At the beginning, when we first got Yao, i never expected him to play the way shaq does. He depended on his midrange jumpers and finess to score. HE has been developing his post work a lot though. The past month he has really blown it up, and completely controls the paint. His strength, like shaqs, helps get him into real good post postion and just dominate. He doesnt slam it home, but the layups and glass shots still get the job done. I am really liking the triple teams. Yao is easily the best center in the nba and has definetly surpassed Shaq. Not only does he have Shaqs strength, he also adds finess to it, being able to hit midrange jumpers and fadeaways and even drive to the basket. If we get a Laker like supporting cast for the big man, we easily have a title team.
Yao hasn't quite surpassed Shaq yet. Shaq isn't the player he once was, but he's still the best center in the game in my view. But over the past few weeks, the gap has closed down tremendously. The position that Yao is better isn't laughable anymore -- I'll put it that way.
...and to think that some fans here were willing for Yao to be just a jump shooting center. I am glad JVG and Tom Thibodeau disagreed with some of you tyros. No one in the NBA can stop Yao downlow now save for maybe Shaq and Big Z (and they could be out of the league or much less effective in about 2 years from now). Keep bullying them down low Yao.
Yao is better than Shaq this year!!!! no question!!!!..... Yao=Best Center in NBA.....in 06' and beyond!!!!
The current Yao post All-Stars (averaging 27pts, 14rbs) has definitely surpassed the current Shaq. Shaq might have been better in the begining of the season, but not anymore. Infact, it would be hard to find a better player than Yao post All-Stars, the numbers he is putting up whilst accumulating wins is amazing. Hope he can keep it up for the years to come! -G'day-
I think Yao needs an alter ego. Shaqs got "Superman, Man of Steel" and "The Diesel" Maybe he can be the Samurai
ehhh... first of all, we may all look alike, but all asians aren't the same.. assuming u know yao is chinese and samurai is japanese and u know SOMETHING about asian history, you'd know that would NEVER happen.. many chinese(as do many other countries in the region) still resent the japanese for what they did during their imperialism.. same reason yao refused to be spokesman for toyota..
I know all asians aren't the same, but I don't know many Chinese Super Heroes. He was the closest I could think of.
not very close at all.. u havent learned anything have u? do u even realize the more u speak the more ignorant u sound?
Christ...I'm Chinese and I'm not offended by it. He's just trying to come up with a superhero of some sort. BFD!
I'm of Chinese ethnic descent as well, and I didn't find anything wrong with what he was saying. Seriously, this whole "minority mentality" that needs to stop. You start to see "racism" when there isn't any.
Have Samurais ever been to China? Probably, but Fuxi, Shennong or Huangdi are not known in the states.
There are chinese chinese, and there are american/canadian/british/... chinese. there is a subtle difference. i will say that much only, because i don't want to turn this into a d&d thread.
I disagree with the original premise. Yao is like Shaq in that he's a big freaking man. OTOH, Shaq's success is derived by an incredible combination of (a) size but (b) unnatural quickness for a man his size. Yao's success is due to (a) size and (b) high skill level for such a large man. In fact, Yao and Shaq's secondary skills (and I call them secondary, since neither would likely be in the NBA if they were 6'2) are diametrically opposite. Yao is still a finesse player, Shaq is still...Shaq. The difference is that Yao has learned to utilize his skills more close to the basket. He's still slow - he just knows how to protect the ball a little better now.
Back on topic : There's no denying the fact that Yao has come a long, long way since his rookie days in terms of his physical play. Seeing him play post-all star break has made it abundantly clear that he isn't bothered by the physicality of the opponents. He's also dishing it out as well as anybody in the league (sans a healthy/younger shaq perhaps)..Keep it up Yao!
Look, krnxsnoopy is just saying that this Samurai idea aint gonna fly with yao. I am of chinese decent too, it does sound wierd to me, a chinese american as a samurai... what the heck? it is like labeling a russian guy, "Napoleon", a french girl "Queen Elizabeth", an british dude "Bismarck", does that sound right? yeah they are all white, and it is all mixed up here in states, but it is not like that in Asia and Europ yet, give them some respect. Loop
