I'm not saying that you are assessing Howard incorrectly,but Yao's low post footwork and moves(eg hook shot,Shanghai shake) are more refined than Howard's. Even Mark Jackson admitted that Yao is the better offensive player although he considers Howard to be better than Yao.
Hmm didn't look at it that way. Maybe Dwight is to Yao as what Memet Okur is to Yao. I think D12 will do a lot better against Yao though if he had more posts moves. Most of the time he uses his athleticism and just go over his opponents but it won't work against someone as ginormous as Yao.
well, I hate to be the one to pick out the race card. but I do believe that has to do with the nationality. Dwight is American, and Yao is Chinese, pure and simple. I bet if you poll the Chinese about who is the best center in NBA, you will surely get a high percentage favoring Yao.
Good points. According to the Head to Head matchups at basketball-reference from the 86-87 season through the 92-93 season (here), Hakeem shot 47.3% against Eaton and the Jazz. 7 times (or 1 out of 5 times) he shot under 40%, which is proportionately a bit higher than he did against the entire league in those years (85 times, or in 16% of his games). But 6 of those 7 times came in Utah, so it could very well have been the altitude.
So Americans are being racist for thinking Dwight is the better center, but Chinese people aren't for thinking Yao is better? Alright .. maybe we should just ask the Europeans or Australians or South Americans.
I don't know that it's a race thing; if it is, it certainly isn't some type of intentional discrimination against Yao cause he's Asian. I think it has more to do with Yao being a reflection of his Chinese culture, and that not exciting the sports media the way a flashy black or white player might. Yao is seen as nice, timid, polite; talented but soft, good but still lacking that something extra that makes a great player great. The fact is that Yao is a quiet, polite player who has had to fight against the preconceptions placed upon him by the sports media. Besides saying he's too soft and giving him less credit than credit due; they said he was a foolish pick 1st overall, that he was gonna be a bust, or he was too tall to be a good player, or not strong enough, etc. etc. But on top of being a polite guy, he's also a great player, probably an all time great player by the time it's all said and done. He's got intangibles, stats, and all-star appearances from day 1, but because he lacks flash, outward aggression, and league leading numbers the sports media largely refuses to acknowledge his status as the best center in the league. Yao isn't what the sports media wants; that is to say they want a flashy, aggressive, funny, stat grabbing, marketable player-someone along the lines of Shaq, and that is exactly what D-Howard has shown he is. He is very marketable. Is he better at playing center than Yao? No, I still don't think he is. His stat line this season is a bit better, but he lacks the intangibles of Yao and head to head Yao owns him. He is worthy of great recognition, and he may become better than Yao sooner or later, but the reason everyone is always so high on D-Howard is because, on top of being a great young player he is also flashy and marketable. That goes along way in getting recognition as the top player at a certain spot. To my knowledge, Yao has never been called the best center in the league by a consensus of sports media and NBA enthusiasts, even during that period where Shaq had finally waned and D-Howard had yet to hit the scene I don't remember any one going "Yao is now the best center in the NBA". That was what everyone should have been acknowledging; instead, Yao continues to be underrated by a majority of the sports media at large-not really because of his ability or performance, but more because of his demeanour and lack of flare that American basketball lovers appreciate so much. That's what I think anyways...
i won't say dwight is better than yao because dwight can't beat yao ever since they met. I would say jazz is better than rocket.
maybe that's a good idea. what I'm saying is Dwight got more hype from the media because he is native. Just like Yao get a lot of hype from the chinese media. It has nothing to do with the racism, just being biased.
Yao has gotten plenty of hype from the American media as well. I'm pretty sure more Americans have heard of Yao Ming than Dwight Howard.
quote a piece of Magics fan's suggestion from their's forum after tonight game: "Dwight can't play Yao straight up, he needs to be dirty if he's gonna get past him."
True, but just because more Americans have probably heard of Yao over Dwight doesn't mean he's gotten the proper respect from the sports media he deserves. The people who know Yao and not D-Howard aren't basketball fans anyways, and they likely know Yao because of the media circus (which was both negative and positive) that surrounded him when he first entered the league as China's giant basketball wonder. In a lot of ways, he was received as a curiousity as much as a potentially great basketball player.
Yao needs to get further in the playoffs to get more respect. What kind of respect would they give a guy who's constantly injured and haven't been out of the first round of the playoffs in 7 years?
For difference reasons: Yao- the freakishly tall Chinese dude who can actually play a bit D.H. - the Superman who is the best center. Anyway, I imagine it would be a bit more easier and exiting to kids in NY, LA, CH etc, "buy this product and play like a D. H" than "play like YM".
I think that is a spot on comparison. Each has their own qualities and the teams are molded around them. Dwight on this team would not fit at all, and Yao likely wouldn't fit great on that Orlando team. I am happy with what we got, there is no point in comparing the two.
If Yao was putting up obviously better numbers than Dwight and the media still insisted that Howard was the best center in the league, it would be easier for me to see that its a race thing. But by most standards of comparison that people generally use for centers (e.g. ppg, rpg, bpg, FG%, being on a good team with prospects for contending) Dwight is ahead. So I'd have to say its mainly that.
I don't think its just that. Who's jersey do you think is more popular for non-Chinese Americans -- Yao's or Dwight's? I would bet Yao's. He has more fans.
I would love to see how everything ends up when both of these guy's careers are over. It all will eventually boil down to how many championships each guy brings to their respective teams. It doesn't really matter if Wilt was breaking records cuz Russell wore all the rings in the end, and that's ALL THAT MATTERS. Give me Russell over Wilt ANYDAY and twice on Sundays...
