T-Man, what I said is neither stupid or hypocritical. Let's face the facts, Shaq has very little skills, but he is able to dominate because of his size. No let's hypothetically switch the skills of Amare and Yao, Yao would be a 7'5 Shaq with great lateral movement, jumps and over athleticism. It won't matter if he can't hit a 8 foot jumper because he will be staying at most 5 feet from the basket throwing down dunks. For an idea of what this monster can do, imagine if Shaq was 7'5. Now we know Yao can already block shots very well with his 7'5 frame, imagine if he's more athletic. He'd be a monster on both the offensive and the defensive end (ie. better than Shaq). On the other hand, even if Amare had all of Yao's arsenal he probably wouldn't make anything more than a below average player. Think about it, there are many more skilled PF with a height advantage. I believe somebody already named quite a few. Also, when you said switch their skills, I assumed you switched their characters as well, which would make Amare a short and undersized (upperbody) PF. Do you think he will do well then? At best he'd be something like Eddie Griffin, without the shot blocking ability because of his height and will get pushed around. So, to sum it up. Had their traits been switched, the numbers won't even be close. Yao will be ROY for sure then and we wouldn't even hear about Amare Stoudemire.
No, you need to face the facts. Shaq has skills. He's agile, he has TONS of moves, and when healthy is INCREDIBLY quick for his size. He has the skills. He averages 4 or 5 assists a game too. Oh, and if Amare Stoudamire is 6'8, then Yao Ming is 7'4 at most. With shoes, Stoudamrie is an easy 6'10. You can't go by the NBA profile stuff. Listen, Amare will be great. RIght now, Amare lacks Yao's skills, and Yao lacks Amare's physical attributes. Why are you guys arguing in circles? That's the bottom line. You can play the prediction game forever. You can only guess who'll win ROY (which was the topic btw), dont make it seem like you know and are trying to get the point across.
No. Shaq has skills not not as much as you make it out to be. For the most part he's a power player, not a skill player, especially in his rookie season Shaq's assists come from tossing out of a double team, which is more DUH than wow amazing pass. I never said Amare is 6'8. However, sane, hate to break it to ya, but Yao is 7'5 3/4 without shoes, 7'6 with shoes. I don't doubt Amare has a chance to be something great, but as soon as the next HS hotshot with more athleticism comes into the league we'll be saying Amare who? But a 7'5 guy with skills comes around once every blue moon.
Simple: Olajuwon's height disadvantage was not as pronounced as Amare's; and, at the center position, Olajuwon's skills gave him a unique advantage. [1] Olajuwon was 1 to 2 inches shorter than the other great centers he played against (Ewing, Robinson, Shaq). He was roughly the same height as Mourning. Amare is 3 to 4 inches shorter than the great power forwards he plays against. Moreover, guys like Garnett, Duncan, and Wallace are longer. [2] Olajuwon played center. The centers that Olajuwon played against (Ewing, Robinson, Shaq) are not as mobile, athletic, or quick as the power forwards that Amare plays against. Therefore, his moves gave him an advantage. He could do things no other center could do. By contrast, mobility, athleticism, and quickness are skills that all the top PFs in the league have in spades. It's a positional thing.
Everyone knows and says that we need to change our offense and run through Yao. Isn't this the biggest impact imaginable? How can anyone say Amare has a bigger impact on his team?
Anyone who thinks Amare has more impact on his team than Yao does needs to put down his pipe. Prior to the arrival of Yao, the Rockets defense sucked. This year the Rockets rank in the top in FG% allowed in the league. A big part of that must be attributed to having a 7-6 shot blocker swatting and changing tons of shots. Francis credited Yao's presence enabled him to play more risky defense. Did Marbury say the same thing in regard to Amare? I don't think so. It doesn't just take time and work to obtain Yao shooting touch, footwork, court awareness and passing skills, it takes talent too. Kelvin Cato has the body, but not the talent, so he sits on the bench. Amare has a long way to go to reach Yao's skill level and he hasn't shown he has the talent, and Yao has a much more impact than Amare does currently. Amare might stay as he is like Kelvin Cato, while Yao will certainly improve his strength. The odds works in favor of Yao and we shall see. Yao is the anchor of Houston's defense and initiates the offense. Amare is an opportunity role player within the Suns system. Amare's numbers are inflated on the Suns because the Suns' style plays to his strengths. Put Amare on the Rockets and his numbers will deflate. At least he'll get less points off fast breaks and as a result of lack of ball movement. On the contrary, if Yao's on the Suns, the Suns will be a better team than now as their interior defense will improve a lot while Yao brings the same things on the table as Amare does. Equating Amare's game with Shaq's is lame. Shaq is much more powerful than his opponents than Amare is. Shaq also has tons of skills, including his mastered drop steps and jump hooks etc. I like Amare's style, but you can't compare him to one of the greatest as of yet. This thread isn't obcessive Yao fans vs. realistic Rox fans. It's fans loving fundamental and team play vs. fans loving flashy dunking fest.
