I love Yao's game, but his reluctance to dunk the ball bothers me... even if he's right under the ring he much prefers to put up a soft layup rather than stuff it in and make sure of it. I'm wondering if he's too scared of getting blocked and getting embarrassed on some plays. However I think when it comes to playoff time, when defense becomes much tougher, he has to be able to stuff it and take players with him whenever possible. I'm kinda worried because basically the only guy on our team willing to dunk is Snyder. We are probably the least dunking team in the league...
In China, dunking is considered rude. Yao is better now than his rookie year and will likely continue to get better.
no vertical? im sure he wants to dunk everytime as much as possible but sometimes his defender jumps faster than he does.
That's perception. Reality? Yao is 51st in the NBA in dunks . . .after missing 32 games. http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/dunk-o-meter/yearly He's got 40 dunks in 35 games . .. slightly more than one per game. Extrapolate to a non-injured season - let's say he gets 35 in the missing 32 games, that puts him at 75 dunks . . .just ahead of Vince Carter. I've never heard anyone say Vince Carter doesn't dunk enough. Perception/reality.
Plus when he tries to dunk, he needs more "setup" time.. like bending down and then jumping back up. The longer the ball is in his hands the more likely it'll get stripped. Also when he does dunk, you'll notice that the ball just gets barely over the rim. It's not like when Howard dunks and the ball is a foot above the basket. His dunk is actually easier to block than the layup.
I don't recall hearing that but regardless, Yao is clearly not the type of player that attempts to get "facials" like Shaq. Each year, Yao has become more and more agressive. Oh, and this year Yao has a dislocated finger AND a bad knee. Dunking probably isn't real high on his priority list.
Yao is 51st in the NBA in dunks . . .after missing 32 games I think that speaks volumes about his game. He is a very talented big man who can find different ways to score. He offensive skill set is much better than Shaq, Amare, or Howard's. I gurantee right now that he is much harder player to defend than the others, because he has such great shooting touch. Move Set ----------------- Jump Hook Fadeaway Jump Shot from 8 to 18+ Shot off the backboard Baseline spin move to the basket Reverse Dunk 15 - 18 foot jump shot (some claim he can shoot from 3 pt line, but Van Gundy doesn't let him do it.) etc...... Most likely best FT shooting big man in the league He's 7'6 and he is a better shooter than people half his size. That's remarkable. He
That's not the point. The point is that some times when he tries layup even very close to the rim, unfortunately the layup does not go in the hole, and thus misses 2 points. So to make sure the rock in, dunk is simply safer.
He dislocated his finger, and it hurts him if he throws it down hard. Also, the knee and the brace might be holding him back a little bit. He dunked a couple times in the last few games. When Yao gets to 100%, i believe u'll see more facials and posterizing,
True, a dunk is 2 points; however, I agree that Yao should attempt more dunks but with more agression. He made a statement a few games ago (Phoenix game...I think) about how upset he was to get blocked by a smaller guy. I understand that even the best of them get blocked and some even by smaller and weaker players (it happens), but I think if Yao went to the basket with more agression (two hands could help) he could cause many players to think twice about trying to block his dunk. An example would be if Yao went up to dunk the ball (one handed or two...doesn't matter) with more agression almost wanting to rip the rim off...most likely the opponent trying to block his shot might get his hand pinned against the rim in the block attempt. This might still get the opponent a block, but his hand might be just sore enough to let Yao's next dunk go. Disclaimer: I am not advocating any player to purposely hurt another, but THEY GOT's TO LEARN! Just ask Hakeem and Deke who the paint belongs to when on the defensive end. It should be that way on the offensive end as well - especially when you are under the basket.
Yes Yao does dunk a lot on a pure statistical standpoint. But I believe the thread starter is talking about how Yao has a tendency to prefer lay-ins over dunk attempts in traffic. Like on the two shots that Dalembert blocked last night. Obviously if Yao's got an open lane to the rim off a p/r or a dump-off, he'll dunk it, and get a lot of dunks that way. But he's around the rim so much, if he dunked at the rate of Dwight or Shaq, he'd be dunking a lot more. But the way I see it, it can't be helped. Dunking in traffic requires explosiveness and the ability to play above the rim. Yao doesn't do either of those things well, so he'd "back-rim" a lot of dunks if he tried to jam everything. Yao knows his abilities, and he uses quickness and touch on his shot in place of power and explosiveness. I'd prefer if he went for a dunk a bit more often in order to draw fouls, but he still makes an excellent percentage of his shots around the rim, so you can't fault him too much on it.
Dunking would put on extra stress on his injured knee, which is still recovering. If you break your bone, do you honestly believe it can completely heal in 6 weeks? Besides, dunking could drain extra stamina which is always in short supply on court for any big man. A finger roll or soft Jumper is more energy efficient. That being said, I don't believe Yao is averse to dunking. As far as I see, he dunks whenever he can. Also the talk about Yao's afraid of being blocked is just ridiculous. Yao has a very healthy basketball mentality, he doesn't get rattled by blocks. He just wants to score and win the game. As long as the team winds, being block means little.
