Why are people so down on Yao?

[poster]

Re: Why are people so down on Yao?

Well, Ben Wallace didn't amount to anything for the first four years and first two teams he played for. He was a good role player then, but he was far from being "great". Nobody, and I mean nobody, expected him to blossom the way he has.

He started to look very good the year he played for Detroit. Coincidence? I doubt it. Ben Wallace is a very, very good fit for Detroit. The Pistons are able to get the most out of him. But I think that situation suggests that Ben Wallace is probably a better fit in Detroit than he would be on any other team. Very few teams in the league can afford to play 4-on-5 on offense every night. Very few teams in the league can win inspite of having one starter contribute only 7 points after logging 38 minutes on the floor.

The thing is: Detroit's system can easily mask the HUGE weakness in Ben Wallace's game (ie no scoring ability whatsoever). It misleads people into thinking it's OK for a player to be so impotent on offense just because he's a beast on defense.

Great defenders should be decent scorers too. Just look at how Dikembe Mutombo developed as a legitimate scoring threat midway through career. Ben Wallace, on the other hand, will never, EVER be considered great. Why? Because he's forever be a half-great player. The defensive half.

He already is great because he has accomplished so much as an undrafted free agent, and undersized big man. You may not agree and thats fine, but you're arguement is flawed. Some players take time to develop so to say by coming to the Pistons is why he all of a sudden gained game can not be proven. Who cares if he can't score.

Chauncey took a long time to develop and would have exploded with any team who signed him. Joe D saw that and brought him aboard. Are you going to say his great couple of years in due to his current Piston situation as well? Ben was in the same boat. He was improving every year and Orlando didn't think much of him. Their loss and our gain. You're not giving the Pistons credit for seeing that.

Ben's first couple of seasons with the Pistons consisted of scrubs like Stackhouse and Chucky Atkins. Are they great players to you? Those two years before they got Rip and Chauncey he avereged 13 boards and lots of blocks and played great D so you're arguement is flawed about situations. The Pistons built around him and now are the best team in the league and contenders. Any other team would do the same thing. A guy like Ben fits anywhere because he is a rare player.

You act like every team in this league has 5 starters who can score every night which is laughable. Some of these non scoring stiffs can't play D so by your theory Ben would be a liability on other teams. Makes no sense. Every GM in the league would kill for a player like this and he would start on any team in the league because he would immediately improve that team's defense, regardless of his offensive shortcomings. That is what wins titles. We'll agree to disagree I guess.

[BigTigLSU]

Re: Why are people so down on Yao?

platic

I am not talking about his direct impact on wins in losses.... and since Rik Smits is so offensive of a reference I will use another big man ... Pat Ewing.

As great as Patrick was with all his offensive gifts... Ewing would sometimes disappear or get slowed down or even shut down by players who you might consider scrubs. Sometimes when I am watching Yao (though I know he is alot better than Steven Hunter or Marc Blount) you cant tell just by watching the game. I want to see Yao go down and oppose his will on defenders, but he ends up getting pushed around by players he is 2 times better and bigger than.

The best way to describe it is... Yao still gets handled by Centers or other bigs that he should dominate. And players like Shaq and Hakeem have us spoiled because when they were in thier prime that didnt happen often.

Is Yao a bust? NO WAY, but if he is the next LEGENDARY center of the NBA he needs to start dominating weaker opponents more consistently. Which he seems to be doing more now than before.

[aswoioshr]

Re: Why are people so down on Yao?

yao goes off with 32pts and 13reb .. after going 2/12 in the first half and being down by 1. put up 17pts in the 3rd qtr to help take a big lead on portland and getting the victory. go yao! =D