There's a huge difference between stamina and durability. Yao is in ok shape, and 32mpg isn't bad, especially for someone his size, but he's not been overly durable recently. But honestly, some of his injuries have been freak accident injuries that he can't really control. To be honest, his TO per game isn't too bad for his position. Look at Shaq. He turned it over just as much when he was in his prime (still does), yet no one rags on him for it because of how dominant he was. Same with Dwight Howard. He averages 2.93 TO per game for his career. If we want to continue on down the line...David Robinson, one of the great centers of our generation, averaged 2.45 TO per game for his career, averaging over 3 per game multiple times in his career. Kareem, another one of the greats, had multiple seasons where he turned the ball over a lot. My point is, historically, big guys are TO prone. It's not just Yao, but any great big that ever had the ball in his hands a lot turns it over a lot. And most of these players probably aren't pushing around a 7'6", 325 pound frame either.
32 minutes is bad, what other star plays that kind of minutes? I'm not talking about a system like Memphis where they had a 9 man rotation and everybody played 30-something minutes. I'm talking about an Iverson or Kobe player that is content to play less than 3 quarters in a game. I know the difference between stamina and durability. I also know that career averages don't measure improvement. But he hasn't really improved in minutes, every year except this past one he played between 29 and 34 mpg, that's not much improvement imo. In his best scoring year he averaged 25ppg, this year he got 22 and played more minutes! So my point is that the more minutes he gets, the less he produces. Proof that his stamina is not better. Really? Jermaine O'neal, Sheed, Dirk, and Z all have career averages of under 2 TO/game (actually Ilgauska's is 2.03). Dirk handles the ball more than probably any big in the league. He's not just catching it in the post either, he creates his own shot off the dribble and brings it up court on occasion, yet he's still better than Yao in that category. How does being big make you less durable? Someone could say that being small makes you less durable right? Yet Iverson will play no matter what and has been much more consistant than Yao.
Shaq- the whole rap thing was gross really, damn those were creepy lyrics. Let it go already. Bruce Bowen- I don't like it when people get injured by BS. Probably some others... I don't really despise any single person though.
Regarding Steve Nash, I think it's a travesty he has two MVP awards, especially one in 2006 over Kobe. Marbury was a top PG before and after his stint in Phoenix.
Sure. All I said is that he was a top pg while in Phoenix, and that he isn't now. I never said that he wasn't a top pg before or after that. In fact I remember him saying (while in NY) that he was the best pg in the league. A reporter responded by saying "What about Nash?" and Marbury said "I'm the best point guard in the league". But I do think that the Knicks' system hurt his game a lot, even though a lot of his fall off was his own fault.
Well, Manu Ginobli only plays about 32mpg or so, and I'd consider him a star player. I really don't see what your issue is with him not playing a lot of minutes. Who cares. So sue him if he doesn't have the stamina to do it. Not everyone is a workout freak like Kobe or Rip. As far as his production, I can't really defend him there. My only explanation is that his shots per game did go down, as did his FTA per game. His shots between '06-'07 and '07-'08 went down by 1.6 per game, and his FTA went down by 1.2, which will have at least a bit of an effect on his PPG. TMac averaging 20 shots per game didn't help either, and the addition of Luis Scola could have also impacted his shot per game and PPG numbers. So that's my explanation, whether or not you buy it is up to you. Ok...so you came up with a few examples, it still doesn't disregard my point. Bigs have just a as much of a TO problem as guards who handle the ball a lot, as noted by my previous post. Well, I don't see AI having 300+ pounds crashing down on his knees and ankles every time he jumps. That much weight crashing down on knees and ankles will wear them down faster than if you're 180 pounds.
His production almost certainly decreased because of the change in coach. Adelman ran a different offense, and Yao's role in that offense changed more than anyone else's. He played more in the high post. The Rockets also added more offensive weapons, so the team had a somewhat more balanced attack.
Good call on the coaching change, I never even thought of that, I was just more focused on the additions of others.
I've always hated Allen Iverson, dunno why. He is kinda overhyped imo. There've been so many conversations about AI so I'm not gonna say anything else.
