http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1874268 Shaq has shed 24 pounds; do you think Yao will be even more intimidated by Shaq? Especially now, Shaq moves to the East all stars and he'd be AGAINST Yao this time in the ALL Star game. Does anyone think that this has made the east a bit better or do u think Shaq's toe will still hinder him from his 30-10 stats (when he was in his prime). Personally it scares me since at the vmas shaq looked physically similar to how he was 3-4 years ago when he singlehandedly brought the trophy's for the lakers. I still take the west in the next all star game though..we got tmac yao and dik and peja and dirk and too much for the east (shaq) to handle
There are plenty of conversations on this already, but to keep relevant to Yao and the Rockets here's my 2 cents. I don't think Yao is intimidated by Shaq anymore, and hasn't been the last 2 seasons. In fact he's held his own against Shaq on both ends of the ball. The only problem Yao has yet to solve is his conditioning. He still cannot play at a high level for 4 quarters, and he usually breaks down against Shaq before halftime and then has another let down in the 4th quarter. However, Yao no longer backs down from Shaq, and doesn't get moved as easliy as he did his rookie year. I think he's down a great job of adapting to the physical play of the NBA and he'll be even better this season. Yao has tremendous leg strength and is developing his upper body each off season. Last year Shaq had problems shooting over the top of Yao, because Shaq wasn't as explosive and quick. It will be interesting to see if 24lbs is enough for Shaq to get back to his dominant self. His ideal playing weight should be 325 to 330, I would guess Shaq is around the 350 mark at this point.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">There are plenty of conversations on this already, but to keep relevant to Yao and the Rockets here's my 2 cents. I don't think Yao is intimidated by Shaq anymore, and hasn't been the last 2 seasons. In fact he's held his own against Shaq on both ends of the ball. The only problem Yao has yet to solve is his conditioning. He still cannot play at a high level for 4 quarters, and he usually breaks down against Shaq before halftime and then has another let down in the 4th quarter. However, Yao no longer backs down from Shaq, and doesn't get moved as easliy as he did his rookie year. I think he's down a great job of adapting to the physical play of the NBA and he'll be even better this season. Yao has tremendous leg strength and is developing his upper body each off season. Last year Shaq had problems shooting over the top of Yao, because Shaq wasn't as explosive and quick. It will be interesting to see if 24lbs is enough for Shaq to get back to his dominant self. His ideal playing weight should be 325 to 330, I would guess Shaq is around the 350 mark at this point.</div> Actually, right now he's at 331. His goal is to be 325 or under by training camp. I think 320 would be a good weight for him.
Don't be intimidated by Shaq. Yao is going to be a huge problem for him, because the Heat have lost a few rebounders, and all Yao needs to do is draw Shaq away from the hoop, and hit jump shots...if he misses, the Rockets will be all over the boards. By the way...if Shaq won the three titles all by himself in Los Angeles, why didn't he do it the first three years he was with them, or the 4 years that he was in Orlando? He had Kobe, a constant 25+ PPG scorer, 5 APG and 5 RPG...and now that he's got Wade, I doubt that he'll be as successful with Miami...so in a scenario where the Rockets make the Finals against the Heat, Yao and Co. would beat them pretty badly.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually, right now he's at 331. His goal is to be 325 or under by training camp. I think 320 would be a good weight for him.</div> I don't believe he only weighs in at 331. The problem with most pro sports, is they don't give you accurate numbers when it comes to height or weight of an athlete. I think Shaq was listed at 350 last season, but he was easily pushing 370+ with the Lakers. Either way I agree he does play a lot better in the 320 to 330 range. I just wish he had this type of motivation to get in shape when he played with the Lakers the last 2 years.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't believe he only weighs in at 331. The problem with most pro sports, is they don't give you accurate numbers when it comes to height or weight of an athlete. I think Shaq was listed at 350 last season, but he was easily pushing 370+ with the Lakers. Either way I agree he does play a lot better in the 320 to 330 range. I just wish he had this type of motivation to get in shape when he played with the Lakers the last 2 years.</div> He said himself that he was at 355 when he met Pat Riley, and he's lost 24 pounds since. He says he'll be less than 325 by camp.
