Yao is an underachiever so far

I want to see him play consistently well in the playoffs. He can't overcome his physical weaknesses but I hope to see further improvement from him. I never thought of him as the next Olajuwon. Honestly,I didn't think he would be more than a 18/8 guy.

 

So name me another 7'-6" player who averaged 20pts and 10rebs for their career in the NBa? A better way to put it is Yao is setting the bar...

 

Yao is an overachiever, since he is above our expectation when he entered NBA, but Greg Oden is an underachiever, cuz he was supposed to be 2nd O'Neal or something

 

NBA #1 picks in the last decade:

Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Andrea Bargnani, Andrew Bogut, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Yao, Kwame Brown, Kenyon Martin, Elton Brand... and we'll go back one year more and list Michael Olowokandi.

Out of that list of 11, only LeBron and maybe Howard fit your criteria as potentially among the top 10 at their respective positions. Out of the last 10 (not counting Yao), Yao's impact is clearly superior to seven of them... and that's only because the jury is still out on Rose.

Yao's impact is far above my expectations... I don't know who in the world expected him, outside of you, to be the equivalent of Shaq on the Lakers. That's just bizarre. Your expectations are just ridiculous.

 

I'll say it again. Here's the last 10 #1 picks, not counting Yao: Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Andrea Bargnani, Andrew Bogut, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Yao, Kwame Brown, Kenyon Martin, Elton Brand, Michael Olowokandi. On what planet is Yao not playing like a #1 pick? He's clearly superior to eight of the last 10 right now!

Why do you have this bizarre obsession with labeling current players as exact reincarnations of players from previous eras? You first tried to say Yao was Ilgauskas/Smits, and were made a fool of. Now, you've crafted this strawman argument that he's not Hakeem/Shaq. Well, duh. He's not. No one said he was or should be. He's nowhere near quick enough to dominate the way those two did. But to set the bar for him to not underachieve at the Hakeem level is one of the silliest things I've ever heard.

He's a very good player, better than I expected him to be. Is he Shaq in his prime? No, but only a complete idiot would expect that. Moreover, only a complete idiot would think he would have to reach Shaq-numbers to justify being the No. 1 overall pick. He's already justified it and then some.

By the way, in case you didn't get the memo, basketball isn't a game of 1-on-1. You see, there are actually five players on the court at a time, with seven more ready to come in off the bench. Individual players do not win games or playoff series.

 

Read the last paragraph of what you quoted. When NBA playoff series are decided in 1-on-1 battles, you'll have a great point with that. Currently, they're decided by overall teams.

Hypothetical question, here. If the Celtics offered the Thunder a straight up swap of Ray Allen for Kevin Durant, the Thunder should definitely accept, right? I mean, Durant is complete garbage because his team is losing, and Allen has a ring!!!! (omgz!!!)

 

yao's career hasn't ended yet. a playoff series win is reachable. my concern is when the team with him wins a series. are you going to dig your azz off to find he is not the top scorer on the team and to say he is not the reason rox wins a playoff series? you may come back to demand more, such as yao is underachieved coz he hasn't win a title.

please just give a damnit bar so we can discuss it. now you are keeping changing your bar for yao when you discuss.

 

That is called bullet-proof or basket-proof.

 

TheCat- Just when people used to say that if robinson had barkleys attitude, he wouldve been the best player in the league. Yao's inconsistent dominance is more mental than physical. We have seen him play angry and dominate people and we have seen him let small guys take him out the game. He's good and not under/overrated either. The only stopping yao from being in mvp conversations is yao. Its all mental.

 

Yao has not gotten out of the first round but he gets a free pass due to his reputation of being a hard worker. Its time for Yao to step up.

 

Every one on our team and on this site is an under achiever......... what is your excuse for not being in the pros and not having a ring?

My excuse, there is no excuse, I guess i didn't work hard enough like Yao or AB.

Dude was there like 10 other Yao bashing threads? Oh wait its not bashing because of the results.

Can I please start a WHY did DREAM only win 2 rings thread while Jordan won more and people are happy about it here.

Compared to Jordan, would you say DREAM was a under achiever? If you won't I will.

All of chamillioinaire's CD's are under achievements compared to JayZ, right?

This site is so *&&*ed when this crap gets through because of member status!

 

This is an absolute dumb thread. Yao is one person hes averaging 20 and 10 without SheMac, what else do you want.

 

Look at other guys who were atleast 7'3 or taller in the past. Most people this tall shouldn't even be able to walk without pain or clumsiness, but all of these guys were able to play in the NBA for atleast a few seasons.

Ralph Sampson,
Gheorge Mureson
Shawn Bradley
Manute Bol
Priest Lauderdale,
Chuck Nevitt
Rik Smits
Zydranus Ilgauskus
Mark Eaton
Keith Closs
Arvydas Sabonis (past his prime in the NBA).

http://www.rootzoo.com/articles/vie...l/Top-10-Tallest-Players-In-NBA-History._6847

Of those, Ralph Sampson was the ONLY one who was a truly gifted athlete, BUT even in his best seasons, his numbers are similar to Yao's. His highest blocked shots average was 2.4 and his highest rebounding average was 11.1

http://www.rootzoo.com/articles/vie...l/Top-10-Tallest-Players-In-NBA-History._6847

Last year, Yao had his career high in rebounds 10.8 and tied for his highest blocked shot average 2 bpg.

http://www.rootzoo.com/articles/vie...l/Top-10-Tallest-Players-In-NBA-History._6847


Mark Eaton was certainly a force on defense blocking shots. He was truly a great shot blocker at his peak. But, in his 11 year career, he only averaged over 10 rebounds per game twice. He also averaged many blocks in an era where guards were no where near as athletic as they are today, not that he could help that, but I don't think he could block Lebron, Kobe, or Dwade or players like that 5 times per game. He was also gifted with a very long wingspan, where as Yao has short arms for his height. The difference is made up offensively between Yao and Eaton. Yao is not a stiff on offense. He has post moves and he can create for himself and he can hit an open jumper.

