One more point on why Yao is better than Stud, Stud is allowed to play the game as he wants to, while Yao is only allowed to play half of his game, the post up game. If the system can do Yao a favor, let him play his face up game, like shooting a few mid range jumpers per game, I believe Yao's offense will blow Stud out of the water. Beside, even Stud is scoring off dunks and layups, he can only manage 45% of his shots. Playing a power game and still shoot 45% isn't a good sign. While Yao has to deal with double teams and shoot turnaround fadeaways he still shoots over 50%. Their numbers are close but it doesn't tell the whole story, Yao is more valuable as a players right now IMO.
You know what is funny about this Yao-Amare thing is that if you swapped their strengths, we would still be having the same argument. The numbers are pretty similar, no matter how they get them. If all Yao did was dominate down low like Amare, The obsessive Yao fans would be pointing to Shaq and his rings and saying that is all he is supposed to do. He is a center, all he has to do is dominate down low. He is the next Shaq with another 6 inches. He is going to change the game. Amare has no aggression and does not demand the ball or respect. He will be an average player. Realistic fans would be pointing to the skills Amare has and brute force of Yao saying just wait to see how it plays out. Point is people are going to obsess over other people while trying to bring their competition down, no matter what they do. They are both talented young players who have their own strengths, weaknesses and hardship stories. We should be happy we have one of them and hope he pans out to be the better player, since we had the first pick. We should be glad Amare is doing his thing. Competition is a good thing. It brings out the best in you.
No. If you swapped their strengths, Yao would be Shaq (or better). And there's no way Amare would post nearly the same number as Yao then.
MFW2310, Thank you for proving my point. All you hear on here is how Amare has no game, he just dunks. Then in a hypothetical situation, you say if Yao had Amare's game, he would be better than Shaq and Amare would not be able to compete with just fundamental skills. Do you see how hypocritical that is?
let's make one thing clear first. not having a stronger body build doesn't mean not working hard enough. it's just they had different trainings. have you heard in CBA they train 8 hours per day and 6 days per week? how many hours does a NBA player train per week? it's just that CBA doesn't care too much about body building, and their games are less competitive, season is much shorter. so it's not surprising that yao ming doesn't have strong muscles and he's easily tired. it's his weakness compare to other NBA players but by no means you should conclude that he's not working hard enough.
That is not hypocrisy. That is stupidity. Case in point, Duncan is not a bruiser like Amare or Shaq but he is one of the top five players in this league. Amare and Yao are different type of players. I think both of them will evolve into a superstar down the road. As far as ROY race goes, Yao should take it if he stays healthy.
I think genetic makeup has something to do with it as well. Blacks seem to have better definition of their muscle tone than white or asians. I am curious how sane learned that Amare worked hard on his body and Yao didn't.
No one is denying that Yao has more upside. The only problem is that Rookie of the Year isn't based on what the player might do. It's based on what he's doing in his rookie year. Yao is having a good year but Amare is having a better year this year.
Considering I have League Pass I've seen a lot of his games (more than half). I've also seen most Rockets games, and I can tell you that right now, this year (not potential but actual play this year only) Amare is playing better, and having more of an impact on his team. That may be because the Suns overall are not as talented as the Rockets so they are depending on him more but as I see it Amare is playing better right now.
I was a little off in the rebounds (only .9 rebounds short) but you have to admit that even 12.8 ppg, and 9.1 rpg is pretty impressive for a guy right out of highschool. There are some guys that have been in the NBA for years and never accomplish 9+ rpg (i.e. Sheed, Raef, Juwan Howard), and Amare is doing it right out of highschool. Stats don't tell the whole story (although his stats are currently better than Yao's) however if you watch Suns games you will be able to see that Amare is having a bigger impact on his team than Yao is having on the Rockets. Again, I don't know if it's because the Suns rely more on Amare or the fact that Francis and Mobley don't pass the ball to Yao enough. Either way, Amare is having a better rookie year.
[1] Switching Yao and Amare's skills would render the comparison laughable. If Yao had the physical game that Amare has, he would be the Most Dominant Ever. As someone else said, he would be a bigger, stronger Shaq. Heck, if Shawn Bradley had Amare's body on his frame, he'd be the MDE, too. If Amare, at 6-8, had Yao's skills, he'd be like the 7th best PF in the league behind Tim Duncan (basically a 7-0, stronger version of Yao), Kevin Garnett (6-11), Chris Webber, (6-10), Jermaine O'Neal (6-11), Dirk Nowitzski (7-0), Rasheed Wallace (6-11). Did you watch the All Star Game -- Kevin Garnett was shooting over all the shorter defenders the East put on him. Size matters in the NBA. But it's Amare's strength and explosiveness that overcomes his height disadvantage. Replace his strength and explosiveness with pure skill, and you've got a great SF or a good PF. [2] Amare is not playing significantly better than Yao. Their numbers are comparable (with Yao actually edging him out in a number of important categories). The impact that Amare is having on his team, though, is more positive than Yao. Amare is more integrated into the offense. He fits, and his game doesn't take away from anybody else's. But with the Rockets' lack of an effective offensive scheme, Yao's game disrupts Stevie and Cat playing their usual pickup style of ball. So Amare has probably been better in that respect.
Yao is 7"5. Amare is 6"8. So your argument doesnt hold up. Using your theory, Yao would be a 7"5 Shaq dunking and rebounding over everyone. Amare would be a 6"8 guy trying to shoot over people in the post and passing over the top of people????? Dont think so......
Hikanoo, Height is not everything. Hakeem had no problems with Shaq using fundamentals even though Shaq had him by 3 inches and is the most physically dominating player in the game. Magic, One of the greatest players ever at 6'9" had no problems dominating at any position even though he could barely dunk. He did not have a problem passing the ball or scoring in the post. They called him a point forward. Right now, Amare is a 6'8" guy dunking and rebounding over everyone. What does he need the extra height for? Your argument does not hold up. As I said it is all about obsessing over Yao. Even in a hypothetical situation you are finding a way to make Yao bigger than the game and degrade Amare. You are just proving my point.
What point is that? No one is making Yao bigger than the game and certainly no one has degraded Amare. You want to come to a Rox forum and tell us that one of our star players doesn't measure up to Amare. But so far, I haven't seen one iota of evidence to convince me your point is valid. BTW, what is your point?
Tslee, using your theory on naming everyone taller than Amare to say how they would be better, explain to me how Hakeem who was also shorter than all the other good Centers in the league at the time was able to dominate. Fundamentals, he could find the open man when double-teamed or shake his defender and score. He could do his turnaround in their face or take it at them. Using your system of judging talent, he would have been about the 7th or 8th rated center at the time. At 6'8" Amare still has to guard all the people you mentioned everynight. He does not seem to be having a problem with it.
Dreamweaver, read my original post in here. I did not say at any point in this thread that Yao did not measure up to Amare. I was simply saying that if you switched their strengths that the obsessive Yao fans would still be arguing this Yao-Amare thing. They have not failed to disappoint. Even though they say Amare has no game, they say Yao would be the most dominating player in the game with his strengths and Amare would be average at best with Yao's skills. This is proving the point. I come to this Rockets board because I am a Rocket fan, not an obsessed Yao fan who thinks he can do no wrong. I mean for jeepers sake when Yao turns the ball over it is Francis or Rudy's fault in here. You flip the script and without thinking, the obsessive Yao fans start defending Amare's game and putting down Yao's without realizing it. They are so quick to jump to his defense, they cannot even see in this thread they are putting down his game trying to still make him better than Amare with Amare's game in an imaginary world. Point proven.