Yo kobe lover, kobe is good but not as goood as shaq. The lakers' record wasn't that good when shaq got injured. When shaq played, they won more games. Of course not as much last season since he was fat and slow
My opinion about Shaq's Toe: I think Shaq was just was faking the severity of his injury to get time off to show the lakers how great they were with out him. Although Kobe got like X games in a row scoring 35+ points they only won about half the games that Shaq was out. When he was asked about his toe injury, after the trade, he said that whatever they did to his toe that they fixed it and he feels great (suprised?). About Yao: I think every player in the game is kinda amazed/intimidated by what Shaq has been able to do after he was traded and the fact that he's out for revenge and out to prove his critics wrong doesn't help the situation. I don't think Yao will be intimidated but that won't stop Shaq from doing anything and everything in his power to dominate. About Shaq's weight: Even if he is fat he'll still put up better numbers than a majority of the players in the nba, and in the finals, even than the in-shape-kobe who took about 1.5x more attempts in the finals than shaq did (and missed about 2/3rds of attempts) and still came up with less ppg. 3 times finals mvp three times the lakers won the title, and in an NBA.com poll, he was the only laker player available for finals mvp nomination when the pistons won the title. amazing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">Yo kobe lover, kobe is good but not as goood as shaq. The lakers' record wasn't that good when shaq got injured. When shaq played, they won more games. Of course not as much last season since he was fat and slow</div> Haha...geez...how many times do I have to do this? Yo Ming lover... The Lakers without Shaq: Lakers 121, Grizzlies 89 Lakers 120, Wizards 99 Clippers 101, Lakers 98 (no Malone) Minnesota 106, Lakers 90 (no Malone) Denver 113, Lakers 91 (no Malone) Lakers 113, Hawks 67 (no Malone, Lakers win by 46 points) Lakers 89, Cavs 79 (no Malone) Lakers 93, Jazz 86 (no Malone) Lakers without Kobe: Lakers 109, Dallas 93 Timberwolves 97, Lakers 84 Lakers 84, Raptors 83 (barely won) Lakers 111, Cavs 106 (overtime game) Sixers 96, Lakers 73 Lakers 98, Magic 96 (barely beat the Magic???) Lakers 98, Heat 83 Hawks 94, Lakers 93 (lost to the same team they beat by 46???) Lakers 94, Nets 88 Jazz 88, Lakers 83 With Kobe on the team by himself, the Lakers went 5-3, or <font color="Red">.625</font>...six of those games, there was NO REBOUNDER (that's why I mentioned "no Malone"). With Shaq on the team by himself, they went 6-4, or <font color="Red">.600</font>. If you don't know the facts, don't try and prove a point without them. Just because all of these other guys that don't care much for Kobe or the Lakers come around here and say, "Oh yeah, without Shaq, the Lakers lost most of their games"...it doesn't mean anything, because they are wrong. The facts are above...look them up if you want, those are exact. Off topic...I know...but I'm done anyways.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Originally Posted by drm2dnk Yo kobe lover, kobe is good but not as goood as shaq. The lakers' record wasn't that good when shaq got injured. When shaq played, they won more games. Of course not as much last season since he was fat and slow </div> hey real deal drm2dnk was refferring to the lakers when shaq was not fat and in which shaq was healthy. not last season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">Haha...geez...how many times do I have to do this? Yo Ming lover... The Lakers without Shaq: Lakers 121, Grizzlies 89 Lakers 120, Wizards 99 Clippers 101, Lakers 98 (no Malone) Minnesota 106, Lakers 90 (no Malone) Denver 113, Lakers 91 (no Malone) Lakers 113, Hawks 67 (no Malone, Lakers win by 46 points) Lakers 89, Cavs 79 (no Malone) Lakers 93, Jazz 86 (no Malone) Lakers without Kobe: Lakers 109, Dallas 93 Timberwolves 97, Lakers 84 Lakers 84, Raptors 83 (barely won) Lakers 111, Cavs 106 (overtime game) Sixers 96, Lakers 73 Lakers 98, Magic 96 (barely beat the Magic???) Lakers 98, Heat 83 Hawks 94, Lakers 93 (lost to the same team they beat by 46???) Lakers 94, Nets 88 Jazz 88, Lakers 83 With Kobe on the team by himself, the Lakers went 5-3, or <font color="Red">.625</font>...six of those games, there was NO REBOUNDER (that's why I mentioned "no Malone"). With Shaq on the team by himself, they went 6-4, or <font color="Red">.600</font>. If you don't know the facts, don't try and prove a point without them. Just because all of these other guys that don't care much for Kobe or the Lakers come around here and say, "Oh yeah, without Shaq, the Lakers lost most of their games"...it doesn't mean anything, because they are wrong. The facts are above...look them up if you want, those are exact. Off topic...I know...but I'm done anyways.</div> While last year its true that the Lakers performed slightly better without Shaq than without Kobe, its really close. The Lakers won 73.8% of game with Kobe, and about 73.1% of games with Shaq. There is a margin of error and you can't really conclude from those numbers that Kobe was therefore more valuable than Shaq last year. But in all the previous years, it wasn't close at all -- the Lakers performed much better without Kobe than without Shaq.
