Yao had two big games in a row, is he officially over the wall now? BTW, Stoudamire seemed to have hit a wall recently as well. Although he did well in last game against the Clippers, how come no one talks about him hitting the rookie wal? So is this still a two men race now? Or do Wagner/Butler have a chance as well?
Yep. Teams are scouting his favorite moves big time! Stoudamire is finding it increasingly difficult with that thing they call "shooting." Heh heh...
Stoudemire had something like 17/7 today against Clippers after 2 single degit scoring games. Apparently his "rookie wall" period was not as long as Yao. That's why no one talked about it. And in nba.com, they had Caron Bulter as No. 1 in last week's rookie ranking. Stoudemire was No. 2, Yao No. 3.
Check his last 8 games. Then, check the 8 before that... Then you'll see the difference. Also, Yao's not out the wood yet. The All-Star hasn't even happened (mid-season). Wait until the 2nd half of the season.
Actually, mid-way point of the season was four games ago. I would want to see Yao play well a little longer before making any judgement, though.
There is no race. First month of the season, Caron Butler, Drew Gooden and Yao. Second month, Yao and Dejuan Wagner. Third month, Amare Stoudamire and Yao. This month, Yao and ______ (fill in the blank). By the end of the seaon, Yao will be ROY. Amare who?
I think this is too optimistic. Caron Butler is very consistent over these few months. Wagner, Yao, Gooden and Stoudemire has encountered some kind of "rookie wall" and may not be effective some time. If these guys remain inconsistent. Butler will be the ROY.
No. One thing with these guys is that Yao's the only one that's always been either in the spotlight or close in the background. No other rook can claim this. Butler remains consistent cuz he hasn't shown anything that other teams deem worthy to give him respect (ie. tight D, doublt/triple teams). With the amount of PT he's been getting (37-38 mpg) he should be showing a lot more spark and better stats, especially on a team that has almost nobody and he's pretty much the 1st option. As for Amare, he's just the latest flavor of the day. He can't hit the broad side of a barn from 6 feet out. So now that teams are playing better D on him he's having troubles. Yao also has troubles, but his fatigue (also other issues, eg. our guards' play, cough cough) is more the issue than the rookie wall because he had been double teamed earlier in the seaon too and it didn't make much difference. The thing I like about him is that he contributes even when his shooting is off, such as boards and D. When the smoke clears, it will be Yao.
Yao Ming did not hit a Rookie Wall! His slow down was only because of stupid and greedy play of the Guards. He was only being given a token involvement in the Game. It looks like all the sabotage is over and the petty jealousy. It looks like Rudy T got mad enough to cause the Guards to follow the game plan.
What makes you say he's being consistent? how about the 2 point 2 rebound game in 31 mintutes on Jan.15? or the 6pts 1 board in NY on Jan. 20? of course he's had a few other 'monster' 13/2 and 11/2 game in almost 30 mins. a game each? In thats just in January! He's had even more bad games in December...4/2, 6/4, 5/1, 6/7...thats points and rebounds in 30 minutes or more of action each game. Oh and did I mention, his team is DEAD LAST in the atlantic division. Hey vcchlw, you a heat fan? You must be if you're spewing out a ridiculous statement like Caron Butler is anywhere near close to ROY. Instead of just making a statement without any facts,why don't you show us some numbers that show why he's a better rookie than Yao or Stoudemire? he doesn't make his teamates better, which is apparent with is near 1/1 assists to turnover ratio! He shoots a horrible 40% from the field....28% from 3s(ouch). All these and he's getting 37 minutes per game...LOL, you know the heat suck if they're giving this guy this much time.
lol...Severe Rockets Fan...I thought you were talking about Yao!!! Yeah...Caron Butler cannot win Rookie of the Year. Amare can. But Amare has not done THAT well lately, either. He erupted later than Yao. Yao just went crazy for a while and then hit "The Wall". Now Amare is showing signs of "The Wall". I hope he continues to struggle. Go Yao! Yao's story is impressive. He has gone through a lot. He has done a lot for the Rockets. But so has Amare. Amare's story is also very moving. He has also gone through a lot. And he has been very valuable for the Suns. BUT YAO SHALL WIN THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR!!! If only he took more than 9 shots a game...
I would actually wager that Yao Ming probably won the Rookie of the Year award in that first minute of play against the Lakers. Baring a complete collapse of his play, I think he wins it because of that minute. When the people are filling out their RoY ballots, they're going to look at Yao vs Amare vs Caron. Amare will have nice numbers, but his biggest game was essentially extended garbage time. Caron will have nice numbers too, but he'll be hurt by the fact that his team is so horrible. Yao Ming will be on a playoff team, and he'll have a signature moment - Shaquille O'Neal went straight at him, and unlike anyone since Olajuwon, he didn't bend, he stood his ground and stoned him on multiple possessions, and then took it to him on the offensive end. Whether or not he deserves it, and I think he does but I can understand if you disagree, Yao Ming will have that enormous moment where he stood up to O'Neal and threw his stuff right back in his face. I think that will be the difference in the RoY voting.
Neither did Yao continually missing 2 foot layups that he should be dunking. To put the blame entirely on others in the organization is being blind. Yao had several opportunities to score and still didn't capitalize. He'll continue having those problems when teams rotate their d onto him, and he's not expecting it. If he's not being doubled, he has an advantage, but double-teams he doesn't see coming completely fluster him.
Who's the better player: Amare or Yao? Here's the answer: Yao. Why? Both players are great. Both players can score at will (12.8 vs 12.8). Amare is slightly better at rebounding (9.1 vs 8.1). Yao is better at FT (.765 vs .670). Yao gets less minutes (27.2 vs 31.1). Yao has higher FG% (.525 vs .455). Yao has more blocks (1.96 vs .94). Yao is ranked 12th in blocks (12th vs 38th). Yao has more assists (65 vs 40). Yao has less turnovers (87 vs 109). Now, lets talk about a few intangibles... Last year the Rockets record was 28-54. The Sun was 36-46. Which rookie will help his team win a greater increase in winning percentage? Sure, you can always say that Francis on IR was the reason. But in the end, all people will remember is the fact that Yao wasn't with the team last year, but he was this year. Perception is reality. Even if the Sun have more wins this season, they still have to win more than 8 games to just break even with us last year. We're 2 games behind now. Next issue is Yao's FG% vs Amare's. Most of Amare's scores are dunks. That's his strength. The power-game. But, if that's the case, why is he shooting .45% from the field. That's not very good for PF that dunks most of the time. So, it's not only the fact that Yao take less shots per game than Amare (402 vs 468), but his shots have more variety than Amare's. Even so, Yao's FG% is still better (.525 vs .455). Next, double-teaming. NBA teams around the league have spent more time trying to figure out what Yao's weak points are. They've done the same thing to Amare. Now I ask you this: If a player is unstoppable one-on-one, what do you do? You double-team him. And which player has better passing ability to find the open man out of the double-team? Yao. Enough said.
