While I am absolutely in what the heck mode regarding Dwyer's rankings of Oden over Yao, I do think criticizing him as trolling for hits (for God's sake, you're treating Dwyer like he's freaking Solomon) is crap. He has his reasons, and he's posted a reasonable explanation for it. I think it will be proven wrong, but there is no need for personal attacks on frankly the best NBA columnist out there today.
You wrote an opinion piece. A rankings series in fact. Did you not expect this kind of backlash? From a rabid fanbase in one of the most active NBA forums? Suck it up, princess. You're paid to deal with this, so deal with it. Coming in here and acting like we've done you wrong by expressing our opinions on an online message board is sad. You should know that ranking any center not named Howard above Yao is blasphemous here. In fact, ranking DH above Yao would still be argued vehemently against here. If you didn't expect this kind of reaction, then you have a lot to learn about hardcore sports fans.
You can spin it all you want, but the fact is that he ranked Oden above Yao. Why? Less injury prone? I disagree because the kid has been injured every year since college. There must be something up with his body if that's the case. You don't just keep getting injured because of a few flukes here and there. FYI, his last three injuries were: his foot, a chipped left kneecap, and a fractured left patella (kneecap). I don't know what universe considers significant injuries to the same part of your body twice in consecutive years to be "unrelated", but it sure as hell ain't this one. Note that all his NBA injuries have been in his lower body. Sound familiar? Do increased stats equal a better player? Just because Oden plays more minutes (and I'm doubtful he'll get over that 22 mpg mark coming off yet another major injury), doesn't mean he's a better player. Additionally, just as Yao has to readjust to a new line-up, Oden has to adjust to having another center to battle with for PT in Marcus Camby. It just doesn't make sense to me to rank someone raw yet similarly injury prone like Oden over Yao.
LOL you're a professional writer, why are you being offended by people disagreeing with your work? If you have such thin skin why are you writing on an online site where people can snipe at you from the anonymity of the net? No need to take the posts here personally, as most of the people just post whatever comes into their head. And anyway your rankings are just based on the upcoming season, so I don't see why age (22 vs 30) is that big a factor. More importantly Oden will probably play less minutes than Ming-both of them are recovering, but Oden has two guys are also just defensive/rebounding centers (Pryz, Camby) with him on the rotation. Finally yes, its just one spot, so what? Fans will always nitpick the most minute of details, and stuff like this is good fodder for discussion. That's the whole point, is it not?
Cut the man some slack. He has every right to express his view. It's his blog and he earns his pay check. In the end it doesn't matter who is Ranked higher, it matters if Yao can play till July. At the end of the day, we are all Rocket Fans. Now let's go back and discuss how DD thinks Melo is a low life
He's higher on Oden than you and most others here. Is that allowed? He evidently thinks the chances of a recurring injury is less with Oden than with Yao. And youth is on Oden's side (22 vs 30), meaning its more likely that Oden "breaks out" this season than Yao. Again, 10 vs 11. Who cares? It doesn't make sense to me to make such a big deal over something so minor. I guess people need a reason to complain. When I see projected rankings that are a bit unconventional, and I know its coming from a guy who follows watches basketball religiously, that tends to pique my interest rather than anger me.
Maybe you should cut back on the hours of watching nba games. You probably didn't realize that your head was far stuck up in your ass that you did not realize it has clouded and damaged your judgement beyond repair. Oh and no way you can rank Oden above any other 2nd or 3rd tier center in the nba because he had not proven anything yet.