I don't think Yao should lose sleep over Shaq. The head to head matchups against Shaq were a signal to the NBA that Yao will be a force in this league. No, Yao did not win those matchups, but he held his own or was only slightly beaten. Not since Hakeem have we seen anyone come close to holding their own against Shaq. With TMac, the Rockets are now in the thick of things in the West. Brad Miller, Dampier, Tim Duncan, Nene, Garnett, Dirk... these are the guys Yao needs to measure up against. Separate the Myth from the Potential of Yao. He's a guy who hasn't grabbed 10 rebounds or scored 20 points in a season. He managed 15P and 7.4R in his first playoff experience. I think it's universally accepted that Yao is capable of much more than these very, very modest numbers. With Shaq gone, perhaps we can judge Yao on an 82 game season and an extended playoff run, rather than on four matchups against the best player in the game.
If Yao plays Shaq's game he is going to lose. But he doesn't have to because he has a reliable shooter now in T-mac. Yao can set a pic and roll w/ Tmac and I think that will be their best combination play. It will get Shaq to come out to defend Yao on the perimeter and prevent his rebounds. A T-mac/Yao pick and roll will probably be the best one in the league. Yao can hit the mid range shot easily and Tmac can with a hand in his face.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slugzilla:</div><div class="quote_post">If Yao plays Shaq's game he is going to lose. But he doesn't have to because he has a reliable shooter now in T-mac. Yao can set a pic and roll w/ Tmac and I think that will be their best combination play. It will get Shaq to come out to defend Yao on the perimeter and prevent his rebounds. A T-mac/Yao pick and roll will probably be the best one in the league. Yao can hit the mid range shot easily and Tmac can with a hand in his face.</div> For some reason, Van Gundy doesn't run that play. I never saw it last year with Yao and Francis, so why start now?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Quickness:</div><div class="quote_post">hey real deal drm2dnk was refferring to the lakers when shaq was not fat and in which shaq was healthy. not last season.</div> Haha, thanks for clarifying my point Quickness. Some people just like to twist the facts...it didn't work for kobe..I bet kobe gavea large sum of money to the girl so the case would be closed..anyways I know the facts, but I'm done anyways.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">Haha, thanks for clarifying my point Quickness. Some people just like to twist the facts...it didn't work for kobe..I bet kobe gavea large sum of money to the girl so the case would be closed..anyways I know the facts, but I'm done anyways.</div> Very uncalled for.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting durvasa:</div><div class="quote_post">For some reason, Van Gundy doesn't run that play. I never saw it last year with Yao and Francis, so why start now?</div> They did, usually at the top of the 3 point line with Francis popping out for a 3 or Yao rolling towards the hoop for an open 16-18 foot jumper. But again, it will be much more dangerous with TMac instead of Francis so they definitely should run it more.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting johnny33:</div><div class="quote_post">They did, usually at the top of the 3 point line with Francis popping out for a 3 or Yao rolling towards the hoop for an open 16-18 foot jumper. But again, it will be much more dangerous with TMac instead of Francis so they definitely should run it more.</div> I agree. With Yao and T-Mac both able to hit a 20-footer, it would draw the center away from the hoop and give us a chance for offensive rebounds if Yao or McGrady misses the shot. We have two good offensive rebounders in Taylor and Jackson, so we should have a good chance of getting 10-20 second chance points each game.
we saw that pick a lot with Yao and Catino Mobley. Remember when he lit it up agianst Lakers in one of the regular season games? It was all that play.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drm2dnk:</div><div class="quote_post">Haha, thanks for clarifying my point Quickness. Some people just like to twist the facts...it didn't work for kobe..I bet kobe gavea large sum of money to the girl so the case would be closed..anyways I know the facts, but I'm done anyways.</div> Saying that just shows that your just biased against Kobe. Saying Kobe payed the woman? What kind of a statement is that? Kobe's case isn't something to joke about. Get that into your head.
