I've watched pretty much every Yao game is whole career. I've seen his painful dry spells, and his wonderful scoring streaks. I've got frustrated with him (and still do sometimes) and I've also praised him. My point when defending him against the HATERS was that all he needs is time to get aclamated to the NBA pace of game. Also, some much needed rest in the offseason so he could finish strong. Well, sorry to inform the haters, but Yao is finally making that leap to greatness. Since that toe surgery Yao has looked 5 times quicker, faster, and stronger. Normally, when he misses his first couple shots he kinda shuts down for the rest of the game. But the difference now is Yao has the awareness and energy to keep shooting. Not only that but he gets back down the court faster, and his pick N roll defense has been incredible for somebody his size. His moves haven't changed, but he's doing them with more aggressiveness, and he's getting to the line. Not to mention his rebounding numbers I give props to his teammates for keep on feeding him. Right now, Yao is THE BEST CENTER IN THE LEAGUE. I'm proud of my boy for staying focused, and not letting the silly critics destroy his confidence.
I wonder to what extent taking over a month off in the middle of the season is the reason for this. I hope it's something he can sustain for the rest of his career, but maybe he feels fresher now because he didn't have a heavy a schedule in the summer, and he got another "break" in December/January. At his size and skill-level, fatigue is really the only thing setting him back from being one of the truly elite players in the game. He'll probably have another grinding summer this offseason as he has had in the past, so I'm not sure if we can really expect this kind of production from him, on a consistent basis, next season. Don't mean to sound pessimistic.
Well, there's the World Championships this summer, so it will be another roadblock for Yao to get through. I don't see him maintaining this type of 24/13 form for a whole season, but he can be around a 20/10 guy every year. With this type of play, Yao is definitely showing up those people who said he didn't deserve to start in the All Star Game this year.
I don't care what the haters say, I'll take Yao > Shaq at this point in both of their careers......Yao will never be able to match Shaq in his prime, but with the way Yao's been playing this year, it's really a no brainer imo.
^^^^^Yes indeed. The difference in Yao now is that he's gonna come at you regardless if he's having a bad game or not. If he starts off 0-5, then he's still being aggressive. He understands what kind of shot he's going to get if he just takes his time. In the offseason I said that if Yao learns how to use that jump hook, his numbers are going to go up. Now that his toe is better, he's alot quicker than even I thought he was.
yao had another solid game today against the pacers, ever since mcgrady went out for the 2nd stretch he's been great and getting more shots than usual which i think is the key to his success. you have to force plays for him and force the ball in and it makes him a better rebounder and defender as a result of that motivation.
I'd figure getting that toe fixed has something to do with his monster numbers, man i wish i had him on my fantasy team...
i had him in all of my three fantasy teams. hehe I dare to say YAO MING IS THE BEST CENTRE in NBA right NOW!