This thread doesnt make any sense. First of all, we were LUCKY to win that lottery, and Yao was the best thing we could get out of that draft. We did the rigth thing by drafting him. I still rank him No.1 in that draft class today. Lebron may very well turn out to be a better player, but we would have no chance of getting him even if we didn't draft Yao the year before. Even without Yao last year we would still win around 40 games and be well out of lottery contension (I dont consider a No.10 + seed a legit lottery contender). Stop complaining. It's getting old.
Explain? Besides, who the hell cares about the way a player is able to be effective? If two passes are needed to reach an open man, does anyone care if a 4th pass also reaches an open man??? No. It's the result that matters, not the process. The same can be said for player development. Guys like Duncan, Shaq, and even Yao started great in their rookie year in terms of the expectations. While you look at guys like Kobe, Kevin, Jermaine, and Tracy, they all SUCKED the first 1-2 years. DOes it matter? NO. RIght now, at this moment, today, Dec/23/03, they are the pillar of their franchise. Fans love them and critics dont give a damn about their past. Btw, Why didn't Cleveland take Darko over Lerbon? 1. Lebron equals tickets. Darko is relatively an unknown 2. Lebron was hyped beyond belief. Darko is again, relatively unknown. 3. Lebron has better build, and has shown a rare mixture of talents. Darko is a verstaile 7 footer, but we got enough of those in the league already :O 4. Lebron went to HS in Cleveland. Darko didnt go to HS in cleveland (lol) 5. You are obviously a hater, why are you allowed here? I really dont think haters deserve the Freedom of Speech.
Kobe, Kevin, Jermaine, and Tracy were all high schoolers and 18 years old when they came into the league so of course it took them a while to develop. LeBron is doing better than any of them did at 18. I was just making a point that Yao doesn't seem to have the mindset to be great. And that great players that you build around don't need help they give it. That's all.
If you are going to use that outside shot = lower percentage you should at least make sure the players you are comparing are both single covered or both double covered. Things made difficult for Lebron, he shoots from the outside. Things made difficult for Yao, he gets double/triple teamed. You should also consider that Lebron shoots 3's, which obviously equals to 3 points instead of 2 and he makes 1/3 of them (actually 32%). I did not consider Lebron shoots from the outside and I did not consider Yao's double/triple teams in my calculation. All in all I think things balances out. The 18 year old thing really is an assumption. We don't know whether an 18 yr old Yao was worse (because I personally never seen him in the NBA back then) or that a 23 yr old Lebron will be significantly better than he is now (hell just look at Steve if you don't believe me). Lebron is NOT on an entire different level than the rest of the NBA, especially compared to Kobe and TMac. If he's lucky he'll end up like Kobe and TMac, which quite frankly will put things in Yao's favor. Kobe has proven last year he can't win alone. Hell, even MJ has proven he can't win alone. Yet historically we're loaded with talented big men with championships. This is not to bash Lebron as I think he'll end up a very good players, but if H-town has any desire for another championship I'd rather put my eggs in Yao's basket.
Doesn't that also mean we'll be out of the playoffs year after year? With Lebron we might sneak in but think about this: If Lebron becomes anywhere near what he's hyped out to be (which he won't), he'll be the #1 option on the team. Just think about this, the Cavs managed to get Lebron 22 shots and the game before that 27 shots. Where are the shots gonna come from? Are you going to ask Lebron to take Yao's 10.5 shots per game or Steve and Cat? Chances are, Steve and Cat are going to see less shots, Les wouldn't have it any other way. That's not gonna sit well with Steve and Cat. Quite frankly the other reason we lucked out with Yao (aside from even getting the #1 who just happened to be what we needed, an inside presence) is his attitude. He's not bit*ching about not getting the shots. If it was another star like Steve or Cat or even me, I'd be yelling to the media GIVE ME THE F*CKIN' BALL.
please do not compare players who depend on others to get the ball in their hands to those who have it from the inbounded pass.
What prize do you Lebron lovers want? An "I told ya so" award? We have Yao on the Rockets-our team. If you want to bask in the presence of King flippin James, then just go to another board, and follow Cleveland.