It is not fair to attribute every gain in the Rockets this season to Yao. The Rockets were undermanned last year. Several folks thought the Rockets were a playoff team this year with the return of Mo Taylor and Stevie Franchise and the development of Eddie Griffin. But Yao's impact cannot be denied. On the defensive side, Yao has made a significant difference forcing teams to shoot from the outside more (and hence lowering their FG%), but lately, Rockets opponents have been shooting over 50%, and this development troubles me. Still, Amare's defense shouldn't be underestimated. He blocks shots, too. But offensively, there is NO doubt that Amare has made a more positive impact on the Suns than Yao has on the Rockets. Because Yao did not have a real summer league or training camp, incorporating him into this offense has been a huge challenge. His presence, and the offensive style that it dictates, CLASHES with the tendencies of the Rockets' guards. Hence, his impact on the offense has not been as positive as Amare's who fits in seamlessly with the Suns. When the Rockets develop and commit to an offensive system that fully utilizes Yao (and he's got to be physically ready for this), then it won't be a contest.
I tend to agree but if Yao puts up better performances during the regular season, they could get shared honors like Steve with Elton Brand.
Why does everyone think Amare has a bigger impact on the suns than Yao has on the Rox. Someone mentioned you can't attribute all the rox improvements on Yao. Then can't u also say the same thing about Amare and the Suns? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Suns have 2 all-stars in Marion and Marburry??? Plus Marburry is having a career year...you'd think that'd have something to do with the suns success too.
Can we stop arguing about this? Both guys are great. The most important thing is, which one will enter the playoff.
Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets said it best when he claimed that without Amare Stoudemire, neither Stephon Marbury nor Shawn Marion would be All Stars this year. Basically, that's how good Stoudemire is, and that's why he's the Rookie of the Year. Amare is having a more positive impact on his team than Yao is: [1] Last year, the Rockets had more injuries to key players than the Suns did. Therefore, the gain attributable to Yao must be discounted more. [2] Amare fits in with the Suns on both offense and defense. Yao doesn't fit in with the Rockets' style of play. The Rockets need to fix this huge problem. They need to improve on both offense (running the offense through Yao) and defense (using a zone or something). Until then, Yao's aggregate positive impact is less than Amare's. [3] Yao has greater potential than Amare, but until he works on his strength and until the Rockets develop and commit to an offensive system that utilizes Yao, it's going to remain unrealized.
Tslee98, Yao has impacted the Rockets offense more than Amare does. Like you said, Amare fits in while Yao changes the system. That's enough to prove the point. And what about the other parts of my post?
This reply is even stupider...ummm yeah so Richard Jefferson says something therefore it must be true. You must have heard Marbury's response to that, it had a lot of #@%#%$ in it. Shawn Marion stats last year. 19.1PPG 9.9RPG Stats this year 21.7PPG 9.6RPG He put up all-star stats last year just got snubbed from the team so that already defeats Jefferson's argument. And Marbury is having a career year cause he has something to prove against all the people saying the Jason Kidd trade was so lopsided.
A quick observation.... I have long reguarded basketball IQ as something you can't teach but something that comes with experience. Now admitidly I can't speak much on Amare because I have only seen him in three games, but YAO has it. Watching the way the guy passes the ball is amazing. That is one thing that you dont' see enough of today and something that very few other centers bring to the game. With most of the centers in the league, if you pass them the ball the offensive flow of the game pretty much stops. Most of the time this is because they hold the ball for 5 - 8 seconds and if they don't shoot they are FORCED to pass the ball back out, but while it happens with Yao as well.. it seems like many more times he has an oportunity to pass the ball and a good shot or a wide open layup. It seems to me that many of the centers in the league miss those passes while Yao seems to see them. Mike
I like Amare's game and he's definately going to be a force in the league. But I've watched alot of the Suns games on NBA pass and they've asked him several times, about him and Yao being ROY and his response is like ("I don't see what all of you see in him? I don't see him doing anything special"!) now that's just not cool. For Yao to give him some respect after the Rockets played them, shows you how humble Ming is! Now I'm not saying Amare is a bad guy, I just don't think his comments were cool. Sounds like he has a little bit of Marbury in him.
Who care about ROY anyways. Lets just give Amare ROY in exchange for a few rings? I mean I'd love for Yao to get ROY, but in all honesty as long as i see him improve and begin to realize some of that potential we see (and I have seen alot to like so far). I could care less about the ROY race especially since it is determined by opinion while the Rings are determined on the court. Mike
Bill Whalton sees Ming special, Doug Collins sees Ming special, Jeff Van Gundy sees Ming special, Don Nelson sees Ming special, Vlade Divacs sees Ming special, Dirk Nowinski sees Ming special, and evne A.I. says Ming has gift from god. Now Amare Who?
