just a question on yao

[j.23]

i really hate to pull the race card here but i really wanna see what people think. before i start i wanna say im not hating on yao for being chinese because i myself am a hot asian man. having said that, if yao wasn't chinese and he was european, american, canadian or whatever, do you think he would've still been nominated to the all star game? (given he has the same talent as he does now) or would we have seen a different starting center?

i think if it wasn't for yao being chinese we would've seen brad miller start

[J-Smoove]

i hate to admit it too, but yeah. chinese population only like him because he's the asian representative. many asians vote for him because we feel the white man (no offense) are always stereotyping that asians aren't worth anything. "they're short, they're not good enough" i remember some thread that said lke "did you vote for yao?" and the choices were like " yes, i'm asian" "yes, i'm not asian" "no, i'm asian" "no, im not asian"

i forgot what it totaled up, but i think it proved that yao's just repp'n the asian community. a lot of asians will just vote for him because he's asian. it may sound racist, but its the truth..

[cyanide]

I think a lot of the votes came from China, and of course, they'll pick their national hero, as much as Argentina would vote for Ginobilli.

[ShivaSquad]

i agree. i also think that a lot of ppl voted for yao because he was chinese, not because they were asian, but jus for the fact that HE is asian. u dont see any asian bball players, and theres so much hype around yao that we all kno about this random 7'6 chinese guy whose pretty good at bball. hell even i voted for him... im not asian. and i also agree that brad miller deserved it more

[Amphatoast]

it's not being racist, it's just the reality of it. I'm sure if some ball player from India came with all the hype Yao did he will be starting every ll-star game reguardless. Come on, the past 2 years Yao over Shaq? That's bullshit.

[Full Surface]

Name one center in the Western conference that is worthy of being a starter besides Yao. That's right, no one. Brad Miller is close but I'd take Yao in front of him.

[petemaravich7]

yao was voted 35 on the internet

[FendeR`]

I think him being Chinese just adds a little spark (because there aren't many Asian players in the league) that gets him to be a starter. I think he'd still be voted into the ASG, but if it was a 7' 6" guy that wasn't asian, it just wouldn't be as much of a rarity.

[Indy]

Name one center in the Western conference that is worthy of being a starter besides Yao. That's right, no one. Brad Miller is close but I'd take Yao in front of him.

you are absoloutly correct

yaos numbers this year:
PPG
18.5
RPG
8.50

brad miller
PPG
15.8
RPG
9.10

jamaal magloire
PPG
14.1
RPG
9.10

troy murphy
PPG
16.2
RPG
11.20

marcus camby
PPG
9.9
RPG
9.50

and no one else is even on the map.

yes yao gets a lot of credit for being chiniese, but he deserved that spot this year.

[Amphatoast]

Name one center in the Western conference that is worthy of being a starter besides Yao. That's right, no one. Brad Miller is close but I'd take Yao in front of him.

the past couple seasons shaq deserved ahead of him. this year, with so much injuries, Brad Miller has steped up and help the kings stay up top on the west. For the most part, the Rockets have been out of the playoffs or at the bottom, and Yao was garbage for the most part. They just recently started to get there acts together, but I believe most of this was when the voting was over already.

[Indy]

you are correct though that shaq deserved the spot those 2 years, but yao deserved it this year.

[jwill2]

another question for y'all. you think yao was worth the pick?

this is guy who's been pretty hyped up for an international player, shows good hands and speed for a guy who's 7'6", but he hasn't shown me that he's going to be a dominant centre, like a shaq, hakeem, ewing, abdul-jabbar player. i don't think he's a "franchise" player. my guess is that TOPS he'll average 20 ppg, and 10 rbg but thats it.

[Indy]

he was the second best player in 2002's draft. the only better player was amare stoudamire picked... 9th or 10th i cant remember. and i think that was the year jay williams was drafted, no was to tell what he would have become.

