Slightly in favor of Yao, but you also have to consider the quality of defenders we have next to Yao and off the bench. Also, the Magic got crushed in the first game, where as Houston convincingly won game 1 by pretty good margin. Howard wins the battle on the boards and blocks, though. Still, Yao averaged over 11 rebounds, though and big reason for stealing game 1. Howard is been pretty ineffective against the Lakers. Also, I believe the refs are letting them playing, unlike what happened in the Houston series. About half of Yao's fouls were very questionable and ticky tac. Yao put much greater physical toll on LA than Dwight is currently doing, don't if it will stay that way...but for as good as Dwight is as a center. He is not a far and away greater center than Yao. THe difference between them in effectiveness from offensive combined with defense and impact on the game is separation of maybe a few inches.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090609 "Howard's Game 2 line actually looks rather thorough: 17 points, 16 boards, four blocks, four steals and four assists. But he didn't even touch the ball on Orlando's final eight possessions of the extra period.... Just to be clear: Howard is certainly not blameless here. Life would be undoubtedly easier if he had at least one trusty go-to move down low, as you've been hearing for ages, or if he could step off the block with a decent face-up jumper that he simply has to develop. Howard can also still be a shaky passer out of the swarms, as seen in Game 2 when he had seven of Orlando's fate-sealing 20 turnovers. At 23, Howard has lots to polish if he wants to keep coming back to the Finals." Even ESPN can see what I'm talking about. If Howard had some type of REAL post up game with some foot work and BBall IQ, he would be dominating right now. Yao is the center in the league that has that. Same with Tim Duncan, KG, Shaq, even Al Jefferson. Even Amare Stoudamire and Boozer have good jumpers from mid range to rely on. Hopefully he'll realize that at 270 lbs, no matter how big and strong you are, there will be teams with centers just big, strong or tall or bigger, stronger, and taller than him. He needs to develop this for his own good otherwise he won't make it back to the Finals.
If Howard is double teamed, he's basically useless. This Finals series basically highlighted some of Howard's weaknesses and it's painfully evident that he needs to develop a go-to move and improve his otherwise non-existent outside shooting.
If Yao was healthy, he'd be the best center in the world. But having the best center in the world on your team doesn't really mean much if his health forces him to bail on us when we need him the most. It doesn't take an entire team defense to stop Yao, just a fronting defense. Takes two, maybe just one player depending on the player, along with Yao's current stamina level, which we know can drain in a hurry. At this point, he is actually contributing negatively to the team. Would a team with Dwight ever have to worry about this scenario? At least Howard's defense and rebounding would consistently make him a positive producer on the court. I just think about what the Rockets would be like if they had Howard instead of Yao. Unlike Dwight, Yao is a go to guy that will get plenty of post touches. You can't say that about Howard... BUT, is that necessarily a bad thing for this Rockets team? I say no, because it's clear that Yao directly inhibits Scola's post game. Scola went into absolute beast-mode in Game 6 vs Lakers, it was incredible. Speaking of Luis, how awesome would a Howard/Scola frontcourt be? You have one guy with the raw talent, but hops who can D up and rebound. The other guy isn't as quick and athletic, but is much more talented offensively and is an experienced, crafty veteran who can hit the outside jumper. Dwight and Scola would complement each other perfectly. We'd also be able to play at a faster tempo, and since Dwight isn't an offensive force, we wouldn't be force feeding him the ball, therefore increasing flow to the offense. Dwight would be one hell of a role player on this team, and we'd be better defensively of course.
What you said is absolutely crap. 1, Yao's current stamina level is OK, he played some 40+ minutes in playoff games and still was a factor in the end. 2. How is Yao contributing negatively to the team? per 48 minutes, Rockets +8 when Yao was on the court, -4 when Yao was not, is that the definition of contributing negatively? 3. Yao's defense has improved so much year after year, he didn't score much in Portland's series, Besides attracting double teams, his rebounding and defense was a huge key for Rockets to hold off Portland's bigs, if you still remember those games, or if you wateched at all. 4. Scola went beast in first quarter game 6 against lakers, true. But how do you draw conclusion that it's Yao holding him back? Yao has had bigger first guarter and bigger half even bigger game time after time before, his offensive efficiency is also better than Scola's even with all those double and triple teams, why is it a crime going to Yao instead of Scola? 5. Yao and Scola also play off each other quite nicely if you haven't noticed. Scola got tons of open jumpers because of the fronting on Yao. Your assumption of Howard/Scola combo would do much better than that is just pure speculation. If Howard with 2 all star players and good defenders with him can't beat Lakers, don't just assume that would happen if he played on Rockets.
i admit he's not a dominant offensive center like the all-time players are, and most likely will never be (it's baffling that howard can be all-nba 1st team, but that tells you the center position today) but he did put up 16 boards, 4 blocks, 4 steals, and 4 assists in game 2. he's a pretty good all-around player who severely lacks a low post game.
