True, but false. I can think of like 10 players off the top of my head whose production or skills improved after 30 and above (or stayed at very high competitive level). Especially centers and point guards. Since, most in a sense do not rely as much on athleticism, like most shooting guards do. Hakeem Olajuwon (had the best seasons of his career after 30) Karl Malone (become a bonafide MVP in his 30s with an pretty reliable outside jumpshot, he didn't have earlier in his career) Steve Nash (started his MVP run at the supposedly declining age of 30) Larry Bird (his highest scoring numbers are after the age of 30) Dennis Rodman (never declined in defensive skill and rebounding acumen) John Stockton (was still iron man and all league point guard well after 30, his numbers at 40, right now would still make him top 6 pg) Gary Payton (best seasons are after 30) Michael Jordan (Nuff said) Dikembe Mutombo (You don't think he is still a very effective player, even being near 50) Wilt Chamberlain (Wilt at 33-45, could play in the NBA right now and still be the best center in the league)
LOL!! This post is so bad it's funny!!! Great comparison!! Yao's game is EXACTLY like a SG!!! BWAHAHAHA!!
Iam not arguing who is better, they each have their strong points, but the injury thing is a huge concern.
damn that's some ignorant shiet right there.... yeah im sure yao was watching howard getting dogged by gasol and choked in the finals. please, dunk more? The dude dont even got any go-to moves, that's how he got exposed by the lakers.
False statement because he is hurt. However you could make an argument that if you switch DH and Yao, the magics team would be a perfect fit for Yao with those shooters. Yao Lewis Hedo Petrius/Lee Rafer (Nelson in the early season) vs DH Artest Shane Scola Brooks One would argue that DH is a better defensive player, but it takes 5 players to make sure you are in the top 5 defensive team in the league. Yao for all intent has helped insure the Rockets remained in the top 5 category on FG% against the rockets (Rockets been in that Category every since Yao arrived). In some ways you can say Magics would lose an individual monster rebounder and a great shot blocker, while gaining an offensive center, who is no slouch on defense (minus the PNR situation and facing PF players aka Boozer) and a decent rebounder (which btw both magics and Rockets ranked neck in neck on Total team rebounds). However the magics may lose some defense issues, i still believe they would remain in the top 7 defensive teams. As for offense its quite simple, you can't front Yao, because almost everybody on the magics can shoot the 3 ball and Hedo, Nelson, and to some extent Lewis can make the opposing team pay for fronting. If teams don't front, you got Yao single coverage and when they double Yao you got 1 of the best shooting teams around. Far better than the Rockets. On the other hand if DH was playing for the Rockets, DH would make a huge impact on the defensive end. A lineup of DH, Shane, and Artest would result in many games where opposing teams would score in the low 80's. However offensively DH would be about the same or worse. He woudl have a PG who is horrible at passing, Artest who loves to take really bad shots, Shane who hangs out in the corner. Offensively I can imagine them stinking up really bad. Once again they would have to count on Artest or Brooks to create their own shot. However the key would be defense and energy I think both teams can gain from this, I see the magics getting a center who would excel in that lineup (as long as somebody picks up the +3-4 rebounding average that DH makes up). I see the Rockets adding to the defense, however having pretty much the same offensive but in essence we would gain because we would have 1 of the best defensive teams in the league. So I don't know, magics got the shooters.....its not hard imagining if the Rockets had a few 40% 3 pointer shooters on this team......where we may be. Than again all this blows up because in round 2, Magics would lose Yao. haahah the story of the Rockets, no longer Clutch City, its The What If City.
you think yao would be able 40+ minutes from the eastern conf. finals to the finals every game? let's be real, it's VERY unlikely that yao will be able to finish a whole season + a playoff run. i have seen zero evidence from the past 4-5 years to suggest this. this was his best season, playing the least minutes during a reg. season, with the least workload, and he STILL got injured. it's going to be an annual thing. that's why it's crucial we get something in return for mcgrady (a legit big man).
I think Yao wouldn't need to play 40 minutes in the eastern conference, Gortat isn't a slouch. I also highly doubt SVG would play Yao 12 minutes in the 1st quarter and 3 minutes in the 2nd quarter. I rather see Yao get 8-9 minutes each quarter for 32-36 minutes. We all say unlikely because of his history of injuries, but I am a big fan of playing Yao 60-65 games in the regular season and saving him for the playoffs. But to say he wouldn't last a full season is true, only because of the last 2 years, I don't count freak injuries like Toe Infection, Broken Kneecap caused by another player. But lets face it, we all doubted Yao would even last Regular season but he did. Honestly if the Rockets didn't make the playoffs, the perception would be Yao made it through a whole season healthy, would people than say he is injury prone? Maybe or maybe not? But I know if was healthy but the Rockets missed the playoffs, people would still not be satisfied. They would say "So what he lasted through the regular season, he still failed to get out of the 1st round" For some folks, Yao is damned either way. Hard to debate with anybody with that mind set.
The Rockets' defense would be one of the greatest ever with Howard, instead of Yao. Especially putting Howard next to Scola, Chuck Hayes, Artest, and Battier. Still, this team would be even more offensively challenged, at times, especially when teams used the same strategy as LA did in Finals. Also with Howard not being so skilled on offense, the offensive droughts would be a bit longer and painful, if teams are keeping us out of the paint. At the same token, the team could run way more often and not have to set plays up as much for the half court. Again, defense would be off the chart good, as offense would be slightly better and worse at the same time. But, the Rockets would still be a premier team in the West, and actually think it would a team that is good enough to beat LA (possibly in 5 or 6 games). For Dwight's inability to score, Scola can become the primary go to player in the post, as Dwight can play more of utility role (by grabbing offense rebounds and just being athletic). It is actually better one-two combo than Yao-Scola at some points. Orlando with Yao would have one of the best (most efficient) offenses in the league, Turkoglu, Lewis, and rest of the Magic players would get all kinds of open looks. For all of the miss Rocket 3 point shots, would become many made 3 pointers for the Magic. Teams couldn't collapse in the paint at any point with so many deadly shooters sitting around the perimeter area (except Rafer). Rafer is good at getting Yao (so would Nelson), the ball, also they've have some other good passers on that team who can just dump the ball into Ming (and let him do his dirty work or throw back out to open shooter). Their achilles heel would be teams with big physical lines or great rebounding power forward. They wouldn't be able to keep certain teams off the glass given Yao's limitations and Lewis not being an ideal power forward. I believe the Magic would get through the East fairly easy until face the Celtics or a team, like Pistons (from previous seasons). If Yao was healthy, the Magic would go undefeated in the 1st two of playoffs with a possible Celtics or Pistons matchup could be where everything falls.