QUESTION ON LEBRON: How did he get to go to all those camps I mean I was reading where he was playing with NBAers at like 16 I think Carmelo would have liked some of that LeBron is the ulimate GROOMED star We will see if he Tevin Campbell or not Rocket River
You can't seriously think that Yao is better than Kobe and TMac. I know you didn't just say that Yao can win a championship alone while MJ can't... Take MJ off that bulls team and put Yao on it. They may not even make the playoffs. Take Yao off this team and put MJ on it and you would have a dynasty.
I didn't say that Yao can win alone, I said there is more chance of him winning alone, as is proven by history. Wilt played against one of the greatest dynasties ever and still pulled out a championship. Bill Walton played for the ULTIMATE underdogs and still won a championship. On the other hand, Michael Jordan, as great as he is, never won a championship alone, as is proven by historical FACTS. I can't prove Yao will win just as you can't prove he won't win, which is why I used the words more chance. Get it? Got it? Good. Not to mention my original intention was comparing Yao and Lebron, so nice way of twisting my words. My other point is that this team has serious trouble allocating shots if Lebron is on this team. He taks 17 per game up to date and is rapidly going up. Steve takes 17 per game. Now when Steve can get easily stoked by other team's players how do you think he'll respond when Lebron tries to take over the team. And this is before this team starts winning. On top of that, Steve is a below average shooter at best that takes boneheaded shots. Lebron is a lousy shooter. Cat, who supposedly is a great shooter in which people here had collective orgasms over early season (on a streak which I said wouldn't last, but what do I know) is now in a horrid shooting slump. So you have 3 players wanting shots, all bricking, all wanting more to get out of the slump and all have attitude problems (I have a real prob with people who label themselves King James before than play 1 game in a REAL league) while taking close to 60 shots per game. Houston as a team doesn't get 70 shots per game sometimes. Ultimately somebody's gonna have to go. But who's gonna go? Steve has low trade value, he's a max player that can't deliver and is seemingly increasingly decreasing in talent and has shown ZERO improvements for 5 years. He's not as untradable as EG but we won't get much for him. Cat has decent value but he has a relatively smaller contract. So unless we can steal somebody off a team we're looking at trading those 2 for roleplayers. If Les can get his hands on Lebron, he WON'T be traded. Bank on it. So here are the scenarios for the team outlook: 1. Steve and Cat won't make the playoffs (as is proven for 4 years, won't happen any ways because Lebron won't be traded) 2. Lebron and Cat won't make the playoffs 3. Steve and Lebron has the most chances to make the playoffs but most likely won't unless Steve puts up Pippen type numbers and Lebron becomes MJ in a hurry AND the Rockets play AMAZING defence (which we all saw is impossible without Yao) AND Steve AND Lebron both become TOP NOTCH perimeter defenders like Pip and MJ which is even more impossible than the last one. On the other hand, if Yao's on this team it just runs smoother. We'd be ruining Yao's career by not letting him be all he can be but as much as some fans (including me) on this board like to see Steve and Cat (or both) traded to make room for Yao, we can't physically make it happen. A team of Yao, Steve and Cat beats a team of Lebron and Steve any day. PS. You're not a Rockets fan, you're not a Yao fan, you're not a Steve fan. I can't see any practical purpose for you to be here. Why don't you just admit for being what you are, a hater and shut the hell up.
I agree that this is a stupid thread. James and Yao play different positions on different teams in different conferences. On those teams their roles are very different and opposing teams play them differently. Yao is on a team with other legitimate scorers (of course are recent offensive woes question whether anyone on the Rox is a legitimate scorer ) Cleveland is James' team while the Rox are still divided between Francis, Yao and Mobley about who the team revolves around. There is no doubt James is an extraordinary talent and there is also no doubt that Yao has dissapointed because he hasn't proven to be impact player to elevate the Rox to the playoffs. Part of these were slightly different expectations. James was a highschooler coming to a team with no stars and otherwise little potential otherwise. Yao is an older foreign came to a team with stars on the cusp of making the playoffs. Since the Rox didn't make the playoffs and are playing inconsistent and frustrating ball many find it easier to blame Yao for not living up to the hype by elevating the Rox into one of the elite teams. For both the Rox and the Cavs with Yao and James neither team record wise has vastly improved but with James he has just needed to show he can play well at the NBA level while Yao has to make the Rox a contender. Of course as all of us to realize this is only Yao's second year and James first year. Both players have had good streaks like James is right now but with all players we should wait a few years before we can say either is great.