[j.23]

Name one center in the Western conference that is worthy of being a starter besides Yao.

brad miller easily
the guy plays like a true center and doesn't shy away from contact.. he's stepped up his game like crazy with webber and stojakovic out. his numbers may not be as good as yao but remember he's not the #1 or #2 option either

[JimRaynor55]

Name one center in the Western conference that is worthy of being a starter besides Yao.

brad miller easily
the guy plays like a true center and doesn't shy away from contact.. he's stepped up his game like crazy with webber and stojakovic out. his numbers may not be as good as yao but remember he's not the #1 or #2 option either

Plays like a true center? You have GOT to be kidding me. True centers don't camp out at 20 feet for a spot up jump shots. I already posted 82games.com's more in-depth stats for Yao and Brad Miller in a previous thread. Yao is a better rebounder (yes, Brad's rpg is deceiving because he only grabs a low % of rebound oppurtunities and is consistently outrebounded by opponents), low post scorer (who draws double teams to boot), shot blocker, and deterrent. Yao benefits from being Chinese, but he truly does deserve every vote he gets.

As for other factors that may affect their numbers, remember that Yao is often not treated as a #1 or #2 option either. T-Mac is #1, and many times Sura and all the other guards ignore Yao so they can shoot themselves. Also, the Kings play at a faster pace than the Rockets, further inflating their numbers.

[kevC]

Let's look into REAL stats not icky per game stats:

Yao's not the ball handler/passer that Brad is (which are not the primary skills needed for a C anyways)

but rebound %:
Yao: 15.8
Brad: 13.8

Possession %
Yao: 30.3
Brad: 21.4

PSA is 1.21 for both...

Yao gets to the line slightly better (0.49 fta per fga vs. 0.47)

note that Yao is far superior defensively:
DEF(points allowed per 10 shot attempts)
League Average: 9.25
Yao: 8.24
Brad: 9.10

Off Reb %
Yao: 10.0
Brad: 7.7

Def Reb %
Yao: 21.3
Brad: 19.7

Shot Block %
Yao: 3.63
Brad: 1.81

eFG%:
Yao: .545
Brad: .539

Points Scored Per Possession:
Yao: .984
Brad: .860

Points Produced Per 40 Minutes:
Yao: 20.6
Brad: 18.2

Points Actualized Per 48 Min Over Counterpart on Other Team:
Yao: +10.3
Brad: +2.5

Total Points Actualized Over Counterpart:
Yao: +354
Brad: +102

PWN

[Indy]

and if yao was allowed to in the rockets offense, he can knock down the three too.

i saw him in indianapolis over the summer of 02 i think it was in the world basketball championships and he was killer from outside the line for the china team which almost beat the us.

[j.23]

Plays like a true center? You have GOT to be kidding me. True centers don't camp out at 20 feet for a spot up jump shots.

righttttttttttttttt and we NEVER see yao do that? i've been seeing yao spot up and hitting jumpers ever since he got in the league. mind you that's part of his repetoire but if you're going to use that against miller, then im going to use that against yao as well.

Yao is a better rebounder (yes, Brad's rpg is deceiving because he only grabs a low % of rebound oppurtunities and is consistently outrebounded by opponents),

pffft at 7'5 he should be pulling in double digits in rebounding. he's only averaging 8.5 this year, he should have no problem whatsoever grabbing 10 or 11. how is brad miller's rpg deceiving? him and webber are the only big men (and maybe ostertag if he got the playing time) that can rebound. the guy does more dirty work on that team than anybody.


as well, if yao was 7'5 he'd be swatting shots like yao as well.

[Riot]

Dirk, Ginobili, Peja, Yao...god damn. Why do people have to be foreign!

[Ataraxia]

Well Yao isnt the only one thats debatable......the whole all-star game is now a popularity contest......so if Yao's popular he deserves it.

I didnt vote for him, I voted for Camby......but If a Sri Lanka guy was there(of course their never will be).....I would obviously vote for him.....

I mean Chinese people are very close to each other.....theirs not alotta hate in their hearts.......so they easily vote for Yao......course in most other countries its different......where U dont like a person then u dont vote for them....n if u like the person u vote for them even if they suck.

