yao

[donkey hote]

Yao's averaging a rebound shy of 20/10 this season.
I think all the controversy about whether or not Rasho is having a good season (which he is) shows how tough it is for a big man in the NBA to live up to geniuses like David Robinson, who has spoiled us Spurs fan. As far as Yao is concerned, any guy that can play center and put up 20-10 is a valuable commodity, because besides Shaq, there ain't jack out there for you. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is pretty good, but besides Shaq, who else but Yao do you want on your fantasy team at the C position when you're pre-ranking your draft picks. He might be a late bloomer that turns into a wily old man like Arvydas Sabonis who was productive up until the old legs gave out at 38 or so. Why is it exactly that people feel like Yao was a bust?

[Horry For 3!]

Yo

[TDMVPDPOY]

The only reason ppl think yao is a bust, is they want him to live up to expectations as a 7'6 player in the league, and we know most of the players over the history of the nba 7'6 guys are mainly busts, so far i dont think yao is a bust, his puttin up good stats and his worth his contract, ppl tend to forget he mite be soft player down low, but he draws alot of double teams etc doesnt usually get the calls etc.

[Pandaemonaeon]

and we know most of the players over the history of the nba 7'6 guys are mainly busts

Not really. Yao's averages are almost identical to Muresan's and (don't laugh) Bradley's middle years. I'm not saying they're equal but that disproves the "historically busts" theory.

http://img475.imageshack.us/img475/8296/comparison6oy.jpg

* Best years

The main problem I have with Yao is that he's got the height, bulk and post-up skills (those 3 are inseparable just in case someone mentions Bradley, Dirk or KG) to punish absolutely anyone downlow yet he would rather take jumpshots or silly 15-foot fadeaways. I'm not expecting him to be a dominant center or anything, but if you have Boris Diaw on you you should make him pay.

Speaking of Arvydas: if he went to the NBA 2-4 years after he was originally drafted he could've been the best international player in the history of the NBA. I mean how many centers had the passing skills of Divac, the inside scoring ability of Shaq, and the range of Dirk all rolled into one?