Steve Francis FINALLY seems to be trusting Yao down low, I think my statement about this thread title will start to show. Yao is much more skilled and a much better player then Amare at this point. Personally I don't see Amare being much better then Brian Grant(who is a good player not great). Yao will be a great player. But even now, Yao is CLEARLY the ROY.
If someone still believes that Yao is just a young Bradley, I usually just ignore him because he either has not watched Yao play or does not know basketball, period. Last time Mavs played Lakers, Shaq didn't even bother guarding Bradley even when he was only 5 ft from the basket. Bradley finally took an open 5 footer from the side and missed it badly. I forgot who said it but it goes something like this: Bradley is a seven-footer who happens to be playing basketball and Yao is a basketball player who happens to be a seven-footer.
Who are these people that you so despise? And do you have reason to believe that they don't know anything about our Rox before Yao showed up in Houston? I have to say that all these Yao haters are starting to get on my nerve.
Look man. I LOVE YAO. I LOVEEEEE HIM. But please don't kiss his ass too much and too high, can't we? Here is a recent quote.
Great post. Amare...well, I like his game, and I think he's fun to watch. I don't think he's better than Yao, but I do think he's leaned upon more heavily in Phoenix than Yao is here.
Since I am barely 6 ft and I am not Colin Pine, the chance of my brown-nosing Yao is remote. However, if you think the behavior of Yao lovers is obsessive, you haven't been to a rock concert recently.
I don't understand why a supposed Rockets fan has problem with the Yao ass kissing? I mean he's new, he's damn good and he's a Rockets player. This is a Rockets board and we are Rockets fans so we are supposed to talk about Rockets players right? I don't know about this board. But there were a lot of Steve Francis ass kissing in his rookie season on the papers and Hakeem too back in the days. What's the problem?
I don't know what to argue about, silly me, I lost track because none of my questions and main points had any valid responses. Yeah let's drop this thread, what a waste of time.
Mfw2310, contrary to what you believe Cato does block shots. He averages one block shot a game in roughly 17 minutes. You stretch that out to 48 and he averages 2.77 blocks a game which puts him right at the brink of the top 20 in the leaugue per 48 minutes, where Ming averages 3.39 per 48, right around the top 15. Not that big a difference. And to those who think it is a joke to say Cato should be starting look at his rank in 2 key categories for a center. He is number 2 in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes and number 2 in field goal percentage. As I stated above he is around top 20 in blocks and also gets a steal and a half per 48 while only turning the ball over 2.3 times per 48. Ming obviously has much more upside, but most of you acted like it was ridiculous to say Cato should start.
Cato's more efficient at rebounding I will give you that. But FG%? Please don't tell me that you think Cato has a better offensive game than Yao. You don't know what you are talking about if you really think Cato is a better player than Yao and should start over him.
There is actually no problem, but sometimes they go so far as to say "just shut the f@ck up Steve. You must be dreaming if you think you can win championship without Yao. You'll be well liked from US to Shanghai if you just shut up and shine when you need to."
Three words: Yao Unanimous ROY (OK, maybe ROY counts as three more words, so it's really six). There may be one dufus in Phoenix that actually votes for Amare, but bottom line is, how can there be any question that Yao has had the biggest impact on the league of any rookie since... well... since I don't know who. Did you read about the fact that the only two players at the entire All-Star game that had private press conferences were Yao and Michael Jordan? The playing numbers are going to be a wash. The overall impact on the game is going to put Yao over the top.
hahah. LOL. Allay-oops should get you high percentage--that's most of Cato's offense. I don't know if you played basketball ever, but if you want to argue for a start based on 48 min projection, a lot of of DNP guys on a lot of teams should start.
people keep saying shaq's got limited skills but i disagree. sure, he likes to power dunk and that's all people think about but shaq's got great passing skills, and he's got great dribbling skills for a guy his size. i've never seem any other big man the size of shaq dribble the ball coast to coast. shaq's got great footwork and he's got that nice baby hook. sure, he doesn't have a long range jump shot but within 5 or 6 feet, he can hit it consistently. in the game against houston, when he failed to power his way to the hoop, he started playing a more finesse game, with fakes, up and under moves, reverses...etc.
this is so true. you cant teach that up and under drop step slam he pulled off on Yao the other night. Plus since Yao is my idol and all now Im going to trust his judgement when he says Shaq is skilled and intelligent.
Carayip, you don't need to give me anything. Those are statistical facts. Micheon, while I agree comparing a guy who plays 1 to 2 minutes every 3 games to a starter would be stupid, but Cato contributes every game for 17 minutes. The per 48 is the most accurate way to compare players, hence the per 48 statistical leaders on nba.com. I have played plenty of ball and if I had 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in 30 minutes and my backup had 7 points, 7 rebounds and a block in 14 minutes, I would say his impact in that particular game was better. He did almost as much with less. If we stretched it out over the full game, the numbers would show his impact was better. That is why per 48 is the best way to compare players who do not play equal time.