Oh my god... You guys can keep saying it over and over and over but you can't substantiate it with anything meaningful. Yao was healthy all year until he broke his foot in the playoffs. Howard outscoured Yao, outrebounded Yao, outblocked Yao, outshot Yao, won the DPOY, was first team all-nba, first team all-nba defense, and has his team in the NBA Finals. Only in your fandom is Yao the best center in the world.
Dude, you obviously have to realize that Yao Ming is reason we made it to the second round of the playoffs altogether. Secondly, Yao Ming had showed some real fire and all around good play against the lakers prior to his foot injury sometime early in game 3. Finally, Howard has played substantially worse against the lakers than in any of Orlando's prior playoff series this year. YAO MING is the man! We need to keep the big guy healthy next year . . . hopefully taking the summer off from playing will do just that.
Yao sees the type of defense that Howard is just beginning to see in the Finals day in and day out. Which teams dont double or triple Yao other then the one with Shaq and Howard. Howard doesn't command that kind of double because Yao can hit the fade away from outside the key or roll in for a layup in only one man on him. Dwight can really prove himself him this Final series but so far hes been okay. Worst then Yao showed against the Lakers when healthy.
Well I can also assume that a if Yao was on Magic, both Hedo (could perhaps be even more wild the scola, driving in from weak side but not as good of rebounder) and Rashard will be a lot more free and can run wild. Plus JJ will be open for 3s all day long like Alston and Battier. Other teams will force the others to step up and guard Yao. But thats only speculation. Have people forgot that Dwight has just as good if not a bit better supporting cast then Yao with Tmac out.
Needs to watch what?? The biggest thing DH is better than Yao is his raw athletic ability, and I guess you can't learn his 40-inch vertical from watching. DH has no go-to move. No mid-range and poor foul shooting. Not much footwork. His passing is not as good as Yao. His 7 TO in last game shows that once he is doubled and getting a lot of body contacts uncalled like what Yao routinely receives, he is also TO prone. Skill wise Yao doesn't have much to learn from DH.
His main low post move is probably to face up, make a hard drive into the lane, and shoot a running hook shot off one leg. It's a move Yao Ming does not make use of. It probably isn't the best move for Yao's abilities, though (lacks quickness on the face up drive, not a good leaper).
This is why I laugh at threads, like this one, because of everything you said about Dwight Howard. You pointed out everything perfectly to why Yao can't learn anything from Dwight Howard. This is main reason why I called this thread very silly and short-sighted. You simply can't teach speed and a 40-inch vertical, it is just not possible. Yao might could learn a few things from Dwight's rebounding, but he doesn't do anything special or very different from Shaq's or Mutombo's. Yao could learn much more from Mutombo, Shaq, and Duncan than he could from Dwight Howard.
I think you're basically right. To me, the Rockets can learn more from the Magic's use of Howard than Yao can learn from him.
I think Yao could learn how important it is to get into good post position EARLY. Of course, he cannot get down the court as quickly as Dwight but Yao rarely uses that initial bump to get deeper in the post. A lot of times he kinda walks into the spot the defender has allowed for. He makes it tougher for himself by placing so much importance on how far he can back his opponent down with the ball in his hands.
If Dwight was on the rockets they would probably get farther for the single fact that Dwight is playing and Yao is not. Not much Yao can learn from watching yao unless watching Dwight Makes Yao healthy.
Are you kidding? You mean if Rockets can beat Lakers if having DH? Didn't you see how DH play poorly with the Lakers? If having DH, it is more likely Rockets cannot get out of the first round. Blazers have two strong big centers who can hold DH out of the paint without double team. Then the other Rockets players cannot get that many open shots, and Roy and Aldridge will beat the Rockets miserably.
This isn't true. Yao uses an initial bump. The problem is teams are allowed to push on him with two forearms, wrap him, etc. I'll put it like this....Howard has been crying about what LA is doing to him in the first two games, and that's what Yao deals with on a nightly basis. As far as who is better, the playoffs have highlighted the differences between the two players. If Howard catches a weak matchup he simply dominates, and he is more consistent at it. Yao doesn't always do this. However, if Howard catches a matchup where he simply can't overpower someone or is doubled/tripled, then he is SOL. Yao has more success in these situations.
U gotta give Phil a lot of credit for the Lakers defense on Howard. The Lakers have length and foot speed that can match with Howard. So, most of time, the Lakers play either Gasol or Bynum on Howard 1 on 1 on the catch. And when Howard tries to dribble into paint, the defender moves his feet and stay in front of Howard. Another defender will wait in the paint and simply crowd Howard. Sometimes a third defender will stripe at the ball or block the shot. The Lakers simply crowd the paint with their lenghts. 7 TOs from Howard were a lot. Howard simply doesn't have even an "average" offensive game. He relies on dunks and layups with his athleticism, size and power. Howard's offense is within 6 feet around the basket. If the refs have called the game tighter, Howard might have better games. But the refs let them play and let some contacts go and that's to the advantage of the Lakers.
