Yeah, he is consider #1 center from fans like us, but not really fans for the other teams, nor many other basketball professionals. Otherwise, Yao wouldn't be in the 2nd team this year, he would be in the 1st team... Ppl can say good things like Yao is No.1, but do they really respect Yao as the No.1? From what I see so far, the answer is no..
again, its hard to really put him up there when the position is so weak. and then see him gets torched by PFs. gets blocked by a white guy. its very hard to do so. the very same reason why most ppl don't respect dirk.
I pick Yao as he is better build for a chamopionship type system even though Amare did own him in the last meeting.
amare is everything we want yao to be. he attacks the rim everytime with authority and he is anything but soft. so yes amare is the better player
I will take Yao 100 out of 100 times. He is getting better and better, and is starting to dominate....I think the next 6+ years Yao is going to OWN the NBA.... It is his time ! DD
Come on. There is a guy called Nash who makes everybody in his team work. Without Nash, Suns is just an avg team.
When Amare was sitting there at #9 (I think) I prayed we would trade up and get him. It was rumored that he had one of the best workouts our coaches and scouts had ever witnessed. I was so dissapointed when Pheonix took him and then to top it of we take Boki Brickbar. Imagine if we had moved up and we had both. Hey at least we took Ming instead of Williams! For awhile I thought we were going to make that huge mistake.
Amare is by far the superior athlete. What a PF he would be along side Yao, wow that would be incredible. I love Yao, he is one my favorite players in the whole league, but I would take Amare, and I don't care for him personally, just like I would take Kobe over TMac. I love aggressive, tough-minded play. Better is just better regardless of team loyalities.
I'd take Yao all day, all week, and all year. He is better player and...center than Amare. Amare is only 50% player, he plays next to no defense and only puts up half effort on defense if somebody shows him up and then he'll go out commit a dumb foul. Yao is more consistent on both sides of the ball, he's a better defense player and has a better shooting range/offense set of skills. And he's a real center. If you were to have a team with same players, I think Yao would make a team better sense he is presence on both sides of the ball, Houston has had one of the best interior defenses in the league for last 3 or 4 season, some of it was Van Gundy, but alot of was Yao. Teams don't usually get alot of points in the paint against Houston, because of it. He doesn't have to block shot, it's really more about altering shots and forcing teams to shoot jumpers all day. Even though, Houston hasn't accomplished anything (or made out of the first round)...what do the Suns have to be so proud about they've never reached NBA finals in Nash/Stoudemire era. If you gave Houston the same supporting cast as the Suns (over the last 2 or 3 years), I think we could have great shot at title and even beat S.A. Yao-C Marion-PF Battier-SF McGrady-SG Alston/Barbosa -PG Diaw-SF Bell-SG Mutombo-C Head-SG/PG V-Span-SG/PG Hayes-PF The rosters might be at 100 - 104 every night and play solid defense, since most of the players are above average defenders (Yao, Marion, Battier, McGrady, Alston, Bell, Mutombo). Since Amare and Nash are probably the Suns worst defenders. A more balanced team, more defensive oriented than the current Suns, and more offensive weapons than the Rockets.
I think we should make this thread sticky. I think it's hard to judge right now. amare has a perfect system behind him to showcase all his skills. he could be a much worse player with diferent teammates, under a different coach, for example, the rockets. kmart is another example.
Athletism does matter...but to what extent. There are people who are very good athletes, but there aren't better than lesser athletics players. Bernard King/Dominque Wilkins were probably better athletes than Larry Bird, but who would say that they are better players. KG is probably better athlete than Tim Duncan, but who has all the rings. Tony Parker, Earl Boykins, and even Smush Parker might be better than Steve Nash in the athletism department, but are they better point guards. Michael Vick is better athlete than Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, but is he better quarterback, I could say the same about Steve Young is he a better quarterback than Joe Montana. Athletism does give you extra dimension as player, but there are other things to consider like awareness, effort, court/field vision, leadership skills, and toughness.
You say that as if being like Vlade Divacs is a good thing. Both Yao and Amare are clearly a level above Divacs, and I don't think Divacs was the proto-typical big man in Adelman's system....it was Webber. Both players put up similar type of numbers and both players haven't demonstrated they can lead and dominate a game consistently. Both haven't been able to figure out how to deal with double teams too effectively. Not Amare has a better supporting cast which may make a difference, but Yao's propensity to turn the ball over is definitely a minus as well. In any case, a running team would be a better fit for Amare while a grind it out half-court set is better for Yao. I don't think you've said enough to dispell that.
That last line right there sums it up. Amare can not create his own shot like Yao does. Can you imagine Amare dropping 25-10 fighting through doubles team by HIMSELF without Nash creating for him? Dont get me wrong, both are great players, but it depends on the system the play in. Yao won't be as good in PHX, and Amare won't be as good in Houston.
that brings me to another point, how many players in the league can truely guard Yao in single coverage the whole game? how many players in the league can guard Amare in single coverage the whole game?
I think the clipper were willing to give up odom+8th pick which would have been amare. So we could have had odom amare sf and the cat.
