Yao Ming has not peaked by any means. The guy is athletic, coordinated, smart as hell, and freakin huge. He just may surprise us all and give Shaq a run for his money. Doubtful as that may be its a possibility. And in 2 years I dont know who there will be who can possibly play him. He can shoot, he can board, he can pass, he can block shots, and that guy loves to play the game. I dont know what it is but seein him fist pump after a big dunk but whtever it is I like it. Yao's got game and there is plenty more to come. No Yao-bt about it.
Tell ya what; I'll bet you as much as you want to stake that Yao's numbers at the end of this rookie season, at least, are better than Smits in: PPG, RPG, BPG, APG, and FG%. Let me know if you're interested.
It's after 1 A.M. it's garbage time now. In fact....game over: BBS trounces Polypheus. Geez, Poly, what posssessed you to make a post like this? Sure you received a lot of responses, but you can credit that to the same grusome human tendency that causes people to tune in to the Jerry Springer Show just to watch someone make a fool of himself wearing a diaper in front of a hostile audience. You've been called a troll, a moron, and an idiot, and (my fav)"Polypus". This kind of attention......it's not a healthy thing. Your foray into the BBS reminds me of a Seinfeld episode (Yeah ...time on my hands....watch lots of late night tv.) in which Kramer, after partying all night, participates in an AIDS march but refuses to wear the AIDS ribbon. Oh yeah. He took a beating too. Change your ways. When you come to this BBS, go ahead and wear the Yao Ming ribbon, or you may find your own career as a poster has already peaked after 20 games of this young season. Uh, thanks for the laughs.
Agreed that Yao Ming did hit something in the last game with that uncharacteristic 5-14 shooting. Wait... this was the "rookie wall" !!! How we all imagine a shooting slump of 40% ! Sky is the limit ! His style of play tells me that he will maintain that 60% FG this season, and many more to come...
how exactly can you compare ming to smits? they have nothing in common except for the fact that they are both tall. the only reason you brought up smits is because everyone else was comparing yao to smits before the draft as the best case scenario comparison. its already pretty damn clear yao is much much more than smits. smits was nowhere near the passer yao is. smits was nowhere near the rebounder. smits was nowhere near the presence on D that yao is. you gave out smits' numbers, but did you even look at them? i don't think you did. and if you did...did you then compare the numbers to what yao is doing? how does someone who gets better every game suddenly start peaking in your mind? did you even watch the kings game? do you even remember the shots yao took? they were not forced shots...he was just missing shots that he normally makes. i think threads that are started by people with less than 5 posts should be automatically screened for their stupidity.
geez, did you say the same thing about KG, TMac, and Kobe after their first year? Noone is stupid enough to say a guy's already peaked physically and stat wise after only 20 games, that's just plain foolishness. Oh and I watched Rik Smits many years, he is a complete stiff compared to Yao Ming, maybe it was cuz he had messed up ankles, but Yao Ming could run laps aorund this guy. DOn't go making general statements when it ain't true.
yao is gonna end this season averaging at least 18 points and 9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks and the rookie of the year honor. he'll prolly have a season high of 40 points and 24 rebounds and 6 blocks. he has not reached his peak however though.
Why does everyone want to ban this guy ? Don't you guys like to have a good laugh ? I've greatly enjoyed this thread ! Polymorphism, if you think about it, Yao has not only reached his peak, his numbers have already started to decline....just look at his last 2 games....they've gone way down !
I don't believe this at all. The first thing that's going to improve is his defense and in particular his helping defense as he grows more accustomed to his teammates. If you've paid any attention to him at all, you know that Ming is exceptionally quick for his size, if at times a bit clumsy, so while defenses will adjust to his play, and they may take away his 70% shooting, other things will happen to his game: * As he knows more offensive plays and other players learn his moves, the odds of him developing a "money shot" and/or play improve. * With an explosive scorer like Francis, the two man offensive game will definitely improve. Finally there is the general trend in "two way" games such as baseball and basketball that a player's defense is usually strongest as a young man and that his offense gets better as he ages, up to about 35 or so. Power and speed get replaced by understanding and guile, and that leads to lessened defense, and a slightly better offense. As an example, look at Ozzie Smith's offensive stats over the course of his career; alternatively, look at Hakeem's stats as he aged. They both show the same pattern. What we're seeing *now* is largely the result of Ming's talent and steadily improving conditioning. And to say there won't be substantial improvement in Yao once he has a training camp and a year of familiarity with his teammates under his belt is just naive. Heck, this whole team is still trying to figure out how to play together. Rudy T has openly said they're playing a pared down offense to get Ming up to speed. Consequently, how can someone be so certain he's incapable of improvement any more? Finally, this guy has far better moves and offensive skills than Dikembe Mutombo had, and the numbers you're suggesting offensively are in the Dikembe range. The high end of Ming's scoring potential is hard to gauge. But he's way too smooth to be stuck at 18 ppg for his career. Dave.
PUT THE BOTTLE DOWN! The man has the flu and still does alright. Before the game he was listed as doubtful, but still played. He's only 22 years old. How could he have already reached his peak? There is a 10 step program you might want to look into. Go see if you can take a seat next to Dicky V at a HS school game.
Basketball is a team sport. Jordan peaked his individual scoring dominance to a ridiculous 37 ppg in one season in the 80's, but his team didn't peak at an NBA championship until the 90's. Peak championship qualities is not just physical, more of it is mental.
The other teams and Yao Ming himself will make adjustments to each other. He has not peaked yet, not even close. As for his shooting, well, even Iversion shoot lousy sometimes, like 5 of 16.
