Can you elaborate on how Amare is playing better than Yao? A double/double for a rookie would be a impressive feat. But you made an error by claiming that Amare has accomplished this. Amare is averaging 12.8 pts and 9.1 rebounds. It is true that he has double figures in points but is almost 1 rebound short in the rebound category.
I think whichever player's team makes the playoffs will win ROY. Which is why I think Yao will win it. You may actually want to check and see if Butler or Wagner break out too. Damn good rookie class this year: Yao Ming Amare Stoudamire Butler Wagner Jay Williams Bench: Boozer, Hilario But still, Yao is the 2 or 3rd best C in the league. He's the most sought after C in the league. You say Amare doesn't have a jumpshot, but Yao doesn't have the body. it's his own fault. Amare didn't just pop out like this, he worked hard. Yao didn't work hard enough, hence the poor fitness. I want to add that, by the end of his career, Stoudamire will top Malone as the best PF in history. If you've ever read up on him, you would be blown away by his INCREDIBLE will power, work ethic, desire, and heart. There is no doubting he will improve at a very high rate because of his work ethic, and they have some special coaches there in Phoenix. But despite all this, Yao Ming will still be deserving of ROY, and will go on to achieve great things. I just don't think he will be in the same class as Hakeem, Wilt, and Abdul Jabbar. But still, at some point in his career he'll be the best C in the league, and for most of his career, he'll be in the top 3. That's more than enough.
Hopefully Rockets can play better in 2nd half of the season. If Houston makes playoff and Phoenix doesn't, ROY is Yao's.
Yao is the real deal, you can already see what he can do. He has the complete set of skills, just needs adjustments which will come from experience. Amare has a LONG way to go before you can delcare him to be better then Karl Malone or any thing close to that. He is extremely raw, posesses very little skills. Shaq is the same way but he is an exception based on the amount of power he has always had. He has a physical advantage that no one has EVER had. Amare has potential but that does not always turn into production. LOOK UP Robert Horry as a refrence for that one. Never panned out, never expanded his skills. Same goes for a lot of these other high pick high school kids. To me Eddie Griffin has more "potential" then Amare, he just needs to get stronger.
Simple. If both Amare and Yao is avaliable to take, whom you think the NBA managers would like to have, giving that they cant have both of them. Would Sun like to trade Amare for Ming?
rocket113, I'd have to say you have no info on Amare, and quite possibly have never seen him play. Amare Stoudamire has a fire burning in him unlike any other athlete to ever play the game. Yes, he's not the smartest person in the world to put down Yao like that, but you can not question his skills, his potential, and the VERY high chances that he'll complete that potential 100%. Before you guys tear down Stoudamire, please read up on him at least.
”Amare didn't just pop out like this, he worked hard. Yao didn't work hard enough, hence the poor fitness. “ How do you know Yao did not work as hard as Amare?
how many amare's games have you seen? if you saw less than half of his games, please don't say he plays like a FREAKING monster. statistics do lie because players can put up good numbers in garbage time. until you watch the game closely, you won't know how good a player is.
In that quote, I am reffering to going to lifting weights, maintaining high stamina, strength, and things of that sort. We know for a fact that Yao never lifted weights before the NBA. Also, he came in barely able to play 25 minutes. Look at Stoudamire. You don't get like that not lifting weights. Amare knew what was required, and he went out and did it.
Rocky, Ignore the guy that wrote that. He clearly doesnt know what he is talking about. Working hard on ones game does not only include lifting weights and practicing new dunks. Learning to pass, shoot and think all involve lots of work. But as you know, there are a ton of these types of people that love watching the dunking and taunting aspects of the game.
when Amare does any thing beyond dunking then when can start talking about "skills" At this point in time he has none. In response to an earlier post, I have the NBA pass so I have seen him play a bunch of times. He has been in a big slump of late because players are giving him more respect. He got frustrated and got a tech because he could not get any thing to go against the sorry Bulls who have no inside presense what so ever. His FG% stinks for a guy who can't do any thing but dunk. Yet he gets the ball so much more then Yao does. If Yao was playing for any one but the the rockets, I bet he would still shoot over 50% and easily avg over 20 points per game. There is no way Amare can do that at this point and time. I have no respect for players that have no skills. Wagner and Butler are both much better then he is, just not fortunate enough to be playing for a good team.