Ilguaskus and Smits are probably the 2 that are closest to Yao, atleast in terms of offensive skillset. They both have similar post moves and an even better shooting touch than Yao. Unfortunately, they both dealed with numerous foot problems throughout their career, which effected their game. Still, at their peaks, I think Yao is still much more physical and athletic than both of them. Rik Smits highest rebounding average was 7.7 and his highest blocks per game was 2.1. Ilgauskus's highest rebounding average was only 9.3, which was last year, but he did have a great year with blocking shots in 03-04 with 2.5 bpg.

Sabonis was by far the most skilled man that was atleast 7'3. His passing was comparable to Chris Webber's. He could shoot 3's with ease, and he had a decent post game in the NBA. He was a great athlete like Sampson, but he had devastating injuries as well, but he was able to adapt his game to his injuries. Due to those injuries, he had trouble running the floor, and moving laterally. He was never a dominant rebounder or shot blocker either due to these injuries. He only averaged 10 rebounds once in his NBA career and never averaged more than 1.3 bpg either.

Now those were the guys over 7'3 who had some skills and athleticism. None of them ever ended up being better than Yao. Now, if Sampson and Sabonis never had any major injuries, then they would clearly be better than Yao, but that wasn't the case. Big men are fragile, especially their knees and feet.

Here are the "stiffs":

Shawn Bradley, a poster waiting to happen, or an obstacle or gimmick for people getting ready to dunk. In all fairness, he was a pretty good shotblocker for 8 years, but he wasn't very athletic after his rookie year, and he was very limited offensively and was very thin. He was also a bad rebounder, with his highest average being 8.8 rpg.

Gheorghe Muresan had one decent year 14ppg, 9.3rpg, 2.3 bpg, but he only played 5 seasons and was very slow at running up and down the court.

Manute Bol was a great shotblocker for his first 8 years as well, but his highest rebounding average was 6, which was in his rookie season. Sadly, the man can barely walk these days and deals with much more important issues than basketball. He did have a nice 3 point shot occasionally though, which was surprising.

Kieth Closs only lasted 3 years in the NBA. Was a decent shotblocker in very limited minutes, but didn't do anything in the league, even with a light body (212 lbs.)

Priest Lauderdale was 7'4, 325 lbs (the heaviest player listed) but only lasted 74 games in the NBA through 2 seasons in the 90's.

Chuck Nevitt, a former Rocket, was 7'5, but only played in a 155 games over 12 years, just due to a lack of playing time, not injuries.

At 7'6, 310 lbs. Yao is very talented for his size. He is the second heaviest man listed here, and is the 4th tallest, being only an inch or so shorter than the guys in front of him.

It is an absolute miracle that he is as coordinated as he is, can run the floor, is strong, can shoot, make his own post move and create his own shot, AND recover from injuries, which is the most impressive thing about a man his size.

We can't keep comparing him to Dream or Shaq. Its just not fair to him. I know he is a #1 pick and all but he is not even supposed be able to do the things he does for this long.

People compared him to Smits and Ilgauskus, but obviously he is more physical and stronger than they are.

People compared him to Sabonis, but he can run the floor better and can score more on his own.

When he got injured, people compared him to Sampson, but he came back, almost to pre-injury form, if not a better overall player (improved passing).

He was also compared to Mark Eaton, but he is much more of an offensive force than Eaton, while still having a presence on defense.

Then, obviously he is better than the "stiffs" in his overall game.

We are lucky we didn't end up with another Shawn Bradley or Mureson, because at his size, thats what Yao should've been, but through hard work and practice, he didn't allow that to happen.

 

I wouldn't say its lack of athleticism. Jordan, Wilkins, and Drexler were amongst the greatest athletes ever.

I think the prevalence of the 3-point line in recent years has a much bigger impact on shot blocking totals. Offenses are more spread out in today's game.

 

I agree. I think with the zone in place today, the game is a bit more perimeter oriented. The point I was trying to make is that, there are more athletic guards today that are able to throw it down or get the ball over a guy like Eaton, who basically just stood in the way of the basket.

guards are also getting bigger with guys like Durant, Tmac, Lebron, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson, Travis Outlaw, Danny Granger, Brandon Roy etc.

Even the little guys can get up today as well, Nate Robinson, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Rondo, Ginobili, Dwade, etc.

Drexler and Wilkins were considered freakishly huge back in the 80's, and that was part of what made them great. Same with Magic Johnson. Jordan, Drexler, and Wilkins were easily the top athletic guards of their time as well, by a mile.

I know Lebron is considered huge today, but that is more because of his 260 lbs., not because of being 6'8. That was basically the point I was trying to make. But I definitely agree with about the 3 point line affecting the game.

 

You're right. Yao will also be happy if he can be traded cause Rockets is so ****ty now.

 

bball is not tennis or golf. that's why.

(same applies to mcgrady's critics, too.)