doesn't matter about other competition, unless they averaged close to 30 and took their teams to 4 straight wins as well I'm liking Van Gundy's system. fmuck the announcers with them saying we can't have easy transition buckets. We don't need them. We get it our way, the dominant way.
Been paying attention to Zach Randolph this season? His team may not be 5-2, but at 4-3 the Blazers are definitely overachieving and a lot of it has to do with Randolph's efforts... 28.5 ppg 10.5 rpg 1.7 apg 1.3 spg 51% FG 92% FT Yao should get it, which I already agreed with, but it's not exactly a landslide.
Chris Wilcox Troy Murphy Kevin Garnett Elton Brand Lamar Odom Chandler/West (Yao played them as well) Dirk Nowitzki So, basically a solid group of guys that includes no less than 3 MVP candidate type players, and at least one other All-Star level player. Is that impressive enough, or do you happen to be a YOF?
Good points, but you missed my main point, which is Yao took the Rockets to FOUR STRAIGHT WINS while having the monster stats this week. The Rockets simply didn't lose. The Blazers lost twice and won twice. So yeah, I'd say Yao gets the POW by a landslide. And no, I'm not a YOF. I despise terms like YOF and YOH. It's degrading to the Rockets and their fans.
I realize that, but I still take expectations into account. This is the Portland Trailblazers, who were picked by many to be the absolute worst team in the league. If each team kept winning at roughly the same pace, the Rockets would be a top 3 team in the West which is very impressive, but only slightly higher than expected. On the other hand, if Portland keeps winning at this rate, they'll actually make the playoffs which would be nothing short of amazing. As long as both players maintained a high level of production throughout the season, I'd say they'd both be in the thick of the MVP race. Same thing for POW, but on a much smaller scale of course. Again, I agree that Yao deserves it and I definitely give him the slight edge this week, but Randolph (and the Blazers) have been VERY impressive considering expectations (and not having LaMarcus Aldridge). It's not a huge margin in my mind, especially since the media loves to jump on the new/surprise sensation which in this case would be the "new" Zach Randolph.
Yao should be the lock w/ the 4-0 week. Dosn't really mean much to me. Yao is more than capable for these type of awards. Look for many more to come as long the team keeps winning.
Now before the result of POW is announced, here's a complete look on the top two WC candidates: Code: Player REC MIN PTS FG-A FG% FT-A FT% OFF DEF TOT BLK AST 3PT-A 3PT% STL TO PF Yao 4-0 36.25 29 44-79 0.557 28-31 0.903 1.75 9.5 11.25 2.5 2.25 0-0 n/a 0.5 4.75 4 Zach 2-2 36.25 28.25 35-71 0.493 42-47 0.894 3.75 6.75 10.5 0.75 1.25 1-2 0.5 1.75 3 2.75 - Yao and Randolph played exactly the same minutes ... lol. - Yao is clearly a better shooter with distinct higher field goal shooting percentage. - Randolph grabbed more offensive boards but Yao maintains the lead on total rebounds. - Both shot extremely well from the free throw line as big men. - Advantages to Yao on blocks as well as assists (what a pleasant surprise here). - Randolph did better than Yao on steals, turnovers, and personal fouls. - Team record, Yao hands down. That is indisputable and should be given with considerable weight over such hoopla as *media expectation*. Besides, Yao played 3 out of 4 games on the road, with back-to-back earlier in the week. Randolph has one advantage, which is 3 consecutive 30+ games, but not much else. It will be a travesty of objectivity, fairness, and justice if Yao doesn't win the WC POW.
Did they do POW awards for the first few games? I didn't think they did, therefore I figured that the first few games might be taken into consideration even if they weren't technically this week. That's one reason I consider it a bit closer between Yao and Zach.
They sure did last week, i.e., the very 1st week of the season. I don't see why they won't do it for the 2nd week. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=nbaplayersoftheweek&prov=st&type=lgns
LOL Yao deserves that! He didn't get enough respects from those professionals, especially when he was only selected as the 3rd team center.
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=148441 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Deveney's SportingBlog The real Yao Ming finally steps forward November 13, 2006 1. Player of the Week: Yao Ming, Rockets. Seems we're finally seeing that Yao we were promised back when he was the top pick in the 2002 draft. In a 4-0 week for the Rockets, Yao averaged 29 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. More than numbers, though, Yao looked mean and confident, the way he looks when he plays for the Chinese national team. He was posting and re-posting. He was waving for the ball, shouting for the ball, demanding the ball. He had an emphatic dunk on a pick-and-roll with Tracy McGrady late in Sunday's win over Miami (yes, he crushed Shaq. Alonzo Mourning, too). McGrady has struggled, and Yao has made it clear that he can carry the load when that happens. For a week, at least. Rockets fans will want to see a year of this Yao before they start dreaming of championship trophies, but Yao seems to be in the best shape of his career, looking perky even in fourth quarters. In past years, he spent most of the fourth quarter either on the bench or clutching his shorts as he tried to get his wind. Not anymore. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- my favorite compliment is how he says yao ming looks "mean" YUS!
