My post couldnt have been any clearer. I gave you examples of 3 players who have done a very good job of guarding Yao one one one from behind (Okur, Shaq, Duncan). When it comes to fronting, yes, almost anyone can front Yao and stop him. I haven't seen evidence to the contrary.
So when francis was dribbling the spaulding off the bal cause he's a rocket,we are suppose to sit and clap? What about when taylor grabs 1 rebs in 30 mins. If a guy on my team has flaws or struggle, I am going to bring it up. That doesn't mean he sux or I don't like him, I'm not going to lie to myself. I think yao is a very polished big who is soft. I don't think u can win a ring if he is your 1st option. I think howard is a raw offensive player. I don't think u will win a title if he's your 1st option. Yao is a area rebounder a defender. Howard covers more ground rebounding and defending. We can have a discussion and critique players without being a hater. DD and I disagree on players sometimes, but I don't have to call him names to try to prove a point.
If Referees call 2 hands in the back, as they should none of those guys can guard him. And if Yao can work on his 15 footer.....even better. DD
So you are saying at least 3 players can guard Yao from behind. And almost anyone can guard Yao by fronting. Can I translate this into Yao can be guarded by almost any player one on one? My next question, how many games did Yao have single coverage most the time this past season?
someone trying talk to you and hope what you said will make more sense ,its wasting time,period.you are just pure Yao hater.get the fk out this board,trash.
dd, its not that yao has to work on that 15ft shot, he just needs to shoot it with confidence like big z does. If not, this will always me a avg offense.
Correct. If they play fronting defense on him, then yeah, sure. Are you denying this? How is this relevant? As to the question, I have not been counting. Have you?
Refs call 2 hands in the back today a LOT more than back on the days. You like to claim that big men of today are not effective because of rule changes (aka zone defense etc.) Do you realize that big men of 80s and 90s played thru both arms and legs on them. Do you remember how the Knicks played Hakeem in the finals? So let me get this straight, when it comes to rules, you only like to cherry pick the ones that work with your argument? PS. I have a hard time believing that referees dont selectively call 2 hands on the back on Okur, Duncan, and Shaq,but call it when Yao is being played with others. These 3 can guard Yao one on one because he has hard time uprooting them.
Both players have their own weaknesses and we can just agree at that. But to consistently bash a player ( Not you) for their flaws is childish. And let's not forget Rick Adelman era Rockets does not exclusively depend on a go to guy. Yao in the current scheme of things is being utilized for other duties than just to provide offense. Cmon you should know this.
As for Yao vs Howard... They both have flaws in their games which teams can exploit and DO exploit when it comes to playoffs series. They both should be watching each other to improve their games but realistically speaking neither is a great center that can carry their team to a championship. Yao's exploitable weaknesses: Ineffective against fronting defense. Turnover prone once he puts ball on the floor. Stamina issues (ability to carry the offensive load through out the game) Liability on pick and roll defense. Slow footed rebounder. Dwight's exploitable weaknesses: Inability to create offense for others. Poor outside shooter. Poor free throw shooter. Commits early and foul prone. Not particularly good one on one defender given his athleticism. Howard is the Anti-Yao and vice versa but neither is great. They both come with the goods and the bads. It's almost like they are both being forced into being the next great big man but given the holes in their games, it's not happening.
How is this relevant? ? ? If Yao can be guarded one on one by almost any player as you claimed, why most teams still double him all the time? Because most NBA coaches are stupid or maybe what you said are not facts?
Because... apparently, uh... anyone CAN guard him. They just don't, because of NBA's affirmative action laws.
You seem to be having comprehension problems. I cant help you with that. You very conveniently left out the fronting part, which I had to reinsert. Are you denying that fronting stops Yao? As for fronting defense, You need to ask those coaches why they dont employ it more often against Yao.. Heck it took McMillan 1 game in playoffs to realize that Yao needs to be fronted and so he was the rest of the series. Same with Lakers. I have always wondered why teams don't front Yao more often in the regular season. But when it comes to playoffs I can guarantee you he will almost always see fronting defense unless of course played by Shaq, Okur, Duncan. Heck, even Dwight figured out that fronting works against Yao this season. Yao struggled against Howard on fronting defense, whom he used to kill previously.
Oh come on, you can not be that obtuse.... Yao can play like that too....but he has major difficulty with people having TWO guys guarding him when he doesn't have the ball.....and....NEWSLFASH...so did Hakeem. DD
Because fronting can never 'stop' a player. When you are fronting, you give up the interior defense, defensive rebounding and shot blocking. That's why we beat Portland, because Brooks and Scola are penetrating and hitting open shots easily with yao being fronted. Not to mention those offensive rebounds coming our way.
It's fronting that gives him the most problem. Fronting has existed for as far I can remember and I haven't seen many great/good centers bothered by fronting as much as it bothers Yao. Yao would have struggled with it even in 80s. You conveniently left out the discussion part about 2 hands in the back, which you brought up, might I add. Once again, do you think the refs selectively don't call 2 hands on the back when Yao is being played with certain players?
