Yes, I said it. He's better than Camby, Wallace, Amare, or (even) Shaq (who is, by the way, having the worst playoffs of his career, and just had the worst game in the playoffs, ever).
I'm sorry, you must have forgotten the word "2nd" in between "the" and "best" in your topic title. Yao is not better than Shaq, even now. Shaq changes the whole outlook of the opposing team's schemes. If you have Shaq on the floor, teams double. When teams double, people are open. Factor that in with Shaq's passing ability you have yourself a tough guard. Oh, did I mention he is 7'1'' 325 lbs and can physically dominate pretty much anybody 1-on-1?Sure Shaq has slowed down, but he is not done. He is still the best center in the game. Yao needs to get tough. He is kind of soft, although he has improved a lot since 2002. He needs to get a better post game rather than reverting to his 12 foot turnaround. He needs to bang in the paint and take full advantage of his 7'5'' 300 lbs. body. No doubt he is a very good player, but he is no Shaq now, and his career will never amount to Shaq's either.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Yozo @ Jun 12 2006, 10:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yes, I said it. He's better than Camby, Wallace, Amare, or (even) Shaq (who is, by the way, having the worst playoffs of his career, and just had the worst game in the playoffs, ever).</div>wow i love how you are so desciptive and give all your reasons and opinions or why yao is the best center in the league
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Shaq changes the whole outlook of the opposing team's schemes. If you have Shaq on the floor, teams double. When teams double, people are open. Factor that in with Shaq's passing ability you have yourself a tough guard. Oh, did I mention he is 7'1'' 325 lbs and can physically dominate pretty much anybody 1-on-1?</div>Actually, you are describing Yao, not Shaq.Take a look at the stats from your so-called "tough guard", which Melo conveniently put in his sig. And that's not only one game, this is the throughout the whole playoffs.Everyone really jumped on Yao's case during the beginning part of the season because he couldn't score so effectively against double-teams. And now, with Shaq facing the same thing and having the same, if not worse, results, what's the general public say? "Oh, Dampier and Diop are great defenders. It's expected.""It's his teammates fault. They should give him perimter support."<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>He needs to get a better post game rather than reverting to his 12 foot turnaround. He needs to bang in the paint and take full advantage of his 7'5'' 300 lbs. body.</div>His horrendous post game somehow got him 22 points, which is the most PPG for a center. Strange, isn't it?And Shaq's lack of post shots is one of the biggest reasons he can't score. In lots of positions, Shaq had the ball about 10 feet from the basket with a double-team on him. The so-called "soft" Yao could have spun baseline and drove to the basket, or made a "soft" fadeaway. Shaq's best imitation of a post shot is a three-foot hook shot.
Here's how I see ituring the second half of the season, Yao Ming averaged 26 PPG and 12 RPG. Shaq averaged 21 PPG and 9 RPG. By looking at the statistics, one immediately says that Yao is better. However, you have to look at it from a different view.Because Shaq has a much better team than Yao, his shots are more limited. He averages 14 Shots per Game to Yao Ming's 17 Shots per Game. Clearly, Shaq is a 2nd and even 3rd option at times, whereas Yao was playing on a team that depended on him like no other.In that situation, Yao's team was horrible, and missed the playoffs by a mile. While I'll be the first to admit Shaq is no longer a "superstar caliber player," I will throw out that the Heat were under .500 without him.In terms of passing, Shaq is still the better passer than Yao. Yes Yao is a solid passer, able to see the court and make the passes out of double teams, but Shaquille is able to change games with his passing. In the first half of game one vs. Dallas, Shaq got many touches and was able to rack up 4 first half assists. If I'm not mistaken, it was a 10 point game. When Shaq didn't get the ball throughout Game 2, his team got absolutely drilled. Shaq is still able to atleast help out his team with passing alone.More than anything however, Shaq still influences a game more than Yao. When Shaq gets the ball low, he is still the better finisher, and causes frustration like no other. He is more valuable than Yao Ming, even though his team is much better.In conclusion, Yao got incredible numbers to finish the season last year, all while Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston were constantly out. Still, he was only able average 4 more PPG and 3 RPG more than Shaquille. Imagine if Shaq got the ball as much as Dwayne Wade?Imagine if Shaq's team used him more throughout the regular season, and he wasn't so passive?Shaq would also be a 26 PPG scorer, along with his 12 RPG.Add in Shaq's incredible valuablilty, and his ability to change defenses, and I don't see Yao matching that. Earlier in the year, when Yao had TMac and Rafer on his team for a more consistent basis, he actually averaged almost equal numbers to Shaq as a 2nd option.The simple fact is: Even if Yao and Shaq are equal in almost every aspect, Shaq simply changes defenses more, and influences games more.
