Is Yao Ming’s selection to the All-Star game valid or just another reason why fans should not pick the starters. Well we all know his numbers are good for a rookie 13 pts, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks are not bad at all for a rookie center but are they All-Star numbers? Well how about these numbers: Yao Ming (23 games as a starter): 15.3 points per game 1.9 assists per game 9.4 rebounds per game 2.48 blocks per game .805 free throw percentage .517 field goal percentage 31 minutes a game Those are the averages of Yao Mings last 23 games which just happen to be his averages as a starter. Those numbers do not include the 30 point 16 rebound explosion in Dallas nor do they include the 20 point 100% shooting night in LA. Do the likes of Caron Butler, Drew Gooden, Dajuan Wagner and Jay Williams really think they can match that as starters? For that matter how does Amare Stoudemire match up as a starter. Caron Butler (started all games): 13.5 points per game 2.4 assists per game 5.3 rebounds per game 1.54 steals per game .849 free throw percentage .406 field goal percentage 35.7 minutes a game Drew Gooden (24 games as a starter): 13.6 points per game 1.7 assists per game 6.3 rebounds per game .662 free throw percentage .472 field goal percentage 29.1 minutes a game Dajuan Wagner (20 games as a starter): 17.2 points per game 3.3 assists per game 1.6 rebounds per game 1.15 steals per game .798 free throw percentage .377 shooting percentage Jay Williams (all games as a starter): 10 pts per game 5.5 assists per game 3.1 rebounds per game 1.4 steals per game .566 free throw shooting .381 field goal percentage 29.9 minutes a game Amare Stoudemire (26 games as a starter): 14.3 points per game 9.5 rebounds per game .673 free goal percentage .504 field goal percentage There is the comparison of Yao Ming as a starter to the other so called rookie of the year candidates’ stats as starters. In my humble opinion Yao Ming has the best overall stats listed. Amare Stoudemires stats are hard to believe when you remember that the guy just turned 20 and he will still be 20 when next season starts! These two are going to have a very good battle for ROY with Butler and Wagner fighting for a distant 3rd. Jay Williams numbers do not even compare to guy’s like Francis and Iverson during their rookie years. Back to the point of the thread. There is no question that Yao Ming deserves to be in the all star game and his stats while he has been a starter more than backs that statement up. Many people have wondered what kind of numbers that Yao Ming would be producing if he had the luxury of an off season, training camp and pre-season. I think this basically answers that question to some degree although his numbers might be even better. Unfortunately the stats do not keep track of all the intangibles he brings to the team.
Shaquille O'Neal 26.5 points per game 2.8 assists per game 11.0 rebounds per game 2.3 blocks per game .582 FG% .593 FT% 37.1 minutes per game I don't think you can make a statistical argument for why Yao should be starting over O'Neal. He gets more blocks and shoots better from the free throw line, but O'Neal leads him in every other category. All the same, I'm voting for Yao.
I think that Yao definitely belongs to the all-star team (2rd best center in the NBA). He should be the backup center behind Shaq, though.
Yao should not be starting, but that's the fans decision. It's not Yao's fault they like him. Until they change how allstars are voted in.....Yao is the starting center. Nothing wrong with that.
I think there shouldn't even be an issue of "deserving or not". The only players that deserve to start in an All-Star game are the players voted in by the fans. Period. Stats or no stats is a totally different matter. We are talking about the All-"STAR" game here. Star as in Star players, not Best players. Star players are popular players (like your Hollywood stars?), that's it. If Brad Pitt (Yeah, from Fight Club and Seven) could be voted in, he would lead the ballots because half the girls in the country would have voted for him, just to see him on the court. Shaq only deserves to start in an All-NBA-Best team, if it existed. That's deserving.
Exactly. Yao should be in the all-star game as the first center off the bench. Unfortunately if he isn't voted in as the starter, there is no way to ensure he would be the first center off the bench. Without a doubt he has been the 2nd best center this year in the West, the best one in the West when Shaq hasn't been playing. He is deserving of an all-star birth, but being a rookie if you are not voted in your chances are slim even if deserving for a back-up role, so I don't feel bad that Yao is getting voted in as a starter. The PHX people are getting scrwed, but not because of Amare, because of Marion. Marion should be right there after TD, KG and Dirk as the 4th leading forward and shoe in for a back-up spot. Amare, as solid and immensly promising as he is, is way down on the list as far as the Western C elite forwards, unlike Yao with the WC elite centers. As far as Amare vs. Yao on the ROY, Yao gets a big bonus for his blocks, higher assists and higher FG/FT shooting. Also, just my opinion, but I think Yao is likely to finish stronger because teams for a few weeks (or months even) teams have already started focusing on him and he has responded, Amare has been playing next to an all-star forward and Amare will only get increased focus as teams learn they can't just focus on Marion. This all said I love what Amare bring to the Suns--it is just Yao brings even more dimension to the Rockets.
JuanValdez, This thread was not intended to debate the issue of Yao Ming as a starter in the All-Star game. Sorry, I guess the first sentence of my post is a little mis-leading. The point I was trying to make with the first sentence was that Yao Ming is a deserving all star player and I was just trying to use that to help illustrate how good Yao Ming has been. I then went on to compare his stats as a starter against the stats of the other top rookies just to get a good measuring stick of Yao Mings progress. As a starter Yao Ming is averaging 15, 10 and 2.5 and I think that more than justifies all the hype givin to a rookie center from China.