As long as the all-star game allows the world to vote.....then I guess we shouldnt question the players but we should make "hate" with the league office instead because their the ones that make all those decisions.

[Colin]

Amare should have been the West's starting center. But the guys who made the ballot had no idea he would be playing center. Oh well...

[air gordon]

imo using yao or miller as the gauge for true center play is a poor example. there are only a few centers that play like 'true' centers.. shaq, curry, maybe magloire, aguably some others.. speaking of poor rebounders... if you look at the league leaders in rebounds per contest, shaq is the only 'center' in the top 15

to answer the thread's original question... i think yao would have been nominated on the all star team but i'm not so sure he would be the starting center if it was his peers/coaches were making the decision instead of the fans

throw in the fact that no sacramento king was placed on the team (undeservedly so imo) and that duncan + amare can be considered or maybe should be considered 'centers' makes the situation even more tricky

i'm not entirely sure if it's race moreso then the "curiosity/7'5" factor as to why he gets voted in as the starter. i'm not trying to say this in a negative way... even if he was black or white, whatever, not chinese, yao is a freak of nature and somebody like this is going to gain popularity/attention/ notoriety for it. factor this in as well the way the NBA markets it's players, as well as his current numbers, he's going to get a lot of votes from the fans

[j.23]

i'm not entirely sure if it's race moreso then the "curiosity/7'5" factor as to why he gets voted in as the starter

great point i think that's what i was trying to get at all along

[Drex]

as well, if yao was 7'5 he'd be swatting shots like yao as well.

righttttttttttttttt and we NEVER see yao do that? i've been seeing yao spot up and hitting jumpers ever since he got in the league. mind you that's part of his repetoire but if you're going to use that against miller, then im going to use that against yao as well.

Nobody said he didn't. You were the one that said that Brad plays like a true center. We all know that Yao is not the type of player that's gonna overpower his opponent, like Shaq does. Yao is going to backdown a little, do some fakes and shoot over his opponent.

[JimRaynor55]

righttttttttttttttt and we NEVER see yao do that? i've been seeing yao spot up and hitting jumpers ever since he got in the league. mind you that's part of his repetoire but if you're going to use that against miller, then im going to use that against yao as well.

From 82games.com:
% of Yao's FGAs inside the paint: 54%
% of Miller's FGAs inside the paint: 44%

The great thing about Yao is that he has low post scoring abilities, AND a good jump shot. Miller is pretty much a jump shooter and passer on offense. You cannot just dump the ball into him and expect him to score. Other teams will not collapse on him with double and triple teams.

pffft at 7'5 he should be pulling in double digits in rebounding. he's only averaging 8.5 this year, he should have no problem whatsoever grabbing 10 or 11.

Totals mean nothing. Percentages and differentials are what matters. Do you understand the fact that the Rockets are a slower paced team, and that Yao doesn't play a lot of minutes? That brings down his numbers and makes them look worse than they really are. Also, height is NOT the only factor in rebounding. In fact, quickness and positioning are far more important. It's unfair to say that Yao should be a great rebounder only because he's tall. He's already the best rebounding player over 7'4 to ever play in the NBA.

how is brad miller's rpg deceiving? him and webber are the only big men (and maybe ostertag if he got the playing time) that can rebound. the guy does more dirty work on that team than anybody.

His rpg are deceiving because he's typically outrebounded by opposing centers. Do you understand what that means? On average, whatever no name center Miller faces does a better job rebounding than him. The stats show that he's NOT that good at doing the "dirty work."

as well, if yao was 7'5 he'd be swatting shots like yao as well.

I take it that you mean "if Miller was 7'5 he'd be swatting shots like Yao as well." This is an example of a lame argument that makes unsupported claims based on a fantasy scenario. I could say that Earl Boykins would probably be an All-Star caliber player if he was 6'6. But he's NOT 6'6, is he? Just like Brad Miller's not 7'5. This argument is meaningless.