First off, MJ's Bulls teams were not loaded. Two, all of the big men you mentioned were a hell of a lot better than Yao. Three, the Rockets were a slightly above .500 team before Yao got here, and they're still a slightly above .500 team now so Yao hasn't made much of an impact to the bottom line at all. Four, Lebron would play the 3/small forward position here. Francis Mobely James Taylor Cato is better than what he have now. From all reports, LeBron is a mature, respectful kid. So why do you say he has attitude problems. Also Steve and Cat - what makes you think they have attitude problems. I think Yao has an attitude problem - it's called being a wuss. LeBron has come in at 18 years of age and in his first 20 something games in the league is averaging more points than Yao has and has scored more points in a game than Yao ever has. You have Yao colored glasses on and refuse to see the fact that this organization has done EVERYTHING it possible can to allow Yao to be all he can be - even at the expense of their all-star point guard and the coach that won the city it's only championship. Everything from the logo, to the marketing to the colors has been adjusted for Yao. The offense, the personell, the play calling has all been altered for Yao. And what is finally becoming evident to more and more people is that this is all Yao can be. Given his passive demeanor, lack of quickness/leaping ability, and his poor footwork, Yao is being all he can be. If he isn't, he has only himself to blame. Finally, I'm a bigger Rocket fan than you will ever be because I care about the team and not just one player.
God are you stupid or something? 1. Is MJ's team wasn't loaded compared to the likes of the Showtime Lakers? No. Is MJ's team loaded compared to the likes of the Cavs, absolutely. Remember when MJ's teammates were worse than scrub in the 80's he took them to the playoffs every year and NO FURTHER. So unless you can bank on Lebron being WAY BETTER THAN MJ, Cavs aren't winning a championship with him. 2. The two big men were way better than Yao, MJ was also WAY better than Lebron. I don't see your point. You give Lebron the benefit of the doubt for going to become better than the best player EVER then you have to give Yao the benefit of the doubt to become a great 5 as well. 3. Cavs were lottery, basement, crap, pathetic excuse for a team, no names... take your pick. Cavs are lottery, basement, crap, pathetic excuse for a team, no names... take your pick. Yao didn't improve the Rockets by too many games, Lebron is not improving the Cavs by too many games. Once again I don't see your point. 4. No that line up is NOT better than what we have now. That lineup might get us into the playoffs but will never help us win a championship. Jordan's Bulls were the only guard oriented team to ever win and even then they had perfectly servicable frontcourt players to grab the boards (Rodman is one of a kind, nobody else is gonna average 18 boards after him). Not to mention the Bulls were AMAZING at defence while the terms, Francis, James, MoT and defence shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence unless it's them showing how NOT to play D. Aside from that you have 4 ballhogs in the same starting lineup none of which can shoot well and a 5 who can't make a layup from 2 feet and a 4 who can't rebound. Definitely a receipe for succuess there. 5. Lebron definitely is mature, King James all the way. 6. Know what the prob is, somebody brought it up, Yao averaged 6 shots per game for the last 10 games, yet he ONLY scores 2.5 PPG less than Lebron. Lebron took 22 shots last game, 27 the one before that, 24 the one before that, you get the idea (I hope). Give Lebron Yao's average of 9.5 shots per game what does he end up with? Wow less than Yao. I did my calculation in an earlier post so I won't waste my breath on you. The funny thing is, Yao's team has a winning record and would be even better if any of his freakin' teammates can hit a wide open shot. Lebron takes all the shots in the world, scores dozens on a lower percentage, yet his team is still in the basement. If this is a hint of the things to come, Lebron better will turn into Darius Miles real quick. 7. Houston has done exactly what to allow Yao to be all that he can be? Is it that they traded for a better PG (nope)? Is it that they stop the old guard ISO play (can't tell the diff)? Is it that they got him the ball in better positions (no guard that can pass)? Is it that they told Steve no more boneheaded shots (as many as last year)? Is it that he got more shots (his 6 shots per game sure proves it)? Is it that he's not the 3rd option any more (I've seen stretches were he doesn't touch the ball for 10 minutes). So yes I definitely see a lot of improvements. 8. Yes bring up the "I'm a real fan" argument again. Some "Real Rockets Fans" always seem to quickly label another a "Yao Only Fan" when they can't think of an argument. Lame.
