Yao is already dominant and he showed it against Shaq last night. Yao seems to have finally realised how damn big he is, he's always had the skills but never had the aggression and confidence it takes to be an elite big man. He also used to struggle with conditioning but that seems to be a thing of the past to.
I hope one day i can put my dude Bynum up there with the dominant big men, in a league that seems to be moving away from traditional back to the basket centers i think it will be easier for the few really good ones to stand out. No doubt Oden will be right up there once he gets used to the NBA, i'd love to see Bynum and Oden going at it for years to come like Wilt and Russell, Kareem and Parish, Hakeem and Robinson and Shaq and Mourning.
Exactly. Yao IS a dominant center. He doesn't have to be "Shaq-like" in order to be dominant. Shaq is Shaq, I don't think there will be anyone (and I mean anyone) like him in the future, but that does not mean that he's the only dominant center. Yao may be "softer" than other centers, but tell me this... Who averages more points and rebounds? Yao. Who has a much higher efficiency? Yao. Who's only in his 5th season and is still improving rapidly towards his peak? Yao.
Shaq has always dominated with raw power and athleticism, thats why he is declining so quickly. Now that he cant barrel in and dunk on people like he used to he has to take shots further out and the results speak for themselves. He still draws alot of attention though and the Heat will be successful as long as that happens because it opens the game up for Wade to do his thing.
Kareem was dominant for many years but he didnt rely on power to score, thats why he was able to play for so long. As long as he kept in shape he was able to be productive because he had many ways to score. Thats what i love about young Bynum, he doesnt rely on his athleticism to score which will hopefully help him have a long career like his teacher Kareem.
I was just joking man, the way you worded it sounded like he would be dominant after his career.
but he has a whole career ahead of him before he becomes dominant
Moving on though, how about the "Big Humble" Shaq praising Yao for a great game the other day?
"He's pretty much the same, just big, 7-6," O'Neal said. "He's just doing what he's supposed to do."
Sour grapes maybe?
Wow, Shaq said that? So typical of his arrogance. See, this is what I hate about him. This is what ticks me off. He disses Yao a few years ago saying nonsense about how good he is or whatever, and I actually saw him on TV mocking Yao with racial slurs. And then after Yao kicks his ass about a million times (allstar starts, crucial matchups, etc.), Shaq is still a sour puss and says crap like this, when he all he has to do is make a simple compliment to Yao, and I would be fine with it. At least he can say, "He played really well" or "He's a great player, and that's what great players do," or something like that. That way he doesn't look like a jealous jackass in front of everybody. But of course it doesn't matter because, "Shaq, OMG, he's so great and dominant! He's the best player ever!" When it's actually Yao that is about 100x more fundamentally sound then him. If Yao had Shaq's body, he would be utterly invincible.
"He's pretty much the same, just big, 7-6???" Wow, what a dumbass. He probably doesn't even realize how harsh of a comment that was. Typical, Typical.
In comparison here is what Yao had to say about Shaq after the same game:
"My only chance against Shaq is to keep him on the run," Yao said. "Shaq is much stronger and bigger than me. My only chance on beating him is to keep running and running against him. Every time I score on him I was happy like a kid, like a kid getting candy on Halloween because it's really too hard to score on him, too hard. He's just great."
Message to Yao: C'mon man! That bonehead doesn't deserve all those kind words from you. Rather, this is the time to rub it in his face! Yeah, make your mark in the league. Prove that guy who's boss.
Yeah, I had a feeling Yao would say something like this. He's at least generous, political, and humble, UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE, who make millions of dollars while sitting on the bench, injured, half of the time and lay eggs when their team needs them, only to have other people like Dwyane Wade bail their asses out.
As I read Shaq's comments and then Yao's comments, it just sickens me more and more. How are you in that much denial to say such a hurtful thing? It's simple really. Shaq doesn't even have to mean it if he gives Yao a small compliment. But yeah, with Shaq's IQ of 47, of course he ventilates every fricken thing in his thick skull, so we know how he truly feels for Yao.
Who would've guessed? Here's one player whose kind, humble, hard working, and actually gets the salary he DESERVES, while we have another, who farts around, cracks hurtful remarks on others, is EXTREMELY overpaid, and wants all the attention to himself.
Originally posted by RecSpecs110
Message to Yao: C'mon man! That bonehead doesn't deserve all those kind words from you. Rather, this is the time to rub it in his face! Yeah, make your mark in the league. Prove that guy who's boss.
That wouldn't be wise. First, if Yao made negative comments, then he is just sinking to the same childish level. This makes Yao the bigger man. Second, Yao can't talk trash to Shaq because Shaq could spin it by saying, "How many championships does he have? How many MVP awards? What has he honestly achieved?" Humble is the best approach for Yao, plus he comes from a humble culture that wouldn't appreciate him doing that as well.