he quick enough to make his little five foot shot when he is trying to avoid Yao and Eddie comes over from the week side to block his week ****. I believe that how you do something in lesser leagues is just as important as doing it when you are trying to gauge ones success in the NBA. Unless your name is Shaq you are not going to over power teams at will. If all you have is power and size that is probably not enough in the NBA. Thomas Hamilton had power and size but why couldn’t he succeed in the NBA (aside from pissing off Rudy T.). Because he was too slow to successfully guard anyone. All Shaq had to do against him was step back about 10 feet. If Hamilton came out to guard him Shaq went around him for the dunk. If Hamilton stayed close to the basket then Shaq took his little easy 19 foot shot. Hamilton was so slow he was useless on the break and he was always the last one down the court allowing defenses to get set before he became part of the offense. These are the reasons that Garth is not seen as an NBA talent by most teams. There are reasons that Garth was not drafted and Yao was picked #1. Garth is not going to over power teams in the NBA like he did in the CBA and neither will Yao. But, Yao has a nice unstoppable hook shot does Garth? Yao can run up and down the court and finish the break and still get back on defense. Can Garth? Yao has a sweet stroke all the way back to the arc. Does Garth? Yao has the quickness to come out away from the basket to guard people. Does Garth? IMO Thomas Hamilton could put up major numbers in the CBA because the game is not as fast and the players are not as big or as strong. But when the competition is at the NBA level you better have some skill to go with your size. Yao has that skill. Garth does not.
Since you open this thread and I will put this stats here again. This will be a new hot topic about Yao after "Yao is not a shot-blocker" Garth: Yao Killer 01/02/2002 Shanghai sharks vs Shanxi :98:88 Yao Ming: 24 minutes, 23 points, 9/11, 81.8%, 5/6 83.3%, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks Garth: 43.5 mintues, 42 points, 17/27 63%, 8/12 66.7%, 22 rebounds and 9 dunks, 2 blocks First half: Shanghai Sharks led 31 points. So Ming rest at the second half. 02/24/02 Shanxi :Shanghia Sharks: 96:106 Yao Ming:48 minutes, 24 points, 7/17 41.2%, three point 1/2 50% , FT 7/9 77.8%, 22 rebounds, 4 dunks, 4 blocks,4 assists Garth:36 minutes, 25 points, 10/18 55.6%, FT: 5/10 50%, 22 rebounds, 5 dunks, 2 blocks, 1 assist. Garth's team lost both games. At the end of season, Ming's team was No.1. Garth's team was No.10 and slipped to the "second level" of CBA. Garth is 7-2 and 306 pounds. In this season, Yao Ming's block 117, Garth is the second shot-blocker in CBA, 47.