One Simple question. If you are given the choice to build a team around any rookie, who would you choose? I thought so.
The question isn't who will be the better player. The question revolves around WHO WAS THE BETTER ROOKIE THIS YEAR? I'm on Yao's side, but Stoudamire has a pretty good chance. By far 2nd, and close to 1st.
Does nobody see that they're probably going to be Co-Rookies of the Year? Did y'all debate like this when it was Steve Francis and Elton Brand? The NBA loves promoting young stars. Awarding the honor to both Yao and Amare does exactly that. Both are tremendous players. Both have made huge impacts on their respective teams (which one ends up in the playoffs will be an interesting question, though). Both have brilliant careers ahead of them. But for the record, Yao has a much greater opportunity to change the game and be the best at his position than Stoudemire. Yao is 7 feet-6 inches. Yao's got more and better skills than other centers at this point in their careers. Amare is powerful and explosive, but very raw. He doesn't have the same skills that Karl Malone or Charles Barkley had (though his post up moves are underrated). But more than anything else, he's only 6 feet-8 inches tall. The league is getting taller and stronger with every passing year, just look at the Western Conference All Star PFs -- Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Dirk Nowitzski. Two related thoughts: [1] The Chicago Bulls do have a strong front court presence -- two lottery picks named Tyson Chandler and Eddie Curry. Amare couldn't bring it against these physical twin towers recently. [2] Tim Duncan is a whole heck of a lot more likely to become the best PF in the history of the NBA than Amare Stoudemire.
Ming is better than Amare right now in all aspects of game except for rebounding and dunks. Ming initiates offense and creates for the teammates. Ming changes opponents defense and offense more than Amare does. Amare is a nice player, and makes people in awe of his agression, but he doesn't have the same impact on both ends as Yao does. I wonder who will be better in the future too. Having agression on the court doesn't mean the same enthusiasm off the court, see Charles "I practice in the offseason by drinking beers and enjoying jacuzzi" Barkley. Work ethic is just as important as on court aggression. Yao is a hard worker, how is Stoudamire? If he doesn't work very hard to improve his game - he has a long way to go to be a polished player like Yao - but only relies on power and athleticism, it's easy to see he won't be better than Yao in the long run. Not to mention his athleticism is going to fade with age. Finally, Stoudamire will never have the same impact as Yao does on defense. I won't worry about Yao's attitude too much as long as he has love for the game, as it is Yao does. The jury is still out, but I think Yao has the upper hand in this matchup.
NO HE'S NOT!!! Have you seen him play recently? That's because Yao worked hard on his skills. Sane, the only skills amare has right now are dunking and rebounding. He only has one move -- and that's going to the right for a dunk or a jump hook. He has difficulty finding the open man when he's being doubled. He relies too much on his athleticism.
Hmm... or it could be a cultrual difference. I don't think you can say that Yao hasn't worked hard. Hmmm.. checked out his numbers lately? He didn't just pop out that way. I love reading (not just here) about how Yao didn't work enough on his body. First of all... He's FREAKING 22... and many people are not "filled out" at 22.. and 2nd of all.. ummm.... hes FREAKING 22.. now if in 5 years he still looks like Stiff Bradley.. and hasn't gained any muscle.. then say what you want. Weightlifting doesn't have the same apeal overseas esp. in Asia. Mike
I have no interest in tearing him down... since unlike many of the others here, I do believe he's a great player with tremendous potential. But that comment, sir, was anything but Sane.
hey realistic rox fans, don't doubt yao! he's The Man who will delivers at least 2 championships before he's done playing. save this threat.