26 PPG is not so easy, people think all it is, is just shooting more. Shaq cant shoot 20 times a game, not only would defenses not allow it anymore, but physically he cant. He would blow himself out by halfway through the season. Right now Yao is better, but he doesnt impact the game anywhere near as much as shaq does. But considering, many people consider Michael Vick overrated even though he's a ''game changer'' also, I would take overall that yao is better, although I'd rather have Shaq.
I'm sorry but Yao doesn't dominate the paint like Shaq does, Shaq is having a couple of bad games this playoff, doesn't mean he's on a downfall. As Kmart said, Shaq doesn't get the ball nearly as much as Wade while T-mac and Yao share it. Shaq in the paint is nearly unstopable and as for Yao, as Kmart said he was getting the ball continuesely due to T-mac being out this season which is the reason for his "higher" stats. Also next time give us a reason for why you think Yao is the best...
Yao is the best "Offensive" Center in the league, but not the overall best Center in the league right now. He could be, but not yet.But being a Center means you gotta do it both ways...like the Dallas Duo of Damp/Diop is a great defensive Center...but do absolutely nothing offensively.Like Amare...I'd take Yao offensively, but Amare is more explosive, BUT even worse on the defensive end than Yao.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Yozo @ Jun 13 2006, 08:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Actually, you are describing Yao, not Shaq.Take a look at the stats from your so-called "tough guard", which Melo conveniently put in his sig. And that's not only one game, this is the throughout the whole playoffs.Everyone really jumped on Yao's case during the beginning part of the season because he couldn't score so effectively against double-teams. And now, with Shaq facing the same thing and having the same, if not worse, results, what's the general public say? "Oh, Dampier and Diop are great defenders. It's expected.""It's his teammates fault. They should give him perimter support."His horrendous post game somehow got him 22 points, which is the most PPG for a center. Strange, isn't it?And Shaq's lack of post shots is one of the biggest reasons he can't score. In lots of positions, Shaq had the ball about 10 feet from the basket with a double-team on him. The so-called "soft" Yao could have spun baseline and drove to the basket, or made a "soft" fadeaway. Shaq's best imitation of a post shot is a three-foot hook shot.</div>LMAO you showed me one stat line of a game where nobody playing for Miami played well except for 2 guys, and they didn't even turn it on until they were down 20 in the 4th. You say that has happened throughout the whole playoffs do you?Fine, you want his 2006 playoff stat line then? If you are going to throw 1 game at me:19.2 ppg9.3 rpg1.5 apg1.5 bpg61% shooting <---- damn, you're right, Shaq is inconsistant Damp5.0 ppg6.5 rpg1.4 bpg50% shootingHow about Shaq's 17/7/5 on 8-11 shooting compared to Damp's 8/7. And Shaq also averaged 21.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg, and 2.3 bpg in the Conference Finals vs. Detroit over 6 games. <u>You want to throw stats at me, back it up with facts, not 1 box score</u>.And I am definitely not one to make comparisons based on stats, but if you are going to throw 1 game of stats at me, then I am throwing one back at you and then some.
Yao is close to becoming the best center in the league, but is not there yet. He played amazing during the second half of the season before his foot injury, but until you can say he does that on a regular basis, season in and season out, he can't be called the best center.
Shaq without Wade would be what Yao had to deal with last year. Yao is imo the best center in the nba right now even though he is kinda weak on defense.
I agree, Yao Ming is the best center in the NBA right now, every season he improves and nobody talks about his 22/10 averages this past season. If Shaq brought it every night I would pick him but he picks and chooses when to play hard which I don't really care for.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BCB @ Jun 13 2006, 07:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Different games, different situations....you can't compare a regular season game to a finals game.</div>Actually it was in the playoffs when Rockets were playing Mavs.
I dont consider Amare a center, I think he plays out of position because its whats best for Phoenix and the offense they run, but if you were to consider him a center, fully healthy, I think he is better than Yao. Having said that, I think Yao is vastly underatted and is clearly better than Shaq right now. Yao has improved his game alot since he came into the league, and I think his numbers speak for themselves.
Did you read what I just said? I said he plays center for Phoenix out of position but I wouldnt consider him to be one..If he were he would be better than Yao, however, in my opinion..
